3 New Themes In The WebUpd8 Themes PPA: GAIA Sprout, Soothe And Dichotomy

To be able to install the themes below (well, you can also manually download and install them if you want), firstly add the WebUpd8 Themes PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/themes && sudo apt-get update

(Even if you've already added our Themes PPA, make sure you run "sudo apt-get update" so you get the latest packages as I've just uploaded these themes).

GAIA Sprout

Gaia Sprout:

More screenshots on DeviantArt

This is a pack of two amazing Emerald themes which can be used with any GTK theme you want, but there's also a very simple GTK theme to go with the Emerald themes. Even though you can't see the titlebar, you can still drag the area where it used to be to move the window. Also, the minimize and maximize buttons are still there, but are only slightly visible when you move the mose over the area where they should be.

Install Gaia Sprout Emerald themes:

sudo apt-get install gaia-sprout-emerald-decorators

Install Gaia Sprout GTK theme:

sudo apt-get install gaia-sprout-gtk-theme

Important: the GTK theme will not show up as a regular theme as it doesn't have a Metacity theme. To apply it, go to System > Preferences > Appearence, on the "Themes" tab and select "Customize", then select "GAIA Sprout" under "Controls".

For how to use the Emerald themes, see the end of the post.

Soothe

Soothe:

More screenshots on Deviantart

The pack comes with a GTK+Metacity theme as well as two Emerald themes. While Soothe is comes with a Metacity theme, I for one prefer using it with the Soothe SmoothGlass Emerald theme (like in the screenshot above). Just like with GAIA Sprout, the Soothe Emerald (Soothe SmoothGlass) can still be used to move the window but you just can't see it. Also, the minimize, maximize and close buttons are still there, but are only slightly visible when you move the mose over the area where they should be.

Install Soothe GTK theme:

sudo apt-get install soothe-gtk-theme

Install Soothe Emerald themes:

sudo apt-get install soothe-emerald-decorators

Dichotomy

Dichotomy:

More screenshots on the Ubuntu wiki.

Dichotomy is quite an old theme - it was one of the themes proposed for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and I for one really like the way the menu looks so I decided to make it available via the WebUpd8 themes PPA.

Install it using the following commands:

sudo apt-get install dichotomy-gtk-theme

How to use Soother / GAIA Sprout (Gnome Panel / Emerald)

Booth Soothe and GAIA Sprout come with some custom Gnome Panel backgrounds you need to edit in GIMP. These can be downloaded via DevianArt (you'll have to download the whole theme) and there you'll also find exact instructions for setting up the custom Gnome Panel: GAIA Sprout | Soothe. If you think that's too hard (it's not!), you can use some already made regular Gnome panel backgrounds or tweak the font color using Gnome Color Chooser.

If you don't know how to use the Emerald themes (this includes applying a theme and using Emerald permanently or switching back to Metacity), we have a really really old post for that so check it out: How To Install Themes / Emerald (just skip to the Emerald part).

Want to move the Emerald decorator buttons to the left? We have a how-to for that too: Emerald: Move Minimize, Maximize And Close Buttons To The Left - but that won't look ok with GAIA Sprout (but should be ok with GAIA Sprout 2 Emerald theme which is also included in the package).

Displex-Indicator Reaches Version 0.4, Adds Metacity Compositing And Disper Support

Displex, an application that provides similar functionality as "fusion-icon", but using an Ubuntu appindicator, was updated to version 0.4.

The new version finally fixes the issue with the appindicator icons - if you use Ubuntu Mono Dark or Light, Elementary Monochrome, Faenza or Faenza Dark -, Displex should integrate nicely with no further tweaking.

Displex 0.4 also adds support for Metacity compositing and basic support for Disper and AcerHK (if you need drivers for this, see HERE). Further more, Displex now doesn't display the menu items for the applications which are currently not installed (so if you didn't install Emerald for instance, no menu item for it will show up).

Here are screenshots showing the Disper and AcerHK menu items:

Please note that the Displex developer doesn't own an Nvidia graphics card so if you do and try out the Disper feature, let him know how it works!

