how do you add fluxbox styles and use them? = PROBLEM SOLVED

[lnxmacusr]

hey everyone,

I am using gentoo and just got X11 and fluxbox running and now I'd like to use the default themes / styles that come with a default fluxbox install. I downloaded the default themes and installed them where they were supposed to go, but they're not showing up in the styles menu.

I've read their manual (at fluxbox.org) but it doesn't mention how to update or add themes. At least not where I could find it.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[Pink]

Does your menu have the following options:

Code: Select all

[submenu] (Styles) {Select a Style}
      [include] (/usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/)
[end]

or something similar?

From that I get the styles under

Code: Select all

/usr/share/fluxbox/styles
/usr/share/commonbox/styles/

and any I have placed in my own styles folder in my .fluxbox folder.

You can look in the usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/ folder for an exaple of where it will look and you could create your own entry there.

HTH

[lnxmacusr]

Does your menu have the following options:

Code: Select all

[submenu] (Styles) {Select a Style}
      [include] (/usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/)
[end]

or something similar?

From that I get the styles under

Code: Select all

/usr/share/fluxbox/styles
/usr/share/commonbox/styles/

and any I have placed in my own styles folder in my .fluxbox folder.

You can look in the usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/ folder for an exaple of where it will look and you could create your own entry there.

HTH

No, it just has the [submenu] > [styles] . After that there are no choices to make. I need to know how to tell fluxbox to recognize that the default styles are in the styles directory.

[lnxmacusr]

Does your menu have the following options:

Code: Select all

[submenu] (Styles) {Select a Style}
      [include] (/usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/)
[end]

or something similar?

From that I get the styles under

Code: Select all

/usr/share/fluxbox/styles
/usr/share/commonbox/styles/

and any I have placed in my own styles folder in my .fluxbox folder.

You can look in the usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/ folder for an exaple of where it will look and you could create your own entry there.

HTH

No, it just has the [submenu] > [styles] . After that there are no choices to make. I need to know how to tell fluxbox to recognize that the default styles are in the styles directory.

Ok, I did as you suggested and copied all the styles available into: /root/.fluxbox/styles and restarted fluxbox but they are still now loading in the dropdown menus. Am I missing something? Should I restart x also?

[Pink]

Ok,

can you post the area in your menu (in ~/.fluxbox/menu) relating to the styles selection (like I did).

Secondly can you let us know what is in the: usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/ folder?

Also, check out: /usr/share/fluxbox/styles and let us know if there are any style entries in there, such as Bluflux, Emerge, Artwiz, Blunight, etc. Do the same thing with /usr/share/commonbox/styles.

If you have exactly the same menu entry I posted above in your /fluxbox/menu file, then it is a couple of possibilities.

1. The files in the usr/share/fluxbox/menu.d/styles/ folder are not there: This is one of mine (called styles-menu-fluxbox)

Code: Select all

[begin] (Fluxbox Core Styles)
[submenu] (Fluxbox Core Styles)
   [stylesdir] (/usr/share/fluxbox/styles)
[end]
[end]

2. You don't have the styles emerged or in the correct place, which is why you are checking the two styles folders I mention above.

If you have the correct menu entries and the correct files in menu.d and some styles in the two folders....then I have no idea.

[Pink]

Ok, I did as you suggested and copied all the styles available into: /root/.fluxbox/styles and restarted fluxbox but they are still now loading in the dropdown menus. Am I missing something? Should I restart x also?

Ummm, I rather hope you are not using root as a normal user? Possibly this is one of the problems. It should be in your user directory. For example, mine is /home/onion/.fluxbox and so on.

If you are using root then stop.

[lnxmacusr]

Ok, I did as you suggested and copied all the styles available into: /root/.fluxbox/styles and restarted fluxbox but they are still now loading in the dropdown menus. Am I missing something? Should I restart x also?

Ummm, I rather hope you are not using root as a normal user? Possibly this is one of the problems. It should be in your user directory. For example, mine is /home/onion/.fluxbox and so on.

If you are using root then stop.

Umm, I knew that, I was just checking. I am still rather new to *nux world and forgot you should not run as root unless you absolutely need to. Anyway, added a user and now it's working.

So since I installed fluxbox as root should I unmerge it and then login as the user and emerge it and reinstall it? I've kind of copied and moved files around to get it working as root.

Thanks for everyone's patience (please don't flame me too much, even though I deserve it for forgetting about the root/user rule).

[Pink]

Don't worry about it. You know know.

I wouldn't worry too much about what you did if it works now. But if you want, emerge it again. Remember that you will need to be root for this anyway (as only root can install things, one of the reasons you don't want to use root all the time, only when you have to).

No need to log into root to do this, stay as your 'new' user and su to root (type su, then enter the root password and then 'emerge fluxbox'). This will straighten out any problems that may have occured.

If you have any more questions then please do not worry about asking. We were all newbs once!

Just try to remember there should never be any need to actually log in to a desktop as root. I haven't in over a year and have done complete reinstalls and so on. Anything I need to do as root, I 'su' in a terminal, do the whatever it is, and then exit the terminal.

HTH

[lnxmacusr]

Don't worry about it. You know know.

I wouldn't worry too much about what you did if it works now. But if you want, emerge it again. Remember that you will need to be root for this anyway (as only root can install things, one of the reasons you don't want to use root all the time, only when you have to).

No need to log into root to do this, stay as your 'new' user and su to root (type su, then enter the root password and then 'emerge fluxbox'). This will straighten out any problems that may have occured.

If you have any more questions then please do not worry about asking. We were all newbs once!

Just try to remember there should never be any need to actually log in to a desktop as root. I haven't in over a year and have done complete reinstalls and so on. Anything I need to do as root, I 'su' in a terminal, do the whatever it is, and then exit the terminal.

HTH

Cool, thanks for the advice. I've been using linux off and on for about a year and just got so wrapped up in optimising my new Gentoo environment and completely forgot I shouldn't run as root all the time.

Thanks again for everyone's help! Gentoo and Fluxbox are way cool!