XSplash Background Settings

XSplash Themes

Source (link to git-repo or to original if based on someone elses unmodified work): Add the source-code for this project on opencode.net

18
5.0
Description:

Background settings dialog for XSplash and the login screen (GDM), providing easy changing of the background image and an optional daemon, that keeps xsplash and gdm background consistent with the desktop wallpaper. Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPlbE_sUyVg
Depends on: xsplash imagemagick python-gconf python-gtk2 python-gksu2 python-gobject


INSTALL:

PPA repository (recommended): ppa:meerkat/stable -> Instructions: https://launchpad.net/~meerkat/+archive/stableDEB package: Download below, just double click
After successful installation you need to reboot once for the daemon to run. Open the configuration dialog through System -> Settings -> XSplash Wallpaper Settings or by running xsplash-wallpaper-settings --settings from terminal. Choose your custom background or activate "Use Desktop Background" to keep your XSplash background consistent with your desktop wallpaper.

Old versions (1.3 and earlier): http://www.google.com/#q="wallpaper_daemon.py"


CUSTOMIZE GDM:
You want to use your gtk and icon theme for the login screen? Run xsplash-background-settings --gdm (Note that this only works for system wide installed themes)
To restore the default ubuntu gdm themes run xsplash-background-settings --restore-gdm


UPGRADE:
from version 1.6 and later: Just install new version.from version 1.3 and earlier: Please follow the uninstall instructions below and install the new version afterwards.


UNINSTALL / RESTORE DEFAULT XSPLASH:

Version 1.6 and later:
1. Go to System -> Settings -> XSplash Background Settings and choose "Use default background" to restore default XSplash.
2. Remove xsplash-background-settings through package manager.

Version 1.3 and earlier:
1. Remove wallpaper_daemon.py from the startup programs (gnome-session-properties).
2. Extract your backup file. If you used the install routine this file is called backup.TIMESTAMP (where TIMESTAMP is dynamically generated number) and located at /usr/share/images/xsplash. To get the extraction path right use the following command (you may use the TAB key to complete backup. with the right timestamp number):
tar -C / -xf /usr/share/images/xsplash/backup.TIMESTAMP
3. Version 1.0 only:
sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 -t string -s /desktop/gnome/background/picture_filename /usr/share/images/xsplash/bg_2560x1600.jpg
4. restart (dont change your desktop wallpaper before restarting!)


KNOWN ISSUES:
I noticed that on some ubuntu derivatives (such as Linux Mint) the login screen uses a different background image than XSplash. To fix that simply run
sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 -t string -s /desktop/gnome/background/picture_filename /usr/share/images/xsplash/bg_2560x1600.jpgIf you get the error message [quote]Failed to backup default background
Change settings at your OWN RISK![/quote] and/or the xsplash background is not successfully change by the settings dialog you may be affected by a known issue with gksu (see the discussion started by zetty on Feb 1 2010). A temporary workaround is to either manually permit permanent user write access to the xsplash image folder: [quote]sudo chmod -R a+rw /usr/share/images/xsplash[/quote] or start the settings dialog with sudo: [quote]sudo xsplash-background-settings --settings[/quote]


REPORT BUGS / ASK QUESTIONS:
Of course you may report a bug or ask any question by posting a comment here, but if you have a launchpad account (or dont bother creating one) please use the project page on launchpad (http://launchpad.net/xsplash-background-settings), as it is much clearer arranged and nothing gets lost between pages of comments.
Report a bug: http://bugs.launchpad.net/xsplash-background-settings/+filebug
Ask a question: https://answers.launchpad.net/xsplash-background-settings/+addquestion


TRANSLATIONS:
The following language files have already been submitted:
german (part of 1.6)french by OxayotlTheGreat (part of 1.6.1)spanish by algalord (part of 1.6.1)russian by zetty (not released yet)Many thanks to the translators!


