After upgrade from Lubuntu 13.10 to 14.04, color customization is ignored

From e-mail correspondence with Lubuntu team, Rafael Laguna:

The problem here aren't the themes, it is the XSettings daemon. Each environment has its own: XFCE has xfce4-settings-manager, Gnome has gnome-settings-daemon, etc.

The package you're looking for is lxsession. LXDE has a standalone version of the daemon, called lxsession-daemon which loads independent config files. I need to do more tests to see if this is working.

But I insist, this "bug" is not theme related.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm afraid yes. The theme I designed for Lubuntu, the default (called Box) is fully customizable. I added that feature after users requests. But now it's not working on ANY theme.

When a desktop starts, there's a daemon that reads the themes, colours, fonts, key bindings, etc. And for an unknown reason, Lubuntu loads the theme and locks it. Even if you make a theme "customizable" (all are in some ways) you won't notice the colour changes. It loads as is.

In Lubuntu, this startup function is managed by a package called "lxsession". And I'm pretty sure it's the "guilty" component.

I was using Lubuntu 14.04 and this problem didn't exist. Its appearance is recent, maybe due to a LXSessoin update.

Thanks for the bug report, see the details to fix it :
Add PPA https://launchpad.net/~lubuntu-dev/+archive/staging and upgrade lxsession (be sure to have the ~ppa3 version)
Reboot
Go to ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu and remove iGtk/ColorScheme=

That should re-enable the customization. Please report back if it's not working. I'm working to avoid the manual editing, but for now it should at least re-enable the functionnality

On 05/16/2014 06:24 AM, Julien Lavergne wrote:
> Thanks for the bug report, see the details to fix it :
> Add PPAhttps://launchpad.net/~lubuntu-dev/+archive/staging and upgrade lxsession (be sure to have the ~ppa3 version)
> Reboot
> Go to ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu and remove iGtk/ColorScheme=
>
> That should re-enable the customization. Please report back if it's not
> working. I'm working to avoid the manual editing, but for now it should
> at least re-enable the functionnality
>
> ** Changed in: lxsession (Ubuntu)
> Status: New => In Progress
>
> ** Changed in: lxsession (Ubuntu)
> Assignee: (unassigned) => Julien Lavergne (gilir)
Julien:

Thank you very much for solving this.

I have been holding-off upgrading my primary system to enjoy my color
customization for as long as possible, and this will allow me to upgrade
now.

I have a question regarding it, though.

If I include the PPA, when the actual fix goes into the system, do I
need to remove the PPA? Will the fix eventually come to me from the
repository as an update? If I simply upgrade when 14.04.01 is
available, will I get the fix through normal means?

I do have some test systems I can test it on. My primary system is
another matter.

I am really busy now, but I hope to be able to get to it soon.

--
Sincerely,
Aere

This bug was fixed in the package lxsession - 0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu2

---------------
lxsession (0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu2) utopic; urgency=medium

  * debian/patches:
   - 90_fix_autostart.patch: Fix autostarting applications from system
     directories (LP: #1308348).
   - 91_fix_color_scheme.patch: Fix color scheme variable (LP: #1316384).
   - 92_enable_network_gui.patch: Register network_gui variable (LP: #1288115).
   - 93_fix_terminal_escape.patch: Fix lxsession-default terminal with folder
     name with spaces (LP: #1314931).
   - 94_fix_generic_app.patch: Fix initialization of GenericSimpleApp
     (LP: #1316832).
  * debian/lxsession.install:
   - Install lxsession-xdg-autostart new excecutable.
 -- Julien Lavergne <email address hidden> Sat, 07 Jun 2014 16:31:46 +0200

I just upgraded to 14.04 and when I look at the version for my lxsession I show the most recent version (which is installed as: 0.4.9.2+get20141410-0ubuntu1 ). I looked because this is the exact problem I've been having so while it's suppose to be fixed why is the fix not showing as the latest version?

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

When will this fix be added to the regular Lubuntu updates?

After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149

"Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your settings will be saved"

On 08/09/2014 09:14 AM, Steven Constantine wrote:
> After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149
>
> "Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from
> ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your settings will be
> saved"
>
Steven:

Thank you so very much!

On making the editing change you described, and saving the file, my
custom colors instantly came back!

You truly are a miracle-worker!

--
Sincerely,
Aere

On 08/09/2014 09:14 AM, Steven Constantine wrote:
> After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149
>
> "Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from
> ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your settings will be
> saved"
>
Steven, and All:

One small thing to watch, for those who try this.

When you save the file with the editing change, colors only partially
come back on some applications already running.

