How to Customize Themes on Ubuntu MATE Desktop
One of the nice features of using Linux is the ability to customize the User Interface (UI). In Linux, you normally have the ability to change the look of your desktop and desktop icons, the look of your applications, and your mouse pointer by downloading themes or specific icons, mouse pointers, and application themes.
In this section I will demonstrate how to manually install Controls, Window Border, Icons, and Pointer to create a nice looking operating system. Here's an example of my desktop on June 22, 2019.
In this section I will demonstrate how to manually install Controls, Window Border, Icons, and Pointer to create a nice looking operating system. Here's an example of my desktop on June 22, 2019.
Below is an example of the default look of Ubuntu MATE 18.04 LTS. There's nothing wrong with the default look. I just prefer to add some color to the icons in the system tray, change the highlight color from green to blue, change to a dark theme, use small circles on the window borders, change from green folders to blue, and change from a white mouse pointer to black. The clock in the center is a Conky Widget. I have an entire section dedicated to Wallpapers.
Here are the names of the individual components that will make-up my favorite theme. I did not create any of these themes, but I did modify most of them to work better with my system.
- Controls Theme: Adwaita-dark
- Window Border Theme: Vertex-Dark (Ubuntu MATE 18.04) / Spidey (Ubuntu MATE 20.04)
- Icons Theme: Cupertino-Catalina
- Pointer Theme: Breeze
How-To Manually Install a New Icon Theme
I orginally downloaded and manually installed the Cupertino iCons Collection created by UMAYANGA; however, I noticed a lot of oversized icons or missing icons in his collection. I spent the last few months fixing most of the issues I found in this icon theme. Here'a a couple examples below.
I orginally downloaded and manually installed the Cupertino iCons Collection created by UMAYANGA; however, I noticed a lot of oversized icons or missing icons in his collection. I spent the last few months fixing most of the issues I found in this icon theme. Here'a a couple examples below.
I noticed in the comments section that I wasn't the only one that experienced this problem.
I recompressed the Cupertino iCons Collection to include the correct size icons for the oversize icons that I found. I also added a lot of missing icons for applications that I have on my system. You may notice missing icons for applicatioons that you may use that I do not have installed.
You can download my modified Cupertino Catalina iCons Collection in my DropBox or MeadiaFire accounts. Click the small drop-down arrow to the right of the Share button in DropBox or click the green Download button in MeadiaFire to download the compressed icon collection.
You can download my modified Cupertino Catalina iCons Collection in my DropBox or MeadiaFire accounts. Click the small drop-down arrow to the right of the Share button in DropBox or click the green Download button in MeadiaFire to download the compressed icon collection.
Then go into your Downloads folder or the location you downloaded the file to and right-click it to display a menu. Click on Extract Here command when the menu appears. This will extract the icons folder with all the icon collection inside into the current folder.
You should now see a new folder called Cupertino-Catalina in your Downloads folder or current folder that your extracted the compressed file.
You can move this folder into several different paths and it should work on your system. However, I recommend that you move it into your user only icons folder or systemwide icons folder.
1. .local/share/icons (user only)
2. /usr/share/icons (systemwide)
If you move it into option 1 path then only your account can use these icons and if you move it into option 2 path it will be seen systemwide or by every account on the computer.
Since I am the only user on my computer it will not matter which option I will use. In my example I will use option 1.
.local/share/icons.
Open your Caja File Manager and make sure that you are in your home folder. Next, click on the View menu and select the Show Hidden Files command.
1. .local/share/icons (user only)
2. /usr/share/icons (systemwide)
If you move it into option 1 path then only your account can use these icons and if you move it into option 2 path it will be seen systemwide or by every account on the computer.
Since I am the only user on my computer it will not matter which option I will use. In my example I will use option 1.
.local/share/icons.
Open your Caja File Manager and make sure that you are in your home folder. Next, click on the View menu and select the Show Hidden Files command.
You should now see a hidden folder called .local. Double-click the folder to open it.
Next, locate and double-click the share folder to open it.
Next, locate and double-click the icons folder to open it.
You should now see the icon themes installed on your system. I have serveral icon themes installed on my computer and two Cupertino type icon themes but they are not as good as the Cupertino-Catalina icon theme.