TESTING:
New versions are first released in a special testing ppa. If you want to help testing new releases, use the following repository:
[quote]deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/meerkat/testing/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/meerkat/testing/ubuntu karmic main [/quote]
Last changelog:

11 years ago

1.6:
- config gui
- localisation (english, german)
- DEB package

84 comments
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C

meerkat

11 years ago

no, i didnt implement any xml support. so if you select an xml background file the xsplash background will just stay as it was before. as i understand the xml functionality it wont be possible to get this smooth booting experience (which my script is intended to permit) anyway, as the desktop background is decided on startup (depending on the time) which furthermore also might be a cross-fading of two images, whereas my script sets the xsplash background whenever the desktop background is changed. so the only possible response of selecting an xml file as desktop background would be to select one of the images listed in the xml file (the first one / a random one) as xsplash background. you might as well do this by hand or use my script and just set the image of your choice as desktop background and select your xml file again afterwards.
if there are users which consider it useful to have the first image in a xml list set as xsplash background whenever a xml file is selected as desktop background, i can easily integrate this in the script. just let me know or suggest other treatments of xml files, you would prefer.

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wil-m

11 years ago

thanks a lot! now boot process is realy nice, no screen blinking, no image changing.

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kmbrite

11 years ago

I am running Ubuntu Studio 9.10 and would like to know how to make wallpaper_daemon.py work on my system. I checked synaptic and xsplash is not installed. I haven't changed the splash since feisty. Anybody know? I would sure appreciate your help.
Thanks!

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aperson

11 years ago

I have my desktop using a rotating wallpaper (thanks karmic for adding this in!). How will your script handle these?

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

actually not at all

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aperson

11 years ago

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll switch to a static wallpaper. Great work!

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professorfalken

11 years ago

This is a great script. The resourcefulness of the open source community never ceases to amaze me!

The only minor problem I noticed is the wallpaper does not seem to resize to fill the screen. I assumed this was the need for installation of imagemagick. No matter, I can just resize my wallpaper to exact screen resolution in Gimp and pick it. No worries :)

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

actually imagemagick is needed to convert images to jpg format and the script wont work without it. as for filling the screen, im not sure about xsplash, but at least for the login screen it depends on the rendering option of the user "gdm". To check it, run
sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 --get /desktop/gnome/background/picture_options
from terminal.
To change it, run
sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 --set --type string /desktop/gnome/background/picture_options zoom
You may replace "zoom" with another valid value like "none", "wallpaper", "centered", "scaled" or "stretched".

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elpraga

11 years ago

Hello, this is a great script! Very nice work indeed...

I have a small issue though, When xplash terminates and before Nautilus loads the background, the background goes gray for some seconds. I did not see the behavior in the default settings though.

I tried to load the same background at gnome session startup using feh. It is a little bit better, but not smooth as before.

Do You have an idea how to solve this???

Thanks.

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

Well, on my system everything works smooth. Concerning the performance there is no essential difference between using this script and the default configuration (its just an image file), except i spared generating different resolutions. So if you have a low display resolution but use a high resolution desktop background this might cause your problem, but i can only guess. Maybe try a low resolution image to check this.
If you want to revert to the default configuration, just unpack your backup file as described in the uninstall instructions above.

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chareos

11 years ago

Can't wait for a clearer statement about the problem reported above.

I really want to use this on mine !
Should've been Ubuntu default !

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chareos

11 years ago

By the way...

this could be extended to the first, boot image ?
I mean, the black one with Ubuntu logo glowing.

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

1. see my statements above
2. afaik the first bootsplash (with the ubuntu logo on black) is generated by usplash. in that case dynamically changing it would need write access to the /boot folder (or at least the initrd files) which i consider a serious security issue as this exposes the essential files for the boot process. though it might seem unlikely, that someone tries to destroy your boot process by using this security hole (e.g. malware) i think its still an inappropriate risk for a little bit of eye candy.