For those applications, simply terminate the application, and re-start
it, and your custom colors come back in all their glory!

--
Sincerely,
Aere

On 08/09/2014 09:14 AM, Steven Constantine wrote:
> After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149
>
> "Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from
> ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your settings will be
> saved"
>
Steven and All:

I noticed two other differences from how it used to be.

The biggest (most annoying) difference, is that in the past, the "Normal
windows" colors (foreground and background) were used for the buttons as
well.

Now, the button colors conform to some default that is not available to
be changed in the "Color" tab of the "Customize Look and Feel" window.

The other difference, is that tool-tips ignore the "Tooltips" color
specified, and instead use the "Normal windows" colors, which makes them
indistinguishable from most of the window itself.

--
Sincerely,
Aere

GTK3 windows and widgets cannot be colorized anymore. Only GTK2 apps keep
this feature. Forthcoming GTK4 libs won't be able to do that neither. So
it's not a 14.04 or 14.10 bug, it's simply a widget lack of features.

Also, the theme has change, now windows' background are almost white in
contrast with "old" versions that were more gray(ish). Now the Lubuntu
default theme follows Ubuntu's Light Themes design guides.

Tooltips visibility problems should be fixed by now if you add the Lubuntu
Artwork Daily PPA or download the standalone version of the theme. More
info here:

http://lubuntublog.blogspot.com/p/artwork.html

Cheers!

--
Rafael Laguna
Lubuntu Artwork Team

2014-08-09 18:02 GMT+02:00 Aere Greenway <email address hidden>:

> On 08/09/2014 09:14 AM, Steven Constantine wrote:
>
>> After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here:
>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149
>>
>> "Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from
>> ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your settings will be
>> saved"
>>
>> Steven and All:
>
> I noticed two other differences from how it used to be.
>
> The biggest (most annoying) difference, is that in the past, the "Normal
> windows" colors (foreground and background) were used for the buttons as
> well.
>
> Now, the button colors conform to some default that is not available to be
> changed in the "Color" tab of the "Customize Look and Feel" window.
>
> The other difference, is that tool-tips ignore the "Tooltips" color
> specified, and instead use the "Normal windows" colors, which makes them
> indistinguishable from most of the window itself.
>
>
> --
> Sincerely,
> Aere
>
>
> --
> Lubuntu-users mailing list
> <email address hidden>
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/
> mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-users
>

Rafael:

Thank you for the additional information.

So apparently this is another GTK thing.

PcManFM still uses GTK, but it looks great. Its buttons only change
color when the mouse hovers over them.

I checked out two applications that I know use QT (rather than GTK), and
they look better.

So when we switch to QT, things will be better with customized colors.
It is something to look forward to.

Thanks again,
Aere

On 08/09/2014 12:34 PM, Rafael Laguna wrote:
> GTK3 windows and widgets cannot be colorized anymore. Only GTK2 apps
> keep this feature. Forthcoming GTK4 libs won't be able to do that
> neither. So it's not a 14.04 or 14.10 bug, it's simply a widget lack
> of features.
>
> Also, the theme has change, now windows' background are almost white
> in contrast with "old" versions that were more gray(ish). Now the
> Lubuntu default theme follows Ubuntu's Light Themes design guides.
>
> Tooltips visibility problems should be fixed by now if you add the
> Lubuntu Artwork Daily PPA or download the standalone version of the
> theme. More info here:
>
> http://lubuntublog.blogspot.com/p/artwork.html
>
> Cheers!
>
>
>
> --
> Rafael Laguna
> Lubuntu Artwork Team
>
>
> 2014-08-09 18:02 GMT+02:00 Aere Greenway <<email address hidden>
> <mailto:<email address hidden>>>:
>
> On 08/09/2014 09:14 AM, Steven Constantine wrote:
>
> After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149
>
> "Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from
> ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your
> settings will be
> saved"
>
> Steven and All:
>
> I noticed two other differences from how it used to be.
>
> The biggest (most annoying) difference, is that in the past, the
> "Normal windows" colors (foreground and background) were used for
> the buttons as well.
>
> Now, the button colors conform to some default that is not
> available to be changed in the "Color" tab of the "Customize Look
> and Feel" window.
>
> The other difference, is that tool-tips ignore the "Tooltips"
> color specified, and instead use the "Normal windows" colors,
> which makes them indistinguishable from most of the window itself.
>
>
> --
> Sincerely,
> Aere
>
>
> --
> Lubuntu-users mailing list
> <email address hidden> <mailto:<email address hidden>>
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-users
>
>

--
Sincerely,
Aere

On 08/09/2014 09:14 AM, Steven Constantine wrote:
> After nearly 2hrs on this, I found the solution, here:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2230149
>
> "Just delete the entry iGtk/ColorScheme= from
> ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf, and then your settings will be
> saved"
>
Steven:

It appears this fix is only temporary.