Now divide your screen into two file managers. On the left I have the .local/share/icons folder open and on the right I have my Download folder open where my uncompressed Cupertino-Catalina folder is located. Now drag the Cupertino-Catalina folder on the right and place it into the icons folder on the left.
You should now be able to use your new icon theme. You may need to reboot your system if it doesn't show up in your Icons tab in the Custom Theme dialog box in your Appearance Preferences.
How-To Manually Install a New Window Border Theme
I orginally downloaded and manually installed the Vertex-Dark Window Border theme from gnome-look.org but then I made some minor adjustments. I ended up compressing this theme and uploaded it to my DropBox and MediaFire accounts. You can download this theme by either of these two sites.
I orginally downloaded and manually installed the Vertex-Dark Window Border theme from gnome-look.org but then I made some minor adjustments. I ended up compressing this theme and uploaded it to my DropBox and MediaFire accounts. You can download this theme by either of these two sites.
After the compressed file is downloaded go into your Downloads folder or the location you downloaded the file to and right-click it to display a menu. Click on Extract Here command when the menu appears. This will extract the folder inside the current folder.
You should now see a Vertex-Dark folder in your Downloads folder or current folder that you downloaded the compressed file.
After you uncompress the Vertex-Dark Window Border theme you will them move or copy the folder into the ~/.themes or /usr/share/themes folder. In my example I placed mine in the /usr/share/themes folder since I am the only user on my computer.
Open the Caja File Manager and navigate to the /usr/share/ folder and then locate the themes folder. Click on it to select it and then right-click it and select Open as Administrator.
Open the Caja File Manager and navigate to the /usr/share/ folder and then locate the themes folder. Click on it to select it and then right-click it and select Open as Administrator.
You will be prompted to enter your password so that you will have Administrator privileges to alter or change the contents in your themes folder.
You will notice a new file manager window open your themes folder as a superuser. If you look in the upper left corner you will see themes (as superuser). You now have the ability to add to or delete or modify files or folders in your themes folder.
Now divide your screen into two file managers. On the left I have the /usr/share/themes folder and on the right I have my Downloads folder open where my uncompressed Vertex-Dark folder is located. Now drag the Vertex-Dark folder on the right and place it into the themes folder on the left.
You should now be able to use your new Vertex-Dark Window Border theme. Now leave the themes folder on your left open so we can install the Adwaita-Dark Controls theme on your system.
How-To Manually Install New Controls Theme
I orginally downloaded and manually installed the Adwaita-Dark theme from gnome-look.org but then I made some minor adjustments. I ended up compressing this theme and uploaded it to my DropBox and MediaFire accounts. You can download this theme by either of these two sites.
I orginally downloaded and manually installed the Adwaita-Dark theme from gnome-look.org but then I made some minor adjustments. I ended up compressing this theme and uploaded it to my DropBox and MediaFire accounts. You can download this theme by either of these two sites.
After the compressed file is downloaded go into your Downloads folder or the location you downloaded the file to and right-click it to display a menu. Click on Extract Here command when the menu appears. This will extract the folder inside the current folder.
You should now see a Adwaita-dark folder in your Downloads folder or current folder that you downloaded the compressed file.
After you uncompress the Adwaita-Dark Controls theme you will them move or copy the folder into the ~/.themes or /usr/share/themes folder. In my example I placed mine in the /usr/share/themes folder since I am the only user on my computer.
You should still have the themes folder open from installing the Vertex-Dark Window Border theme in the last section. If not, look back in the last section and follow the instructions to open the /usr/share/themes folder.
Now divide your screen into two file managers. On the left I have the /usr/share/themes folder and on the right I have my Downloads folder open where my uncompressed Adwaita-dark folder is located. Now drag the Adwaita-dark folder on the right and place it into the themes folder on the left.
You should still have the themes folder open from installing the Vertex-Dark Window Border theme in the last section. If not, look back in the last section and follow the instructions to open the /usr/share/themes folder.
Now divide your screen into two file managers. On the left I have the /usr/share/themes folder and on the right I have my Downloads folder open where my uncompressed Adwaita-dark folder is located. Now drag the Adwaita-dark folder on the right and place it into the themes folder on the left.
You should now be able to use your new Adwaita-dark Control theme.