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pezmanlou

11 years ago

After running your script (using your instructions), I restarted and the netbook-launcher interface (running on Ubuntu 9.10 32bit netbook remix) wouldn't start. I tried to start netbook-launcher from the command line and found out that it immediately segfaults. Installing your script (which did work) is the only change I made to my system around the time this happened. I went through your uninstallation method and still have this problem. I'm still not sure what is causing this. Do you know of anything this script may have done that is not reversed in your uninstallation instuctions?

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

i really cant image that anything my script does affects the netbook-launcher. i did a quick test on a netbook remix live system and didnt run into any problems (netbook-launcher still works fine) - i couldnt do a restart on a live system though. the only things that are not reverted by my uninstall instructions above are some additional files stored at /usr/share/images/xsplash (namely bg.jpg and the backup file backup.TIMESTAMP) and the user write access to that folder (you may revert that with sudo chmod -R a-w /usr/share/images/xsplash
please let me know if you solved your problem.

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

i did a second test in a VBox by now and didnt face any problems. if this problem really is related to my script, its at least not a general netbook remix issue.

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pezmanlou

11 years ago

I tried the changing the permissions with the command you gave me. I'm still having the problem. Thanks for your help. Now I know that it's unrelated to your script. I really do like the script by the way.

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JCRis

11 years ago

This is great thanks so much for this! The one thing I hated with Karmic was that crappy spotlight splashy whatever they added. Now Karmic is Perfect!!!

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mudrain911

11 years ago

ill try it that way but thats essentially exactly what i did... ill let you know how it works!

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mudrain911

11 years ago

chmod -x does nothing and --install does nothing. can you give me direct instructions from a blank terminal to completely installed. sorry if im slow haha but it just wont work.

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

Ill try my best...
I assume you downloaded the file in a folder called Downloads in your Home folder (thats default behavior of firefox in ubuntu karmic).


sudo apt-get install imagemagick

cd ~/Downloads

tar -xf 114984-wallpaper_daemon_1.2.tar.gz

mkdir ~/.scripts

mv wallpaper_daemon.py ~/.scripts

cd ~/.scripts

chmod +x wallpaper_daemon.py

./wallpaper_daemon.py --install

gnome-session-properties

The last command opens a dialog, click on "Add", fill in a name like "xsplash wallpaper daemon" and as Command:
~/.scripts/wallpaper_daemon.py
Confirm with "Add" and "Close" the "Startup Applications Preferences".

Finally change your desktop background as you normally do and restart ubuntu to see the effect.

good luck!

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szerencsefia

11 years ago

Brilliant!

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vlad003

11 years ago

Hi,

I used your command to change the GDM login theme but I have a problem.

1) The colors do not change from the default even if I do change the colors in the settings.

2) Since changing the theme, I get a gnome-at-properties icon in my Notification Area. I can't figure out a way to get rid of it. If I click on it, my GDM theme changes to Redmond. If I open an Appearances dialog, some things change back to normal theme but some stay unchanged.

What I've figured out is if I run the command again, a new icon appears in Notification area. If I kill the process with description: "/bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5 --print-address 7 --session" it goes away. Unfortunately there is no other process like that so I'm still stuck with the original icon.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

i can confirm this strange bug. i have no idea how to get rid of the gnome-at-properties icon though.

i have replaced the description above with a direct method where this bug does not appear.

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C

meerkat

11 years ago

just found a corresponding bug report (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-control-center/+bug/459747) and a solution to get rid of the icon:
System -> Preferences -> Keyboard -> Accessibility
uncheck "Accessibility features can be toggled with keyboard shortcuts"

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11 years ago

1.6:
- config gui
- localisation (english, german)
- DEB package

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updated Jan 25 2010
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System Tags bootscreen linux splashscreen unix xsplash

XSplash

XSplash is a software project in the Ubuntu community that uses the X Window System to replace the scrolling-text screens that appear while booting a Linux-based computer with a graphical splash screen. Wikipedia