[Solved] Thunderbird doesn't follow KDE color scheme

[beckfield]

I'm using Thunderbird 3.1.7 on Kubuntu Linux 10.10. My Application color scheme in KDE specifies that the View Background is not the default bright white. This should mean that the background color behind the folder tree, as well as the background behind the message list should not be bright white, but it is.

I've investigated everything I could find regarding Thunderbird colors, but I haven't found a solution for this. I'm inclined to think it's a bug in Thunderbird, because the toolbars, buttons, and menus don't follow the KDE theme colors either. But I thought I'd ask here in case anyone else has encountered the problem.

Any ideas?

[doctordruidphd]

Thunderbird is a GTK application. That means it uses a different graphics toolkit than kde, and applications designed for kde. GTK is the graphics toolkit used by gnome.

There is a fix for this. The following applications will need to be installed, if they are not already there:

kde-config-gtk qtcurve gtk-engines-qtcurve

Then go to SystemSettings > Application Appearance > GTK+ Appearance

Set the Widget Style to qtcurve, and Apply.
You may need to log out and log back in for it to take effect.


That is how I got it working here.

Edit: There is also a program called gtk-chtheme which can be used to change the gtk theme. You may need to install it. Change the theme there to Qtcurve.

Furthermore: Some GTK apps seem to ignore whatever you tell them for their theme, and that is often because it is storing its own theme info in its own gtkrc. Gimp, for example, has its own ~/.gimp-2.6/gtkrc file, which can be used to specify a theme unique to that application. I just checked thunderbird, and this does not seem to be the case with it.

[beckfield]

Thunderbird is a GTK application. That means it uses a different graphics toolkit than kde, and applications designed for kde. GTK is the graphics toolkit used by gnome.

There is a fix for this. The following applications will need to be installed, if they are not already there:

kde-config-gtk qtcurve gtk-engines-qtcurve

Then go to SystemSettings > Application Appearance > GTK+ Appearance

Set the Widget Style to qtcurve, and Apply.
You may need to log out and log back in for it to take effect.


That is how I got it working here.


Thanks, doctodruidphd. The QTCurve widget style did the trick.

[kri5]

I have a similar problem in that when i select 'ad-ons' in Thunderbird and then try appling any theme i've downloaded nothing changes.

I'm running Kubuntu 11.04 and i presume the same applies in this case?

Although i am constanlty reminded that assumption is the mother of all f*#@ ups.

[doctordruidphd]

Yes, the procedure should be the same.

One small (?) caveat, though. If you have gnome/unity installed (and maybe even if you don't), they install gtk configuration files that may (or may not) override what kde tries to do. In that case, you may need to install and run the gtk-chtheme application to change the gtk theme to QTCurve.

Also, the relationship between kde themes and colors, and the themes and colors in firefox and thunderbird, is not always clear. Some ff/tb themes completely override whatever you set for the desktop theme, while others integrate very well with the desktop theme.


Although i am constanlty reminded that assumption is the mother of all f*#@ ups.
I always thought it was XOR...

[kri5]

I found that the themes in Firefox applied OK but not Thunderbird, does that mean Mozilla have provided more KDE support for Firefox than they have Thunderbird?

Saying that i find Firefox tends to lag a bit on my laptop and i prefer to use Chromium which i find much faster and more reliable (in the whole day i've been using it ;D)

I'm reluctant to change anything if i run the risk of messing anythng up.

Going off on a tangent, although still theme related, are there any better fonts to install?
There's something not quite right with the look of the default 'Ubuntu' font.

[doctordruidphd]

I found that the themes in Firefox applied OK but not Thunderbird, does that mean Mozilla have provided more KDE support for Firefox than they have Thunderbird?


There is a firefox-kde-support package. If that is installed, it could explain part of it.I find that thunderbird integrates as well as firefox, but that may have to do with the theme (mostly crystal) that I use.


Going off on a tangent, although still theme related, are there any better fonts to install?

About a million or so. Many are in the repositories, and you can find them with synaptic or muon. Also do a google search for "free fonts truetype" and also opentype.
Some sites I use:
http://www.1001freefonts.com/index.html
http://www.dolls-n-daggers.com/Fonts/FavoriteFonts.html#Celtic
http://www.dailyfreefonts.com/
When you find one you like, the settings are in:
SystemSettings > Application Appearance > Fonts

[kri5]

Thanks for the advice I shall take a look.
I've just changed to one of the Droid fonts for now and increased the size a little.
Looks much better and I don't have to squint quite so hard at the screen ;D