Bug 890538

Summary: Review Request: kde-gtk-config - KCM module to configure GTK2 and GTK3 applications appearance under KDE
Product: [Fedora] Fedora Reporter: Mario Blättermann <mario.blaettermann>
Component: Package ReviewAssignee: Nobody's working on this, feel free to take it <nobody>
Status: CLOSED NOTABUG QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance <extras-qa>
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: rawhideCC: kevin, notting, package-review, rdieter
Target Milestone: ---   
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version: Doc Type: Bug Fix
Doc Text:
Story Points: ---
Clone Of: Environment:
Last Closed: 2013-01-26 13:15:15 UTC Type: ---
Regression: --- Mount Type: ---
Documentation: --- CRM:
Verified Versions: Category: ---
oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:
Bug Depends On:    
Bug Blocks: 201449, 656997    

Description Mario Blättermann 2012-12-27 15:50:24 UTC
Spec URL: http://mariobl.fedorapeople.org/Review/SPECS/kde-gtk-config.spec
SRPM URL: http://mariobl.fedorapeople.org/Review/SRPMS/kde-gtk-config-2.1.1-1.fc18.src.rpm
Description:
kde-gtk-config is a KCM module to configure GTK2 and GTK3 applications
appearance under KDE.

Among its many features, it lets you:
 - Choose which theme is used for GTK2 and GTK3 applications.
 - Tweak some GTK applications behaviour.
 - Select what icon theme to use in GTK applications.
 - Select GTK applications default fonts.
 - Easily browse and install new GTK2 and GTK3 themes.

Fedora Account System Username: mariobl

Comment 1 Kevin Kofler 2012-12-27 17:23:01 UTC
I can only speak for myself here, but to be honest, I don't think we want this one in Fedora. We have kcm-gtk and xsettings-kde set up to handle these settings, adding a new KCM for them would just conflict with the existing setup.

Comment 2 Mario Blättermann 2012-12-27 17:27:43 UTC
kcm-gtk is unable to find and use locally installed themes (~/.themes/*), and it ignores any gtk3 stuff generally. That's why I prefer kde-gtk-config.

Comment 3 Kevin Kofler 2012-12-27 17:40:48 UTC
The problem with kde-gtk-config is that it tries to let you configure some settings which are already handled by xsettings-kde (usually by making the GTK+ settings automatically match the KDE ones, which IMHO is the best solution wherever it's possible), so if xsettings-kde is running, which it is by default, the settings you make in kde-gtk-config will have no effect. Thus, to the user, it will look like the application does not work.

As for the GTK+ 2 vs. 3 theming, we enforce matching GTK+ 2 and 3 themes through xsettings-kde (it reads the GTK+ 2 theme setting from kcm-gtk and tries to enforce that over XSettings for both GTK+ 2 and 3) because of the braindead way GTK+ 3 settings work (and our requests for improvements having been totally ignored by the GTK+ maintainers):
* GTK+ 3 only reads settings from a hardcoded config file. It does not take environment variables for additional config files as GTK+ 2 did. So it is not possible to set a GTK+ 3 theme only for KDE Plasma sessions (which is what we want; the settings you make in KDE System Settings should not affect other desktops) except through XSettings.
* XSettings handling is also very stupid because both GTK+ 2 and 3 use the same NET/ThemeName XSetting for the theme. (GNOME does not see this as a problem because they have always been enforcing matching themes, as braindead as that is.)
There's some discussion of these issues in Bugzilla, in meeting logs and/or mailing list archives etc. The result of this is that, with xsettings-kde running (and again, that's the default), you'll end up with either only the GTK+ 2 theme setting being applied, or both being ignored, depending on how kde-gtk-config saves the setting.

Comment 4 Mario Blättermann 2012-12-27 20:44:20 UTC
(In reply to comment #3)
> The problem with kde-gtk-config is that it tries to let you configure some
> settings which are already handled by xsettings-kde (usually by making the
> GTK+ settings automatically match the KDE ones, which IMHO is the best
> solution wherever it's possible), so if xsettings-kde is running, which it
> is by default, the settings you make in kde-gtk-config will have no effect.
> Thus, to the user, it will look like the application does not work.
> 
I know about that and I have disabled xsettings-kde temporarily.

> As for the GTK+ 2 vs. 3 theming, we enforce matching GTK+ 2 and 3 themes
> through xsettings-kde (it reads the GTK+ 2 theme setting from kcm-gtk and
> tries to enforce that over XSettings for both GTK+ 2 and 3) because of the
> braindead way GTK+ 3 settings work (and our requests for improvements having
> been totally ignored by the GTK+ maintainers):
Doesn't matter, I don't think that users need different settings for Gtk2 and Gtk3. Actually I could live in harmony with kcm-gtk if it wouldn't ignore custom Gtk themes in ~/.themes. The popup window in the control center (search path configuration) says something about engines in custom locations, and when I submit  ~/.themes as an additional folder, nothing happens.

However, I set this review request to NotReady. Instead continue working on it, I will file a bug against kcm-gtk. Perhaps we'll find a solution to use custom Gtk themes. If yes, kde-gtk-settings becomes superfluous and this review request can be closed.

Comment 5 Mario Blättermann 2013-01-26 13:15:15 UTC
I'm no longer interested to maintain this package. Closing it as FE-DEADREVIEW.