A simple guide on how to install themes in Xubuntu or any Linux distribution featuring Xfce desktop.
Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment known for its simplicity, speed, and customization options. It has necessary tools that allow users to personalize their Xfce experience, is the ability to install and apply different themes.
Due to its popularity, the Xfce desktop is featured by many leading Linux distributions such as Xubuntu, Arch Linux, etc.
This article will explore the step-by-step process of installing themes on Xfce desktop and Xubuntu.
Table of Contents
Where to download themes?
There are many places you can download Xfce themes. You can visit the official theme page or the xfce-look or pling website. The links present below.
How to download and install themes in Xfce or in Xubuntu
- When you visit a detailed theme page on the xfce-look website, you can see a “Download” link on the right side. Click on it to download the compressed theme package.
- Extract the files in your downloads folder.
- Then copy the top-level theme folders to the
~/.themes(or /home/<username>/.themes) folder. If the “.themes” folder is not present in your home directory, create it. - After installation, open the
Applications > Settings > Appearancetool. In theStyletab, you should see the new theme name. Click on the theme to apply.
- Xfce desktop needs several window manager settings as per the theme.
- Go to
Applications > Settings > Window Manager. - Open the
StyleTab and select the theme name from the list.
- Open the window manager settings from
Applications > Settings > Window Manager tweaks. - Go to the compositor tab.
- Then enable display compositing.
- And make sure most of the option under it is enabled.
- Change the opacity of popup windows to the left using the ruler as per your transparency needs.
After you complete all the above steps, you should see all the changes reflected in the Xfce desktop as per the theme’s features.
Troubleshooting Theme Installation Issues
Sometimes, you may encounter issues while installing or applying themes in Xfce or Xubuntu. Here are a few troubleshooting tips:
- Ensure that the theme package you downloaded is compatible with your version of Xfce or Xubuntu.
- Check if the theme requires any additional dependencies or plugins. Install them if needed.
- If a theme doesn’t appear as expected after installation, restart your Xfce session to apply the changes.
Wrapping up
I hope this simple and step-by-step instruction helps you to install, apply and customize themes in any Linux distributions featuring the Xfce desktop environment.
