Hello,

I have two machines, both running Ubuntu 12.04. One's a laptop, running 12.04 since May (KDE 4.8.5). The other's a desktop, upgraded to Ubuntu 12.04.1, upgraded just two weeks ago.

This is what I see when running GTK (or at least non-native KDE) apps on my laptop:

Evolution

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb26 ... laptop.jpg

Rhythmbox

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb26 ... aptop1.jpg

Firefox

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb26 ... aptop2.jpg

Fairly nice, not terribly GNOME-like, but very consistent. Much better than they were under 4.7.4, my first KDE version.

Here are my settings:

Application Appearance:
Style: Oxygen
Colors: Human
Icons: Unity-Icon-Theme
GTK Appearance: Radiance

Workspace Appearance:
Window Decorations: Oxygen
Desktop Theme: Androbit (Have tried Oxygen and Air, doesn't matter)


Here are the same apps on my desktop (KDE 4.8.4)

Evolution

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb26 ... esktop.png

Rhythmbox

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb26 ... esktop.png

Firefox

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb26 ... esktop.png

Not as consistent--while Evolution and Rhthymbox look almost exactly like they do in Unity/GNOME, Firefox and Pidgin look "boxy" and crude.

Here are my settings

Application Appearance:
Style: Oxygen
Colors: Oxygen (Human not available)
Icons: Unity-Icon-Theme
GTK Appearance: Radiance

Workspace Appearance:
Window Decorations: Oxygen
Desktop Theme: Oxygen

So they appear to be the same (save for the desktop theme, which doesn't seem to matter).

I figure I can backport in 4.8.5 on my desktop like I've done on my laptop. But I don't know why then some apps like Evolution and Rhymbox looking "better" (as in more GNOME-like) in 4.8.4 but can't do so in 4.8.5.

Or are other setting that controls this behavior that I'm unaware of?

Stewart

Well, it gets odder and odder. Last night, I enabled the backports for my desktop, thinking that I'd get KDE 4.8.5, the same as on my laptop:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

And instead of getting KDE 4.8.5, I get KDE 4.9 (!). And I still can't make the GTK apps look the same in that.

This is looking more and more like a Kubuntu/Ubuntu question, perhaps, of why the point releases 12.04 and 12.04.1 behave so differently.

Stewart

Could it be because you haven't installed the GTK2 version of Radiance?

Hans,

Is there a seperate package? I have checked my laptop this afternoon, and it has both the gtk2-engines-oxygen and gtk3-engines-oxygen on it. I know the desktop has the gtk3-engines-oxygen on it, because I had to go out and install them.

But the desktop Evolution and Rhythmbox window headers look more "gtk3-like" than do the ones on my laptop (not they look bad on the laptop; they don't, just less similar than they look when running GNOME or Unity). So insofar as mimicking GTK3 appearance, the desktop outdoes the laptop on these programs, just less so with programs like Pidgin. (The laptop gives a more consistent-look across all applications).

Thinking about this, a key difference when I installed KDE on the laptop back in December 2011 (after upgrading to Ubuntu 11.10) was that at that time, the entire Kubuntu desktop environment was available in the repositories--when I installed that, I got the Kubuntu boot splash screen (which then switched back to the Ubuntu one). When I upgraded my deskop two weeks ago, I didn't see that option (I'll check tonight, but I think that's gone)--there was the "KDE desktop environment" which I downloaded and installed, and now I suspect may have different settings than does the Kubuntu customization. (For one thing, installing it didn't change my boot splash screen to Kubuntu).

But even then, if I get KDE 4.9 through the backports on my desktop, then why aren't I seeing it available on the laptop from the same download source?? Odd.

I'll post something on the Kubuntu/Ask Ubuntu forums about these differences, if indeed "Kubuntu-desktop" has been removed from the repositories, and if there are differences in the KDE-desktop and kubuntu-desktop metapackages.

Stewart

may be check if colour scheme for gtk apps is oxygen-gtk (not raleigh or Radiance)

Well, I was able to get the Rhythmbox and Evolution headers on my laptop to look the same as on my desktop, by choosing "Ambiance" on my laptop instead of "Radiance", just now. I'll play around with the desktop tonight. My laptop now has a nice, modern, sleek look for non-KDE apps.

This morning, I managed to force the upgrade from KDE SC 4.8.5 to 4.9.1 on my laptop as well (don't know if that resulted in the change).

In addition, I found out that I have kubuntu-desktop installed on my laptop, and kde-standard on my desktop (long story, it was because kubuntu-desktop or kubuntu-full have been hidden now (under "show technical items") in Ubuntu's software center, so when I upgraded my Ubuntu 10.04 desktop and wanted to put KDE on it I did not find them on first search, but found kde-desktop instead. I could install kubuntu-desktop now as both computers are up to KDE 4.9.1.

Getting there!

Stewart

If you run any of the affected applications from a terminal, do they output any meaningful debug output which could indicate why the appearance is different? (Perhaps it is unable to find some crucial element or similar).