how to set icewm desktop background to color – no image?

[Moderator BobC]

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Don’t use sudo, unless its been specifically asked for.

You never told everyone that you are using the Rox-IceWM desktop, and that affects what options are available. Based on what options you said are there (and not there) I’m guessing that’s the one you are running.

Try the instruction I gave a few posts above.

Screen prints are very helpful, but at this point don’t buy much.

[Member Xecure]

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The first drop-down box that says “Static” by default, if you click it you can select “No Wallpaper”

antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.

[Member schproodle]

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$ lsb_release -dic
Distributor ID: Debian
Description: Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Codename: bullseye

rox/icewm

EeePC, ASUSTek 1000HE - Atom N280, 1667 MHz, 32 bit - RAM 992.2 MiB
Kernel: 4.9.0-279-antix.1-486-smp i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
Desktop: IceWM 2.9.3 & zzzfm
Distro: antiX-21_386-full Grup Yorum 31 October 2021

[Member schproodle]

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Switched to icewm. Background selection works as expected. Sorry for all the trouble. Everyone was helpful. rox-icewm was not a lucky choice.

Many thanks 🙂

EeePC, ASUSTek 1000HE - Atom N280, 1667 MHz, 32 bit - RAM 992.2 MiB
Kernel: 4.9.0-279-antix.1-486-smp i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
Desktop: IceWM 2.9.3 & zzzfm
Distro: antiX-21_386-full Grup Yorum 31 October 2021

[Moderator BobC]

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Yes, its ok, Rox-IceWM was the default.

[Member schproodle]

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The default perhaps because rox-icewm has a “pinboard” typical desktop with icons so familiar to many users.

EeePC, ASUSTek 1000HE - Atom N280, 1667 MHz, 32 bit - RAM 992.2 MiB
Kernel: 4.9.0-279-antix.1-486-smp i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
Desktop: IceWM 2.9.3 & zzzfm
Distro: antiX-21_386-full Grup Yorum 31 October 2021

[Member ModdIt]

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Personaly I found the desktop setup behaviour unexpected and irritating especialy as the default desktop has more limitation than the alternative ice only..

If a user switches from ICEWM to Rox ICEWM, he or she is also presented with a different background to the one previously set,

A case where I wish I had the capability to provide a solution for consistent behaviour.

[Moderator BobC]

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schproodle wrote:

The default perhaps because rox-icewm has a “pinboard” typical desktop with icons so familiar to many users.

I find the zzzFM Desktop setup more “normal”, because it shows items in the “Desktop” folder on its desktop, and allows links, which are the equivalent of windows shortcuts. Like the Rox Desktop, it uses some memory to manage the desktop. If using any of the IceWM desktops, the Desktop folder is also accessible from the menu to execute or open items:

Menu > Desktop > Desktop Folder

[Forum Admin Dave]

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A newer version of the wallpaper app should be in the repos available for update. This should allow for colour only on a rox- desktop.
Both ROX and space/zzz do not have command line options to set colour only on the desktop. So the config files are altered directly, but requires the pinboard to stop and start again to “refresh”. This happens automatically but will cause a blink when changing.

If someone knows how to change the spacefm config file (~/.config/spacefm/session). The colours are set/stored in hex. I am not sure on the format used by spacemfm. Knowing the format and how to convert from a hex colour code to that format would help get spacefm working the same way. The colour settings should be bg1= and bg2= in the spacefm config.

Computers are like air conditioners. They work fine until you start opening Windows. ~Author Unknown

[Member schproodle]

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I have been enjoying zzz-icewm. I prefer zzz over rox. (I’m not fond of desktop icons or picture backgrounds but it really doesn’t matter. Anyway my 1024 x 600 screen is almost always covered by full-screen windows.)

Note zzz preferences has a desktop background facility: View -> Preferences -> Desktop -> Wallpaper – deselect Wallpaper and choose a color only background. When the session is restarted, the background defaults to the picture.

Good news about a newer version of the wallpaper app. It seems reasonable to expect that the wallpaper program would function consistently for all of the desktop variations.

This forum is very well done: responses are useful and interesting. Many thanks. 🙂

EeePC, ASUSTek 1000HE - Atom N280, 1667 MHz, 32 bit - RAM 992.2 MiB
Kernel: 4.9.0-279-antix.1-486-smp i686 bits: 32 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
Desktop: IceWM 2.9.3 & zzzfm
Distro: antiX-21_386-full Grup Yorum 31 October 2021

[Moderator BobC]

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Looks like the colors in the spacefm and zzzfm session files are in a 16 bit decimal RGB string if that sounds right. I’m not familiar with that format, myself. Just need to convert the hex value to it, I would think.

from: https://www.kksou.com/php-gtk2/sample-codes/get-color-values-from-gtkcolorbutton-Method-2.php

This shows how it gets converted from the 3 values to hex. The process would need to be reversed to calculate the numbers from the hex value.

    $red  = round($gdk_red * 255 / 65535); // note 5
    $green= round($gdk_green * 255 / 65535); // note 5
    $blue = round($gdk_blue * 255 / 65535); // note 5

    $red_hex  = dechex($red); // note 6
    $green_hdex= dechex($green); // note 6
    $blue_hdex = dechex($blue); // note 6
    $color_hex = strtoupper($red_hex.$green_hdex.$blue_hdex); // note 6 

• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by BobC.

[Member scruffyeagle]

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If you use the Space file manager, you can set the desktop’s background color from within the file manager via /View/Preferences/Desktop. In that tab, it has controls. A checkbox controls use of wallpaper or not (solid color). An entry box allows selection of which pic for wallpaper. There are boxes for setting colors of background, text, & shadow.

[Anonymous]

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Personaly I found the desktop setup behaviour unexpected and irritating especialy as the default desktop has more limitation than the alternative ice only..

If a user switches from ICEWM to Rox ICEWM, he or she is also presented with a different background to the one previously set,

A case where I wish I had the capability to provide a solution for consistent behaviour.

ROX pinboard (and freedom to create and use multiple pinboards) provides different and unique features.
Please lets not disparage its functionality due to “lack of consistency”.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by christophe.

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