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diff --git a/content/blog/2020-05-19-customizing-ubuntu.org b/content/blog/2020-05-19-customizing-ubuntu.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a9c911 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2020-05-19-customizing-ubuntu.org @@ -0,0 +1,198 @@ +#+date: <2020-05-19> +#+title: A Beginner's Guide: Customizing Ubuntu +#+description: + + +* More Information + +For inspiration on designing your *nix computer, check out the +[[https://libredd.it/r/unixporn][r/unixporn]] subreddit! + +* Customizing Ubuntu + +New to Linux and want to add a personal touch to your machine? One of +the best perks of Linux is that it is *extremely* customizable. You can +change the styles of the windows, shell (status bars/docks), icons, +fonts, terminals, and more. + +In this post, I'm going to go through customization on Ubuntu 20.04 +(GNOME) since most new users tend to choose Ubuntu-based distros. If +you've found a way to install Arch with i3-gaps, I'm assuming you know +how to find more advanced tutorials out there on customizations. + +** Required Tools + +Ubuntu 20.04 ships with the default desktop environment +[[https://www.gnome.org/][Gnome]], which includes the handy +=gnome-tweaks= tool to quickly change designs. To install this, just +open your terminal and enter the following command: + +#+begin_src sh +sudo apt install gnome-tweaks +#+end_src + +After you've finished installing the tool, simply launch the Tweaks +application, and you'll be able to access the various customization +options available by default on Ubuntu. You might even like some of the +pre-installed options. + +** GNOME Application Themes + +To change the themes applied to applications in GNOME, you will need to +change the Applications dropdown in the Appearance section of Tweaks. To +add more themes, you will have to find your preferred theme online and +follow the steps below to have it show up in the Tweaks tool. While you +may find themes anywhere, one of the most popular sites for GNOME themes +is [[https://www.gnome-look.org/][gnome-look.org]]. This website +contains themes for applications, shells, icons, and cursors. + +Steps to import themes into Tweaks: + +1. Download the theme. +2. These files are usually compressed (.zip, .tar.gz, .tar.xz), so you + will need to extract the contents. This is easiest when opening the + file explorer, right-clicking the compressed file, and choosing + "Extract here." +3. Move the theme folder to =/usr/share/themes/=. You can do so with the + following command: =sudo mv theme-folder/ /usr/share/themes/=. + - Icons and cursors will be moved to the =/usr/share/icons/= folder. + - Fonts will be moved to the =/usr/share/fonts/= folder + Alternatively, you can move them to the + =/usr/share/fonts/opentype/= or =/usr/share/fonts/opentype/= + folders, if you have a specific font type. +4. Close tweaks if it is open. Re-open Tweaks and your new theme will be + available in the Applications dropdown in the Appearance section of + Tweaks. + +If the theme is not showing up after you've moved it into the themes +folder, you may have uncompressed the folder into a sub-folder. You can +check this by entering the theme folder and listing the contents: + +#+begin_src sh +cd /usr/share/themes/Mojave-Dark && ls -la +#+end_src + +This is an example of what the contents of your theme folder should look +like. If you just see another folder there, you should move that folder +up into the =/usr/share/themes/= folder. + +#+begin_src sh +cinnamon COPYING gnome-shell gtk-2.0 gtk-3.0 index.theme metacity-1 plank xfwm4 +#+end_src + +** GNOME Shell Themes + +To change the appearance of the title bar, default dock, app menu, and +other parts of the GNOME shell, you'll need to install the +[[https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/19/user-themes/][user themes]] +extension on [[https://extensions.gnome.org/][Gnome Extensions]]. To be +able to install extensions, you will first need to install the browser +extension that the website instructs you to. See this screenshot for the +blue box with a link to the extension. + +After the browser extension is installed, you will need to install the +native host connector: + +#+begin_src sh +sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell +#+end_src + +Finally, you can go the +[[https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/19/user-themes/][user themes]] +extension page and click the installation button. This will enable the +Shell option in Tweaks. Now you can move shell themes to the +=/usr/share/themes= directory, using the same steps mentioned in the +previous section, and enable the new theme in Tweaks. + +** Icons & Cursors + +Icons and cursors are installed exactly the same way, so I'm grouping +these together in this post. Both of these items will need to follow the +same process as installing themes, except you will want to move your +font folders to the =/usr/share/icons/= directory instead. + +** Fonts + +Fonts are one of the overlooked parts of customization, but a good font +can make the whole screen look different. For example, I have installed +the [[https://github.com/IBM/plex/releases][IBM Plex]] fonts on my +system. This follows the same process as installing themes, except you +will want to move your font folders to the =/usr/share/fonts/= directory +instead. + +** Terminal + +If you spend a lot of time typing commands, you know how important the +style and functionality of the terminal is. After spending a lot of time +using the default GNOME terminal with +[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash_(Unix_shell)][unix shell]], I +decided to try some different options. I ended up choosing +[[https://terminator-gtk3.readthedocs.io/en/latest/][Terminator]] with +[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_shell][zsh]]. + +Terminator is great if you need to open multiple terminals at one time +by simply right-clicking and splitting the screen into as many terminals +as you want. While this project hasn't been updated in a while, +[[https://github.com/gnome-terminator/terminator/issues/1][it is coming +under new development]]. However, this terminal is great and I haven't +experienced any errors yet. + +For the shell choice, I decided to choose zsh after trying it out on a +fresh Manjaro installation. Zsh is great if you like to change the +themes of your terminal, include icons, or add plugins. + +The desktop uses the +[[https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions][zsh-autosuggestions]] +to suggest past commands as you type. In addition, it suggests +corrections if you misspell a command. Lastly, it uses the =af-magic= +theme, which adds dashed lines between commands, moving the user@host +tag to the right side of the terminal, and changes the colors. There are +plenty of plugins and themes to choose from. Just figure out what you +like and add it to your =~/.zshrc= file! + +*** Steps to Replicate My Terminal + +To install zsh on Ubuntu, enter the following command into a terminal: + +#+begin_src sh +sudo apt install zsh +#+end_src + +Then, enter the next command to activate zsh: + +#+begin_src sh +sudo chsh -s $(which zsh) $(whoami) +#+end_src + +To install Terminator on Ubuntu: + +#+begin_src sh +sudo apt install terminator +#+end_src + +To install Oh My Zsh on Ubuntu: + +#+begin_src sh +sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)" +#+end_src + +To install zsh-autosuggestions via Oh My Zsh: + +#+begin_src sh +git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions +#+end_src + +Then, add the following plugin wording to your =~/.zshrc= file (the +default config usually has the =git= plugin activated, so just add any +other plugins to the parentheses separated by a space): + +#+begin_src sh +nano ~/.zshrc +#+end_src + +#+begin_src sh +plugins=(git zsh-autosuggestions) +#+end_src + +Finally, you need to log out of your computer and log back in so your +user shell can refresh. |