I've just installed Ubuntu 10.10. using the gnome desktop.

My eyes are very sensitive to light and I have to be able to change the back ground colors from white to dark in such programs as Nautilus and the different editors. This is the main reason I've used KDE for years, it's been fairly easy to change in KDE.

I have read the help from:
http://library.gnome.org/users/user-...mblems.html.en, and on ubuntu and every thing I can find "here" on changing the background colors with no results. I have found posts with my same problem without any answer or solution.

This is what I understand how to change the background colors and what is happening:

I open Nautilus>Edit>Backgrounds and Emblems
I select Patterns>Drag a pattern title to an object to change it
But it don't work. I've tried the same thing with "Colors" and it
don't work.

I have dragged using right mouse button, middle button, and left button and they don't work.

Please point me to a "how to" or tell me what I need to do in order to make it work? TIA

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Solved - I found out on another forum that when you are using the "list view" in Nautilus the background colors can not be changed, only in "compact and icon views" can background colors be changed.

I tried your method and could only get an emblem to work.

try right clicking on your desktop, click on 'change background'
then click the theme tab and select a darker theme or click the customize button...
I am using ubuntu 11.04 but should still work for you

1 members found this post helpful.

Thank you pandanuma for trying. Yes to your suggestion it work but that is it. I even install Ubuntu on another partition and get the same results "not working".

Again thank you.

try changing your theme to 'high contrast inverse'
you may not notice a change to your desktop, but open your home folder and it should be very dark

if you cannot change themes, let me know
[right click desktop, click change background, click theme, click on a darker theme]

Backgrounds and Emblems only works on Nautilus file browser. You change the desktop colour by right click on the desktop and select change desktop background. Once the dialog box opens there should be a blank background in my case it's in the top left. Click on that (the default colour is black) then click on the colour button bottom right. After that just pick a colour.

Try that and see how you get on.

pandanuma, I changed the theme to 'high contrast inverse' and my home folder changed with it. I've had no problem doing this from the beginning with the 'high contrast inverse' that works okay.

rayfward, changing the background color in Nautilus is what I'm trying to do but as in my post it don't work for whatever reason. Thanks for the comeback.

Hmmm.
When it's in icon view it works just fine. List mode does nothing.

Sorry I could not bring you a bit more joy.

SOLVED.
pandanuma & rayfward
Okay, I can not tell you for sure how this was solved so I'll tell you what happened and you take it form there.

Someone on another forum suggested that I install a darker theme from gnome-look.org. In so doing I learned that I had to install the Gnome Color Chooser which I was not aware of. In the process of loading a darker theme into the color chooser the changes turned out to be even lighter that what I already had, so I clicked "Revert" to changed it back. Then, just out of wanting try anything I made these changes in the color chooser Global>Colors>normal>background to a dark gray. Bam! List view changed to gray.

Nautilus "list view" changed to gray TOO! WHAT A RELIEF ON THE EYES!
Now I'm not being tortured by the glaring brightness that limits my time on my PC! Hopefully this will help someone else also.
Thanks for all your efforts>!!

1 members found this post helpful.

Excellent work, all.