The next time I booted my system, the line I removed from the
configuration was back, and I had to do it all over again.

Is there a way to make this change permanent?

--
Sincerely,
Aere

Same issue, the line is regenerated after every logout or reboot.

Trying to backport Julien's fixed version from Utopic to Trusty, I'm getting the error:

make[4]: Leaving directory `/mnt/home/samjnaa-trusty/sr/_backport/lxsession-0.4.9.2+git20140410/lxpolkit'
  CC lxpolkit-main.o
  CC lxpolkit-lxpolkit.o
lxpolkit.c:38:93: error: format string is not a string literal (potentially insecure)
      [-Werror,-Wformat-security]
    GtkWidget* dlg = gtk_message_dialog_new(parent, GTK_DIALOG_MODAL, type, GTK_BUTTONS_OK, msg);
                                                                                            ^~~
1 error generated.
make[3]: *** [lxpolkit-lxpolkit.o] Error 1
make[3]: Leaving directory `/mnt/home/samjnaa-trusty/sr/_backport/lxsession-0.4.9.2+git20140410/lxpolkit'
make[2]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/mnt/home/samjnaa-trusty/sr/_backport/lxsession-0.4.9.2+git20140410'
make[1]: *** [all] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/mnt/home/samjnaa-trusty/sr/_backport/lxsession-0.4.9.2+git20140410'
dh_auto_build: make -j1 returned exit code 2
make: *** [build] Error 2
dpkg-buildpackage: error: debian/rules build gave error exit status 2

Any suggestions how to fix?

Apparently it's one of those things that GCC permits whereas Clang does not: I had my default compiler set to Clang, and setting it back to GCC allowed the compilation to proceed without problems.

I thus backported the 0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu2 version from Utopic to Trusty and now my new color settings are preserved, but I have to ensure that the iGtk line mentioned above is removed. (It is not regenerated at next login/reboot).

DO NOT add that dev PPA Julien proposed unless you want to break "all the things". Besides, that repository that was listed does not include the PPA3 version of lxsession. Simply install the deb files from Utopic's launchpad binary database.

For 64 bit: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/utopic/amd64/lxsession/0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu3
For 32 bit: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/utopic/i386/lxsession/0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu3

Save / run the deb file under "Downloadable Files" and install. Once done, edit "~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf" and change the line "iGtk/ColorScheme=" to "#iGtk/ColorScheme="

Save and reboot.

On 09/19/2014 04:53 AM, Jesse wrote:
> DO NOT add that dev PPA Julien proposed unless you want to break "all
> the things". Besides, that repository that was listed does not include
> the PPA3 version of lxsession. Simply install the deb files from
> Utopic's launchpad binary database.
>
> For 64 bit: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/utopic/amd64/lxsession/0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu3
> For 32 bit: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/utopic/i386/lxsession/0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu3
>
> Save / run the deb file under "Downloadable Files" and install. Once
> done, edit "~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf" and change the
> line "iGtk/ColorScheme=" to "#iGtk/ColorScheme="
>
> Save and reboot.
>
Jesse:

That fix worked, and stayed fixed after rebooting.

Thank you very much!

For me, the colors changed immediately after editing the desktop.conf
file (though applications already running had better colors after
re-starting them.

--
Sincerely,
Aere

I have done all that (a week or so ago), and the "~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/desktop.conf" is still regenerating after each logout or reboot, despite the # to comment the line out.

Turns out when I checked my lxsession had reverted to a previous version: reinstalling lxsession/0.4.9.2+git20140410-0ubuntu3 DID cure the problem, and the desktop.conf file is persistent with the line commented out.
Thanks for the help.

GDebi would not let me install that package. It says it breaks previously existing packages, namely 'policykit-1-gnome'

OK, I did it. I only needed to delete that package before (i.e. sudo remove policykit-1-gnome).

Thank you for reporting this bug to Ubuntu.

Ubuntu 14.04 (trusty) reached end-of-life on April 25, 2019.

See this document for currently supported Ubuntu releases:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

We appreciate that this bug may be old and you might not be interested in discussing it any more. But if you are then please upgrade to the latest Ubuntu version and re-test. If you then find the bug is still present in the newer Ubuntu version, please add a comment here telling us which new version it is in.