Changing mouse theme randomly works

[Maria Geller]

Changing icon theme doesn't work properly in Xubuntu Precise. This is from the same error in the X11 stack that caused bug #960191 - windows are not inheriting the icon from the parent.

Screenshot attached. My pointer is the white one in the lower half ... even though the black theme was selected and the desktop restarted ....

[Lionel Le Folgoc (mrpouit)]

Yes, this bug has always been present, not sure why it doesn't work reliably...

[Maria Geller (mariageller67-deactivatedaccount)]

OK. Since nobody seems that bothered about fixing either this or bug #960191 I guess I'll just have to do it myself. What I am proposing is a series of tests to determine whether xfwm is the culprit or xorg-server-core - because it HAS to be one of those.

If icons are not inheriting from their parents at all even when a window manager is not present, then we are in quite serious trouble, because it means the X11 stack is severely broken and with just a few weeks to go until launch it means every 12.04 variant is broken and will remain so throughout the life of Precise.

Anyways I'll post to here and to bug #960191 with the results of my tests.

[Maria Geller (mariageller67-deactivatedaccount)]

Well it seems things are not so straightforward after all. I ran a series of tests using the xcursor program I wrote to demonstrate bug #960191 under a vanilla X "desktop" comprising just an xterm, launched with "xinit" rather than "startx".

Results of tests:

1. No window manager at all - pointer inherited, as it should be.
2. twm running - pointer NOT inherited.
3. xfwm4 running - pointer inherited, as it should be.

1. is good news for the X11 stack, it means it is not as broken as I thought it might be.
2. is very troubling indeed, but since time is important we will move on.
3. is equally disturbing, cos it implies that it is an unholy combo of some desktop service programs, like xfconfd and brethren, that is messing up pointer inheritance.

When the full xfce desktop and all services is running, pointer inheritance doesn't work. When only xfwm4 is running, pointer inheritance does work.

The reason all this matters is that you don't get startup notifications or the ability to change your pointer theme unless and until windows inherit the pointer from their parents. And at the moment at least, under xfce in 12.04 this is all very much broken.

[Hasenkopf, Andreas (andi-hasenkopf)]

Hi there, I got the same cursor theme problem, but instead of xfwm4 I'm using compiz with gtk-window-decorator.

I have set the mouse theme in the XFCE dialog and modified even the corresponding values in gconf and xfconf. The behavior is VERY(!) weird:
- Removed ".cache" before starting XFCE session.
- On the xfdesktop and on any window decoration the default icon of the Xubuntu theme is used.
- BUT(!) when clicking on the window decoration's title bar to move the window the icon from my chosen theme is used!
- Cursor icons of my chosen theme are shown in application windows like Firefox, Thunderbird or QtiPlot.
- Another weird example: In pidgin's buddy list window the Xubuntu default theme is used, but in two widgets in the conversation window (conversation log and entry field) the theme is changed.
- Other applications like ROXterm, Qalculate and Exaile use the default theme.

I can reproduce this effect on two 64bit machines: One feshly installed and the other upgraded from 10.04, where this was working quite well!

Maybe this is an issue with xfce4-session? I have noticed several times since the upgrade/installation, that the session is not continued as it had been ended (Less/more windows).

[Hasenkopf, Andreas (andi-hasenkopf)]

I'm not sure whether this is a solution, but at least it is a work-around that provides a consistent mouse theme on the desktop.
Additionally to selecting a mouse theme in the XFCE settings edit the file "/etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf" and set theme-name to the value you desire.

For me it did the trick, but I have to admit: it is no fun when one half of the applications asks the display manager for a mouse theme and the other half the session's settings manager...

[Hasenkopf, Andreas (andi-hasenkopf)]

Sorry for the mix up in comment #6. I meant to say to edit "/etc/alternatives/x-cursor-theme"...

[Manuel López Antequera (mlant)]

Setting the "Inherits" line of /etc/alternatives/x-cursor-theme to the desired theme works for me as well.

" Inherits=oxy-red "

[Matti Kronman (matti-4)]

This is not a new bug. This has been bothering me since 2006.

[vasdi (vasdi)]

Replacing the display manager works for me. Looks like Lightdm bug.

[dstoian (dstoian)]

I am running Debian 7.1.0 Wheezy with XFCE 4.8.
This bug is still present, although I think it's an XFCE issue rather than Debian or Ubuntu.
Duplicate bug here:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xfwm4/+bug/157447