Download Displex

Thanks to Arick McNiel-Cho for the tip and last 2 screenshots!

Orta 1.4.0 Released, Atolm Gets A PPA And New Version [Theme Updates]

Orta 1.4.0

Good news for all the Orta fans: a new version of this beautiful theme has been released today with a new Nautilus Elementary style (configurable from the Orta Settings Manager) as well as many bug fixes. Here is the changelog for the latest Orta 1.4.0:

• New Nautilus Elementary breadcrumbs style
• The round emerald decorator now has a default layout variant
• Keyboard layout switcher text color on dark panel fixed
• Shadows on system monitor applet removed
• System menu icon size set to 16x16
• Nautilus Backgrounds & Emblems dialog fixed
• Nautilus Elementary zoom slider fixed
• Nautilus Elementary breadcrumbs now have a prelight state
• Fixes for: Gimp, Inkscape, Synaptic, Shotwell, Ubuntu Tweak
• Entry, ComboEntry and SpinButton fixes
• Inactive/disabled item images are now transparent
• Xfce4-panel monitor progressbars now respect the plugin colors

Install Orta in Ubuntu:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nikount/orta-desktop
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install orta-theme

Besides the Orta theme package (which will automatically install Orta Settings Manager), there are 2 more packages available in the PPA:

* Orta Emerald decorations - which you can install running the following command:

sudo apt-get install orta-emerald-decorators

* Orta Xfwm4 decorators - install it using the following command:

sudo apt-get install orta-xfwm4-decorators

Once installed, don't forget that you can further customize Orta by by going to System > Preferences > Orta Settings Manager.

If you're not using Ubuntu, download Orta from DeviantArt.

Atolm 0.7.5

Atolm, another theme created by SkiesOfAzel (who is also behind Orta) has also been updated, getting Xfwm and Emerald decorators. Further more, Atolm is now available in the same PPA as Orta.

Atolm 0.7.5 changelog:

• Squared Metacity decorator added.
• Xfwm4 normal and squared decorators added.
• Emerald decorator added.
• Text color of the contact name on the pidgin messaging window fixed.
• Text color of the JDownloader exit dialog and progressbars fixed.
• Text visibility of titles and quotes with lLiferea fixed.
• Firefox entry dark text on dark color bug on some sites fixed.

Before installing Atolm, make sure you have the latest Equinox GTK engine:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tiheum/equinox
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-equinox

To install Atolm, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nikount/orta-desktop
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install atolm-theme

In the PPA there are also packages for an Emerald and Xfce Atolm themes:

* install Atolm Emerald decorations:

sudo apt-get install atolm-emerald-decorators

* install Atolm Xfwm4 decorations:

sudo apt-get install atolm-xfwm4-decorators

If you are not using Ubuntu, download Atolm from DeviantArt.

"Divergence IV: A New Hope" Updated To v0.7.7, Comes With Installation Script And More [Gnome Theme Pack]

The beautiful Divergence IV: A New Hope theme (which we've previously covered HERE) got a big update today. The theme now comes with a script that allows you to choose from 3 Nautilus styles, 3 panel styles and 4 menu styles.

The script only tweaks the styles mentioned above and installs the Metacity theme, however the package comes with many other goodies: 5 amazing Emerald themes, an AWN Lucido theme and even a CoverGloobus theme.

Here are the exact styles that the install script can tweak:

How to install Divergence IV: A New Hope v0.7.7+

Once downloaded (download link at the end of the post), extract the .zip file and double click the "install.sh" file and select "Run". When you finish selecting the style for Nautilus, the panel, menus and so on, you will find the theme listed under the Appearance Preferences dialog (System > Preferences > Appearance).

For installing the latest Murrine engine and using the Emerald themes, see our previous post on Divergence IV: A New Hope.

Jurialmunkey, the Divergence IV: A New Hope author recommends installing Nautilus Elementary and Faenza Dark edited or AwOken icon themes.


Download Divergence IV: A New Hope 0.7.7

Image credits: Jurialmunkey