Re: UPDATED !
Doug Alcorn (alcornd@earthlink.net)
01 Sep 1998 10:53:00 -0400
"Nathan Widmyer" <contramac@mindspring.com> writes:
> I'm on now as a server. And my question more specifically is how do people
> get such good looking desktops like pixmaps in Wharf, backgrounds, the
> little pictures in every frame that are for closing the frame, iconization,
> etc..., those kind, it's probably what you were trying to say but I want to
> get a better looking desktop. Thanks, if anyone else can help, I'll be glad
> to hear it.
Well, I just went through this process. When I upgraded from 1.4.x to
1.5pre9 I got a bunch of new funcitons. Typically, about three to
four times a year I get tired of my desktop and go on a binge to setup
a new one. This time it took me about 20 - 25 hours in two or three
days. The Gimp is your number one tool. It does all of the image
manipulation stuff. I actually don't do that much of that, but it is
important to have. If you go to themes.org you can find a great
collection of tiles that are free for personal use. From The Gimp
home page <http://www.gimp.org> you can find a bunch of patterns.
These patterns can't be used as root backgrounds, but you can create
XPMs in the Gimp with the patterns.
The whole problem is one that takes a lot of iteration. I usually
have to attack it from multiple directions. Sometimes I start with a
Wharf tile, other times I start with a background. I hope this gives
you a direction to go in. Another neat thing I just got this weekend
is called root-tail <http://www.csl.mtu.edu/~mjbaker/root-tail>. It
writes the output of files directly on the root window. Previously I
had been using rxvt with an XPM in the background. This works much better.
--
(__) Doug Alcorn
oo ) (Fledgling XEmacs User)
|_/\ alcornd@earthlink.net
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