How-To Manually Install New Pointers
I already had the Breeze mouse pointer or cursor on my system, so I will demonstrate how to manually install additional mouse pointers. I ended up compressing the breeze_cursors or breeze-cursors and a variety of Breeze mouse pointers in a compressed file called Breeze-Pointers and uploaded them to my DropBox and MediaFire accounts. You can download these mouse pointers or cursors by either of these two sites. You will only need to download and uncompress the breeze_cursors.tar.gz file if you do not already have the Breeze pointer installed on your system.
I already had the Breeze mouse pointer or cursor on my system, so I will demonstrate how to manually install additional mouse pointers. I ended up compressing the breeze_cursors or breeze-cursors and a variety of Breeze mouse pointers in a compressed file called Breeze-Pointers and uploaded them to my DropBox and MediaFire accounts. You can download these mouse pointers or cursors by either of these two sites. You will only need to download and uncompress the breeze_cursors.tar.gz file if you do not already have the Breeze pointer installed on your system.
After the compressed file is downloaded go into your Downloads folder or the location you downloaded the file. Since the Breeze-Pointers.tar.gz files contains multiple mouse pointers, I highly recommend that you create a new folder to uncompress them inside. Right-click somewhere inside your Downloads folders and select the Create Folder option in the menu.
Give the new folder a name. I named mine Pointers since it will contain my new mouse pointers.
Next, drag or move the Breeze-Pointers.tar.gz file into your new folder. If you also downloaded the breeze_cursors.tar.gz file then drag or move it into that folder as well.
Now right-click the Breeze-Pointers.tar.gz file it to display a menu. Click on Extract Here command when the menu appears. This will extract the folder inside the current folder.
It will create a new folder called Breeze-Pointers that will contain additional folders of each mouse pointer. Now double-click the Breeze-Pointers folder to open it.
Open another Caja File Manager to /usr/share/icons and then split your window or screen so that /usr/share/icons is on one side and all the Breeze-Pointers are on the other.
Select all the folders in the Breeze-Pointers folder and drag them into the icons folder on the left.
You should now be able to see multiple new Breeze Pointers to select from in the Customize Theme dialog box. .
How-To Select Your New Theme
If you're using Ubuntu MATE with the Traditional menu then click on the System menu and highlight Preferences, then Look and Feel, and click on Appearances.
If you're using Ubuntu MATE with the Traditional menu then click on the System menu and highlight Preferences, then Look and Feel, and click on Appearances.
Click the Customize... button in the lower right when the Appearance Preferences dialog box appears.
Make sure the Controls tab is the active tab and then locate and select Adwaita-dark to immediately apply it to your system.
Next click on the Window Border tab and then scroll down and locate and click on Vertex-Dark to apply it to your Ubuntu MATE 18.04 system. However, I recommend Spidey for the Window Border on Ubuntu MATE 20.04 system.
Then click on the Icons tab and scroll down and locate and click on Cupertino-Catalina to apply it to your system.
Next, click on the Pointer tab to make it active. Locate and click on the Breeze icon in the list and then click the Close button.
Now it's time to save your new theme. Click the Save As... button and eventually you'll see a Save Theme As... dialog box appear.
Give your new theme a name that will help you identify it in the future. I called mine Adaita-Vert-Drk-Cup-Moj to help me remenber all the elements that made up the theme. You can then give your new theme a brief description (this is optional). You can also select to Save background image and Save notification theme when you name your new theme. When you're finished click the Save button.
You will now see your new theme in the list of themes within the Theme tab. Click the Close button to close the Appearance Preferences dialog box. (I overwrote my older theme with the same name since I had already created the theme on my system.)
Now explore your system and notice how nice it looks.
The menus look nice.
The Caja File Manager looks nice, the calculator, and Pithos also looks great.
LibreOffice and games such as Sudoku looks great too.
Here's a recap of the themes installed, download links, and location.
If you like using a dark theme, then I highly recommend that you install this on your computer.
- Controls Theme: Adwaita-dark | ( DropBox or MediaFire ) | ( /usr/share/themes )
- Window Border Theme: Vertex-Dark | ( DropBox or MediaFire ) | ( /usr/share/themes )
- Icons Theme: Cupertino-Catalina | ( DropBox or MeadiaFire ) | (.local/share/icons)
- Pointer Theme: Breeze | ( DropBox (2) or MediaFire (2) ) | (/usr/share/icons)
If you like using a dark theme, then I highly recommend that you install this on your computer.
Jun 17, 2020