[solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

cameo · 2015-02-17 02:40:18

...dafuq?!

Since switching from XFCE+XMonad-combo DE to pure XMonad lately, except very few and ugly kind of fallback icons all icons disappeared ("clarity-luteus" theme)! I've been trying to set them via lxappearance and/or by editing ~/.gtkrc-2.0 and ~/.gtkrc-2.0.mine, respectively, but to no avail.

Strange thing is, though the config files say:

# DO NOT EDIT! This file will be overwritten by LXAppearance.
# Any customization should be done in ~/.gtkrc-2.0.mine instead.

include "~/.gtkrc-2.0.mine"
gtk-theme-name="SolarizedDark"
gtk-icon-theme-name="clarity-luteus"
...

# ~/.gtkrc-2.0.mine
gtk-icon-theme-name = "clarity-luteus"

openening lxappearance, the selected icon theme always shows "Adwaita" (which is installed) -- as does dconf-editor in org/gnome/desktop/interface/icon theme, where it is not changable.

I also tried such nasty things as

$ sudo ln -s ~/.gtkrc-2.0 /root/.gtkrc-2.0

or

$ ln -s /usr/share/icons/clarity-luteus/ ~/.icons/gnome

before fiddling again with or without lxappearance (what didn't make a difference, while getting "doubled" themes to choose from). Simply, selecting in lxappearance (and hence writing a new ~/.gtkrc-2.0) takes effect, no icon theme at all works~

Even restarting X, re-login, and reboot didn't help it.

Ideas anybody?

Last edited by cameo (2015-02-23 22:54:32)

cameo · 2015-02-21 16:10:55

Update:

All remains the same, though again acc. to the wiki, I sudo'd lxappearance atl. -- no icons, no matter what theme is selected ...

-- BUT --

starting XFCE (which triggers XMonad) THE ICONS ARE BACK!
Weird~

So unless I set up a new system, must I stay with this?

cedeel · 2015-02-21 21:57:24

Have you tested with a new user account to see if it's something in your home directory?

mkoskar · 2015-02-21 22:24:00

This works for me for GTK2.x:

$ cat ~/.gtkrc-2.0 | grep icon-theme
gtk-icon-theme-name="Simple"

$ ls ~/.icons
Simple  default

$ ls ~/.icons/Simple
scalable  index.theme

For GTK3.x, from some version upwards I've resignated and just went with defaults .

I'm not running XFCE or anything fancy, just Xmonad.
Also for testing purposes you can install "awf-git", though there are only handfull of icons in menubar shown.

Knute · 2015-02-21 22:38:01

xmonad doesn't provide for desktop icons. So without an outside program (probably xfce in this case) to do it, you don't have the icons.

mkoskar · 2015-02-21 23:00:13

Knute wrote:

xmonad doesn't provide for desktop icons. So without an outside program (probably xfce in this case) to do it, you don't have the icons.

Aha, I didn't realize OP was reffering to the "Desktop" icons .

Raynman · 2015-02-21 23:20:08

mkoskar wrote:

Knute wrote:
xmonad doesn't provide for desktop icons. So without an outside program (probably xfce in this case) to do it, you don't have the icons.
Aha, I didn't realize OP was reffering to the "Desktop" icons .

I'm still not sure, because then what are the

cameo wrote wrote:

very few and ugly kind of fallback icons

that remain with "pure" xmonad?

Knute · 2015-02-21 23:33:45

When you successfully install xmonad and start it for the first time without any configuration, it's a black screen. That's it. There are NO icons what so ever.
Whatever you have on your screen comes from something else, somewhere in your configuration.

Raynman · 2015-02-21 23:58:24

Knute wrote:

When you successfully install xmonad and start it for the first time without any configuration, it's a black screen. That's it. There are NO icons what so ever.
Whatever you have on your screen comes from something else, somewhere in your configuration.

True, but I'm not sure why you add this. The OP has not just installed and started xmonad for the first time without starting any programs (which may also use icons in toolbars/menus/...). You assumed it was about desktop icons, I tried to point out that that assumption didn't seem to fit the problem description completely. In fact, I also ignored that he said

openening lxappearance, the selected icon theme always shows "Adwaita"

which makes it pretty unlikely that only desktop icons are affected.

Last edited by Raynman (2015-02-21 23:58:40)

cameo · 2015-02-22 00:23:51

Hi folks!
... yet I didn't expect so much response ^^

Briefly said, I mean all icons, or in other words again: the selection if any icon theme doesn't take any effect. I have no use for desktop icons.

Usually setting up any icon theme in "pure" XMonad hasn't been a problem before. But obviously the mixing with the DE, correct configuration is only possible in XFCE. Well, I just uninstalled the whole xfce4 group -- and the icons are gone again!

Screenies say more than 1000 words, so here is one:

mkoskar · 2015-02-22 01:05:55

You have to be more specific, or we get nowhere.
So screenshot you attached is what?

1) you are running Xmonad by itself now. Correct?
2) paste your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 and all it includes
3) paste your ~/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini
4) and most importantly the application you're testing is what? Is it GTK2 or GTK3 application?

I suspect you're trying to run some XFCE specific application (some file-manager, thunar? or what they call it).
If it's so, I wouldn't be much surprised if it doesn't work as expected outside of XFCE session (just guessing).

I'm not sure about Thunar (again I'm just guessing), but if you want to run without DE you have to hunt for applications which don't require one.
When it comes to GUI file manager, try installing and running "spacefm" (GTK2).
Report if you see icons of specified GTK2 theme.

Hope it helps .

cameo · 2015-02-22 02:00:08

@mkoskar: Appreciated. However, pls. see my initial post then, which provides everything needed ({c|C}larity-luteus is GTK2; tried both writings). And I mentioned, I'm on XMonad only again.

