X11 resources to change app look

jt1122 · 03-26-2024, 05:28 AM

Hi,

I'm using xpdf & want to change the scrollbar colour (if possible) since it's not easily visible.

How do I find the X11 resources to tweak this?.

Running

Code:

edires

shows a huge tree of resources but how is that helpful?.

Thanks

smallpond · 03-26-2024, 08:14 AM

xpdf is not written directly on top of X11; nobody does that. It uses the Qt cross-platform graphics library. A quick test shows that it is pulling in your desktop theme for most window elements. Anything else would be controlled by a built-in QML style sheet.

If you don't want to get into the program source, you can look at your desktop theme tools. I use KDE which has an application style editor. It lets me customize look-and-feel, including color, on many theme elements. The blue color used by window elements like scrollbars disappears in the dark, high-contrast themes, but can be changed to green or red if you prefer those.

boughtonp · 03-26-2024, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallpond

xpdf is not written directly on top of X11; nobody does that. It uses the Qt cross-platform graphics library.

???

Whatever you're referring to is not what jt1122 is asking about.

The xpdf Xresource file is at /etc/X11/Xresources/xpdf

How to figure this out? On a Debian system, one can do:
1. Run "type -a COMMAND" to confirm where the binary is located.
2. Run "dpkg-query --search BINARY" to confirm what package it is.
3. Run "dpkg-query --listfiles PACKAGE" to get a list of files - on a non-scrolling terminal you may want to pipe via less.

When one knows the package already, skip the first two steps. Or indeed, look at the appropriate file list on via Debian's online package page.

jt1122 · 03-26-2024, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallpond

xpdf is not written directly on top of X11; nobody does that. It uses the Qt cross-platform graphics library. A quick test shows that it is pulling in your desktop theme for most window elements. Anything else would be controlled by a built-in QML style sheet.
.

Thanks but it seems you misunderstood my question.

jt1122 · 03-26-2024, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boughtonp

???

Whatever you're referring to is not what jt1122 is asking about.

The xpdf Xresource file is at /etc/X11/Xresources/xpdf

How to figure this out? On a Debian system, one can do:
1. Run "type -a COMMAND" to confirm where the binary is located.
2. Run "dpkg-query --search BINARY" to confirm what package it is.
3. Run "dpkg-query --listfiles PACKAGE" to get a list of files - on a non-scrolling terminal you may want to pipe via less.

When one knows the package already, skip the first two steps. Or indeed, look at the appropriate file list on via Debian's online package page.

Thanks.

Code:

cat /etc/X11/Xresources/xpdf

shows a single line:

Code:

pdf*fileFilterStyle: filter_hidden_files

There are definitely more resources used by xpdf. So back to my original question.

allend · 03-31-2024, 08:21 AM

From Wikipedia

Quote:

Xpdf is a free and open-source PDF viewer and toolkit based on the Qt framework. Versions prior to 4.00 were written for the X Window System and Motif.

With my xpdf-4.05, the Qt QScrollBar widget is used for scrollbars. The appearance of the scrollbar is inherited from the style in use.
From Qt Documentation

Quote:

Setting a Style

The style of the entire application can be set using the QApplication::setStyle() function. It can also be specified by the user of the application, using the -style command-line option:

A couple of screenshots of xpdf started with -style Breeze and -style Oxygen.

boughtonp · 04-03-2024, 11:58 AM

This serves to highlight why it's important to make the OS clear whenever asking a question.

Slackware64 15.0 has v4.03, released Jan 2021. (It looks like v4.05 from Feb 2024 is in Slackware Current.)

Fedora repos have various 4.04 and 4.05 releases.

Debian repos have patched versions of v3.04 from Jan 2021, June 2022, and Feb 2024.

There is zero indication in this thread which (if any) of these might be being used.

LeonCS · 04-08-2024, 04:00 AM

This may be helpful
https://www.x.org/releases/X11R7.7/d...1protocol.html