Jump to content

Panel clock in Gnome


payasam
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've used Linux for over five years, always KDE. I am accustomed to having an easily legible clock in the panel, one whose colours and founts and size can be configured. This is my first time with Gnome. I chose this option because, frankly, I found the new KDE ghastly. The Gnome panel clock does show day, date, month and time -- all I need -- but the type is too small, and if the panel is made transparent to allow a background photo to show through, the clock can become invisible until the mouse arrow is placed over it. Could someone please tell me where to find what I'd like to have?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the Gnome clock there's not much else you can do. Sure you can increase fonts sizes, but that would be for the whole toolbar in general. What you could do is install screenlets and have a clock on your desktop - unfortunately, it won't be on the toolbar but I'm pretty sure you can make it stay on top of applications, but then it might just get in the way of the application you're using.

 

Other than that, not sure what else to suggest, but I'm sure people will drop in and add some more comments.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You've stated the problem exactly, Ian. The clocks I've tried -- except for an enormous "melting" one -- give only the time, while I want date and day and month also. If no one comes up with a good idea, I expect I'll make do with what I have. A friend suggested Superkaramba, but that's rather too full of unwanted "goodies" besides being a KDE app.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will do. Thanks.

 

[grumble] Analogue clocks must be pretty large if they are to be readable. No provision for showing day of week, and month can be expressed only in numerical form.

 

Don't see why Gnome's panel clock cannot be made configurable. In software terms it would be a trivial thing to do.

Edited by payasam
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have this exact same problem in Gnome. So far, I manage by choosing a theme that results in a proper contrast (and my clock is in a toolbar on its own).

 

There is however a solution. I know that. I saw it once. It's just I don't remember where it is… I only remember it involves specifying the expected look (colors, font…) in the GTK rc-file.

 

Well, now that I'm not alone in this, I'll try and find the solution again. :)

 

Yves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not find, yet. But I found this:

http://www.linuxine.com/2008/07/trick-cust...r-on-gnome.html

 

If this works, then it is way more powerfull!

 

Yves.

 

EDIT: Here it is:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=342575

Edited by theYinYeti
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh sorry, my previous post was related to the first link, which suggests making the changes in gconf-editor (Menu : Sytem : Preferences : Configuration editor — the icon of which is a red car being repaired). In this editor, the post instructs to change the value of /apps/panel/applets/clock/prefs/custom_format.

 

The value I use is what I posted in the previous post. Actually, I now changed it to:

<span color="#CCFFDD"><small>Semaine %V — %a %d %b — </small><big>%H:%M</big></span>

(“Semaine†in French means “Week†in English, “lun.†means “mon.â€, “févr.†means “febr.â€).

 

For example, today the clock reads:

Semaine 09 — lun. 23 févr. — 09:19

 

Yves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, yes, semaine. It comes back. I spent some weeks failing miserably to learn a bit of French in college in 1967. Will chase the first link and see if I can do something. Thank you again.

 

[edit] Went along apps -> panel -> applets -> clock, but found no prefs there.

Edited by payasam
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went along apps -> panel -> applets -> clock, but found no prefs there.

Then probably you removed the clock at some time, and then added it again. The clock would then appear with a generic name such as “applet_5â€. Click successively on each “applet_*†until you find the one with bonobo_iid equal to “OAFIID:GNOME_ClockAppletâ€; this will be the clock.

 

Yves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yves, you really know your way around. Thanks yet again.

 

[edit] Done, Yves. I've kept your colour but removed the week number, which I do not need. Most important, I have used <big> for both date and time. If I knew how to make the type even bigger, I would do that. [little edit] I've made it bold, which is something.

Edited by payasam
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...