And sure this is thunar, my favorite file manager. And it doesn't matter it is an XFCE (=GTK2) app, it has run stand alone for years. -- But with the latest setup, all the GTK(2) icon sets can't be applied to any application anymore. If these don't provide their own default icons, none would be displayed.

Also again: No matter what is in the dotfiles or selected by theming apps regarding icons -- now it is ignored without XFCE, unlike earlier times.

Last edited by cameo (2015-02-22 02:17:42)

mkoskar · 2015-02-22 02:33:46

cameo wrote:

Also again: No matter what is in the dotfiles or selected by theming apps regarding icons -- now it is ignored without XFCE, unlike earlier times.

But you are basing this claim on testing only one application which happens to be Thunar. Correct?
What I'm saying is that I would go and try some other application which is not related to XFCE at all and see if icons are from correct icon set (hence my "spacefm" suggestion, you can try literally anything else). Or you did that and the issue is only Thunar? And those missing icons? Because as far I read, you claim that GTK2 is ignoring your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 settings of icon-set completely.

Now, if other applications are using correct icons, but only Thunar does not then what would be the conclusion? Go figure!

Edit1: formatting

Edit2: I've made an effort and installed Thunar, it just uses icons from my "Simple" theme as every other GTK2 app (running just Xmonad), really no surprise here. If your configuration is right then I would blame the theme or particular application itself.

Last edited by mkoskar (2015-02-22 02:45:17)

cameo · 2015-02-22 22:00:11

No.
I also said, if apps have got their own small set of default icons (no matter being a file manager, an office program, a media player etc.) these show up. However they're not themeable at all.

Meanwhile I tried these attempts without any effect

symlinked icon themes to ~/.icons
added e.g. pixmap_path "/usr/share/icons/clarity-luteus" to ~/.gtkrc-2.0(.mine) (for lxappearance)
also installed Tango icon theme for testing

invoked

$ gtk-update-icon-cache

or

$ sudo gtk-update-icon-cache --ignore-theme-index
gtk-update-icon-cache: Failed to open file  : Datei oder Verzeichnis nicht gefunden

respectively

with (or without by commenting) included XFCE stuff into xmonad.hs, such as:

...
import XMonad.Config.Xfce
import XMonad.Config.Desktop


main  = do
		        xmonad  $ myUrgencyHook $ xfceConfig      -- or: defaultConfig
					...

myStartupHook   = do
					...
					spawn   "/usr/bin/xfce4-session"  -- see ***
					...
					{ ...
               , logHook  = ... <+> logHook desktopConfig
					... }

*** Xfce question ... icons not showing up (only starting an xfce4-session was just an idea)

renamed my XFCE dotfiles to e.g. ~/.config/_xfce4. But the original folder will be recreated anyway.

Obviously, neither XMonad, GTK, or thunar -- but XFCE is the culprit, it has overtaken skinning control (at least for the icons)! This is evident by starting XFCE4 (which triggers XMonad), when eveything works fine. I wished, I never have installed XFCE! Before, changing the looks was merely a trivial task.

Installing the xfce4 group is easy. Now as I'm trying to get rid of it, it's annoying.

Last edited by cameo (2015-02-22 22:09:39)

cameo · 2015-02-23 15:16:10

For all those still in doubt, here's another screen shot (depicting lxappearance):

Now look at it closely -- if GTK was giving trouble

there wouldn't be a list of all installed and registered icon themes
and the window client as well as the cursor wouldn't be skinned, right?

Besides, lxappearance automatically creates a complete and well formed ~/.gtkrc-2.0. So there's no need to post it here. The problem is, all selections (of an icon theme) are ignored, even resulting in missing icons. There must be permissions issue, and/or some still active crude XFCE module is overwriting it.

scar · 2015-02-23 15:29:19

look around here:
/home/YOURUSER/.config/xfce4/

cameo · 2015-02-23 16:12:01

... Well thanks, I already wrote about that in post #14:

renamed my XFCE dotfiles to e.g. ~/.config/_xfce4. But the original folder will be recreated anyway.

It's not about finding some config for XFCE, but getting rid of it.

cameo · 2015-02-23 22:53:54

Got it!!
Still don't know where exactly the trouble started. But I uninstalled all XFCE4 stuff and deleted its dotfiles again. Then rebooting, et violà – the icons were back!

The following shot shows rox file manager themed with Clarity-luteus icons (could be any theme though) and using its own:

This one shows thunar with reestablished icons:

Edit: Found out lately, the package gtk2-theme-solarizeddark-git was also causing the icons to vanish (when there's no XFCE or probably any other DE); perhaps that's why it's orphaned. So I'm using gnome-theme-darksolarized-git instead. Ntl the theme's gtkrc should be edited for optimizing the scrolling bars.

Last edited by cameo (2015-02-24 11:25:04)

Arch Linux

#1 2015-02-17 02:40:18

[solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#2 2015-02-21 16:10:55

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#3 2015-02-21 21:57:24

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#4 2015-02-21 22:24:00

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#5 2015-02-21 22:38:01

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#6 2015-02-21 23:00:13

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#7 2015-02-21 23:20:08

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#8 2015-02-21 23:33:45

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#9 2015-02-21 23:58:24

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#10 2015-02-22 00:23:51

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#11 2015-02-22 01:05:55

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#12 2015-02-22 02:00:08

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#13 2015-02-22 02:33:46

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#14 2015-02-22 22:00:11

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#15 2015-02-23 15:16:10

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#16 2015-02-23 15:29:19

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#17 2015-02-23 16:12:01

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

#18 2015-02-23 22:53:54

Re: [solved] Lost all icons after leaving XFCE

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