The install command from Toz works fine provided you change the first link to the one that is outside /etc/alternatives and points to x-cursor-theme.
What should it be? If you check /usr/share/icons/default/index.theme (properties, or use ls -l) you will see it is a link to x-cursor-theme. This is the link we want to use.
The correct command would be:
where NewCursor is the name on the folder of the one you want to install. As mentioned in post #4, you may need to create a cursor.theme file for it.Code:sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/share/icons/default/index.theme x-cursor-theme /usr/share/icons/NewCursor/cursor.theme 20
The priority number is not really important, since by setting this manually, this new cursor is used regardless of priority.
I know this works. I have installed two extra cursors I downloaded from gnome-look.org, and they show up after the sudo update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme command is given.
Don't forget: For Unity, you also need to change the gnome cursor (if that's the proper term) to the same theme by using the 'advanced settings' tool.
Last edited by Dennis N; May 20th, 2012 at 09:11 PM.
- this is exactly what i did.
in my last post, the sentence "the solution is found here" had the wrong link; corrected it now; This is the right one.
- make it! one entry is enough.
There is another easy way that doesn't use update-alternatives. Described in this post:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...2&postcount=22
It uses instructions (linked in post) given by one of the cursor makers at gnome-look.org. It uses the ln command to make a new symlink from x-cursor-theme to the desired cursor. One liner.
The new cursor won't show up in the alternatives list since it was not 'installed'.
Again, you have to change the gnome cursor too.
If instead of adding downloaded cursor themes with update-alternatives,
would overwriting the /usr/share/icons/default/index.theme work.
eg The setting changed when using gnome-tweak-tool
Code:gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface cursor-theme "$CURSOR"
and then...
$CURSOR=new themeCode:sudo sh -c "echo '[Icon Theme]\nInherits=$CURSOR' > /usr/share/icons/default/index.theme"
Update-alternatives is probably the best way, this is just so I can use a script.
Everybody loves the command line, but there is a utility program with GUI that can do this also:
Install the program Alternatives Configurator which is in the Ubuntu repository under the package name galternatives.
USING THE GUI PROGRAM ALTERNATIVES CONFIGURATOR (search for this name in the Dash)
Preliminary:
Put new cursor folder in /usr/share/icons. Create cursor.theme file if needed.
Start the program:
You are asked for your password.
Select x-cursor-theme from the list in the left.
To add a new cursor, click 'Add' button and browse in the popup window to the new cursor's directory in /usr/share/icons.
Click Open, and select the file cursor.theme
Click ok.
Click ok.
New cursor becomes available in the main window. Select it and close. It will become active after log out.
For Unity: in addition to the above, use 'advanced settings' to complete the job and change the gnome cursor.
Last edited by Dennis N; May 20th, 2012 at 09:12 PM.
My thought on that:
Lots of people give this method as the way to change the cursor. It 'works', but could have unforseen consequences, since you are actually directly editing and changing the cursor.theme file of the active cursor to some other cursor's name after Inherits=.
Especially true if you then change the cursor again with update-alternatives, since that changes the x-cursor-theme link's target to the new cursor instead (and never writes anything to a cursor's file), leaving the previous cursor with the wrong information written in it's cursor.theme file.
galternatives is a good one.
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