Shiki-Colors and Community Themes in Ubuntu 8.10
A few days ago, the Ubuntu Tutorials blog pointed out the excellent Shiki-Colors theme. It’s my new favorite!
On the theme’s GNOME Look
page,
you can download the GTK theme, or a script which can also install icons, a GDM
login screen theme, and wallpapers. I just wanted the GTK theme so I selected
this
download.
To install, drop the downloaded file into the System->Preferences->Appearance
Theme tab. You’ll then have the option to select one of the four Shiki
variants.
If you’re still using Ubuntu 8.04, don’t forget to install the required version of the Murrine theme engine. Here’s the i368 package from theme’s author.
In the screenshot above, I’m also using the Liberation fonts set, which I think looks a bit better than the default fonts. Install Liberation fonts from the package ttf-liberation (click the link to install), or by running the command below in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install ttf-liberation
Use the Fonts tab in System->Preferences->Appearance to apply the new fonts.
I switched from the default font Sans to Liberation Sans.
If you’re looking for a theme for your Ubuntu 8.10 desktop, don’t forget to check out the new community themes package. It includes a three other excellent themes: Dust, Kin, and New Wave.
Install the community themes from the package community-themes (click the link to install), or by running the command below in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install community-themes
If you’ve installed a new theme, applications running as root like Synaptic may display unthemed. Here’s how to fix that problem.
What are your favorite themes for Ubuntu?
Archived Comments
Mark
Great theme - I’m gonna give it a try!
btw - the first link to ubuntu-tutorials.com is wrong
iampriteshdesai
You are right, this is cool!
Shiki reduces Dust theme to dust!
Thanks!
iampriteshdesai
Must say I like Gnome more than stupid KDE. Hope my plunge with KDE Kubutnu goes nice. I’ll miss gnome
Dan
I’ve been using Shiki for a few weeks now and have found it to be the only darker theme I’ve been able to stick with. I’m using the Shiki-Brave style (gives it a bit of blue undertones).
Have to say it’s my new favourite theme as well.
Dan
Daniel Holm
Thanks for the info and the fix for the root theme.
My favorite is MurrineDust Blue.
Anonymous
How do you get the transparent title bars?
arielgalula
“If you’ve installed a new theme, applications running as root like Synaptic may
display unthemed”. I don’t relate to this as a problem rather then a good habit
feature. it always remind you that you are doing an administrator and you must
think before you changing some thing.
I also love that Shiki-Color theme!
Fujiko Fujio
I never liked dark themes, never knew about the community-themes pack before, now I’m using the Kin theme and love it :)
Bas Doodeman
Hi Tom,
This link does not work:
http://http//ubuntu-tutorials.com/2008/11/10/install-shiki-colors-theme-on-ubuntu-810/
Just FYI.
Best regards,
Bas Doodeman
Anonymous
I really like this theme as well. Thanks for sharing. Firefox 3.0.3 menu bar is too light to see, otherwise, everything else is perfect.
tahnok
Seconded about the broken link. You added one too many http in the HTML
Tom
Mark, Bas Doodeman:
Thanks for the heads up, link fixed.
Anonymous:
You can get transparent window borders by turning on desktop effects (Compiz).
Anonymous
Wow, thanks!
BTW, there’s also a clearlooks version if you don’t have Murrine SVN or want a
more traditional look.
You should probably try out the icons as well, they are probably the most complete and consistent sets I’ve seen.
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/GNOME-colors?content=82562
Simon
Thanks for the write-up.
I initially had the same issue as anonymous above (with the menu bar being too light). My theme was specifying specific colours so the ‘menubar’ was grey which, with white text, was not readable. There are a couple of options; one, edit your theme’s source and/or userChrome.css file and add options for the ‘menubar’, or two, revert to a theme that doesn’t specify colours for the ‘menubar’. (and make sure you use the ‘Firefox fix for Shiki-Colors GTK linux theme’ over at userstyles.org -> http://userstyles.org/styles/10822)
Jayson Rowe
I kinda like DarkRoom so far…
NZJon
Tom,
Many thanks for sharing the info about this great theme!
Jon
eli
I like this theme a lot. It’s really smooth with Arial fonts on the desktop. Thanks
Lou Quillio
Liberation Mono is the big success, to my eye. Try it for editors and shells. The other Liberation typefaces are nice, but not worth getting excited about.
Know what’s really nice for general UI? This is weird and unexpected, and I sort of hate to say it. Verdana. Try it.
LQ
Dogger Dog
Has anybody experienced Firefox 3 crashing when trying to print after installing this theme? I love the theme, but now when I click “print” or try control+P, Firefox (and Thunderbird) just close out entirely no matter how many tabs I have open. Please help.
anand
hi..
i loved the theme but there is one problem- how to fix the firefox menubar where
the text is practically invisible?
ubuntu810user
I am looking for Ubuntu 8.10 themes this week, then I found this one, tried it and it gives me the one I wanted for my machine, thanks.
rxr78
I just upgraded to Jaunty from Intrepid, and I’ve tried installing the Clearlooks theme, as well as the community themes, but I keep getting the error: “This theme will not look as intended because the required window manager theme ‘Shiki-Colors Metacity’ is not installed.
Also, I only have 3 shiki colors available in the appearance manager: Shiki Wise, Shiki Wine and Shiki Human’.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
éden-san
i downgraded to intrepid from jaunty and so i lost ‘dust’ =[
but now i have my favourite theme back! thanks! =]
k@e
Azul is my current favorite skin for Ubuntu 8.10:
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Azul?content=92092