[arch-general] GTK2 GUIs became a PITA after upgrade

[Kyle Terrien]

Ralf Mardorf wrote:
> after the last upgrade GTK2 apps running in an openbox session need more
> space, they became darker and in some windows even the fonts became
> less good readable. The reason that I dropped desktop environments was
> to get rid of chaotic designs and to keep a clear design and now even
> GTK2 apps in an openbox session became a parody.
...
> [rocketmouse at archlinux ~]$ grep -v '#' .gtkrc-2.0
> 
> gtk-theme-name = "Adwaita"
> style "user-font"
> {
> 	font_name="FreeSans 12"
> }
> widget_class "*" style "user-font"
> 
> Regards,
> Ralf

My first thought was "Adwaita", and looking at the list of packages,
gnome-themes-standard is upgraded.  I suspect that Adwaita is the
culprit.

Have you tried other GTK themes?  Clearlooks-Phenix, or maybe a
gtk2-only theme such as Bluecurve?

On my side, I have been using Clearlooks-Phenix and Bluecurve over the
past few days.  (I recently switched back to Bluecurve.)  I haven't
noticed any change in GTK2 apps over the past couple days.  So, I'm apt
to blame Adwaita.

On a side note, I remember a recent GNOME propaganda video said that
GNOME had finally standardized their theming API for gtk3?  I didn't
believe them then, and I certainly don't believe them now after reading
this thread.

So, I think this might be a case of GNOME deciding that making the UI
elements even bigger is the hip thing to do.  (It's just frustrating
that GNOME is so eager to break things nowadays.)

If Adwaita really is the culprit, file a bug with GNOME.  That's their
domain.

I hope this information may be of help,
--Kyle

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/clearlooks-phenix-gtk-theme
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gtk-bluecurve-engine

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