Arch Linux

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

[SOLVED]SDDM theme

Hello everyone how's it going, so i've been in arch for a while now and i have to say i love it!! I've customized almost everything to my likes and everything looks so perfect.But there is this one thing...whenever i boot up my laptop i will get this not so good looking login screen.Now i did some research on how to change this but i found nothing else other than it was called SDDM.So my question is simple...can anyone please help me on how to change this.I'm using vanilla arch 64 bit and kde plasma 5.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Last edited by KnownAsDon (2018-01-26 22:50:33)

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

Hello everyone how's it going, so i've been in arch for a while now and i have to say i love it!! I've customized almost everything to my likes and everything looks so perfect.But there is this one thing...whenever i boot up my laptop i will get this not so good looking login screen.Now i did some research on how to change this but i found nothing else other than it was called SDDM.So my question is simple...can anyone please help me on how to change this.I'm using vanilla arch 64 bit and kde plasma 5.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hmm.  Exactly how did you NOT know it was called SDDM?  Arch doesn't install anything for you, you always do yourself.  Including enabling the corresponding service for SDDM to even start at boot.  Either you followed, and did not understand, some random guide or you did not install Arch.

Please clarify.

Last edited by headkase (2018-01-26 20:01:03)

robg

Member

Registered: 2015-03-05

Posts: 219

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

As with anything else on Arch, the answer is most likely found on the wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SD … e_settings

If didn't know about this, where did you find the information on customizing the rest of your system? How did you install Arch?

Edit: My concerns were already raised 8 seconds prior to this post :P

Last edited by robg (2018-01-26 20:03:30)

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

Edit: My concerns were already raised 8 seconds prior to this post

We thought alike, chance gave me the order.

Last edited by headkase (2018-01-26 20:07:23)

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

The insallation guide for arch and the kde plasma and the base and base-devel, were all followed on youtube. I have alawys been a debian user and I had wanted to switch to arch since forever,I am trying to learn arch so please give me a break I am doing my best to understand everything about it...so can you please help me with my problem??

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

The insallation guide for arch and the kde plasma and the base and base-devel, were all followed on youtube. I have alawys been a debian user and I had wanted to switch to arch since forever,I am trying to learn arch so please give me a break I am doing my best to understand everything about it...so can you please help me with my problem??

Unfortunately you can only expect support for the official installation guide.  Who knows what was in a random YouTube tutorial and how bad, not if but how bad, it told you to configure your system.

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

I know exactly what each command did and if you'd ask me now for anything about it I can give u a full explanation for each of them.I failed to install arch 4 times in a row with the arch wiki installation guide because of an wifi issue and guess who solved my problem YouTube.Now im not here to discuss about this...are you helping me with my case or not?

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

I know exactly what each command did and if you'd ask me now for anything about it I can give u a full explanation for each of them.I failed to install arch 4 times in a row with the arch wiki installation guide because of an wifi issue and guess who solved my problem YouTube.Now im not here to discuss about this...are you helping me with my case or not?

The SDDM wiki page was already linked.  If you understand it all and what the settings do then by all means go hard.  You would be an exception however.  So many threads waste the good will of this community by having problems they don't understand because they didn't successfully follow the official installation guide.

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

Okay so @robg thank you for the link  https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SD … e_settings i follow the archwiki...downlaoded a few themes and i thing im going with this one archlinux-soft-grey...The arch wiki points out that to activate the theme u have to do current=(the theme name) in my case current=archlinux-soft-grey.I did that i relogged and nothing happened...I even restarted my laptop and still nothing happened so can someone please tell me if im missing a piece of the command or something cause this is just not working.

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

Okay so @robg thank you for the link  https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SD … e_settings i follow the archwiki...downlaoded a few themes and i thing im going with this one archlinux-soft-grey...The arch wiki points out that to activate the theme u have to do current=(the theme name) in my case current=archlinux-soft-grey.I did that i relogged and nothing happened...I even restarted my laptop and still nothing happened so can someone please tell me if im missing a piece of the command or something cause this is just not working.

Get a file listing of the package ("pacman -Ql <package-name>", that's a lowercase L and not an uppercase i) and make sure the directory name for where the theme files are is the same name you are telling SDDM to use.

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

@headkase please man don't undestand that some of us need help from time to time sharks dont know how to swim when they are born(or do they )btw with package name do u mean sddm?

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

@headkase please man don't undestand that some of us need help from time to time sharks dont know how to swim when they are born(or do they )btw with package name do u mean sddm?

I mean the theme package you installed.  Get a file listing for that and it should consist of multiple files within the same directory.  Whatever the name of the common directory the files are in try that exact name (including case) in the SDDM configuration file.

Edit: and don't include the base for it.  So, for example, if it was "/usr/share/SDDM/themes/mytheme" and a bunch of files in "mytheme" then just put "mytheme" as the name in the SDDM configuration file.  The directory path will certainly be different though.

Last edited by headkase (2018-01-26 21:27:19)

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

@headkase this is the dir of files on the sddm themes with all the outputs

[donald@donald /]$ cd /
[donald@donald /]$ cd /usr/share/sddm/themes
[donald@donald themes]$ ls
archlinux-simplyblack  archlinux-soft-grey  breeze  elarun  maldives  maya  sddm-theme-archpaint2-1.0  sddm-theme-archpaint2-breeze-1.0
[donald@donald themes]$ cd archlinux-soft-grey/
[donald@donald archlinux-soft-grey]$ ls
AUTHORS  COPYING  Main.qml  TRADEMARKS  angle-down.png  archlinux.png  background.png  metadata.desktop  screenshot.png  theme.conf
[donald@donald archlinux-soft-grey]$ cd ..
[donald@donald themes]$ cd maldives/
[donald@donald maldives]$ ls
LICENSE  Main.qml  README  angle-down.png  background.jpg  maldives.jpg  metadata.desktop  rectangle.png  theme.conf
[donald@donald maldives]$ cd ..
[donald@donald themes]$ current=archlinux-soft-grey/

I did try to compare the files with the main theme i currently have by deafult which is maldives and i dont really seem to find any diffrence

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

From that output it looks like the correct text to put in the SDDM configuration file would be "archlinux-soft-grey" without the quotes.  Also, if you have a trailing slash in the configuration file "/" then don't do that.  To see any changes you also have to restart SDDM.  You can either do that through systemctl or just reboot your machine.

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

@headkase I just inputed the command without quotes and without the "/" and rebooted the system but nothing seemed to happen .Anyways i think ill just stick with what i've got.Appreciate the tons of help man thanks .

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

You do not "input a command".  You edit a configuration file.  Is there a misunderstanding between those two for setting your SDDM theme?

You're welcome too, although I don't think you should give up.  Experience is experience and there is a satisfaction when you persevere through issues into an eventual success.

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

@headkase your last words kind of motivated me man and the other part made me look dumb...i am writing this "current=archlinux-soft-grey/" to the terminal...wasn't i supposed to do that at first place?

KnownAsDon

Banned

Registered: 2018-01-23

Posts: 22

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

@headkase omg man i feel so retarded right now thank you for everything

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: [SOLVED]SDDM theme

Right on, you're welcome!   Always remember that if you give up you'll never learn anything new.  So never give up.