Help Me Make My Windows Transparent Please:-)

[Granny_Geek]

The title says it all. It is very easy to do in Kubuntu...can you tell me how to do it in Ubuntu? Thanks, Granny

[Pasdar]

You mean like Windows VISTA? You would need to install Emerald via package manager, and then download a vista theme for it from www.gnome-look.org

[binbash]

which window are you trying to make transparent ?.You can set any window (with name class etc ) transparent at compizconfig settings manager > opacity, brightness and saturation plugin

[blackened]

Since CompizConfig Settings Manager is not installed by default, to install it via the terminal use:

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

It will then be available as System -> Preferences -> CompizConfig Settings Manager.

[Granny_Geek]

which window are you trying to make transparent ?.You can set any window (with name class etc ) transparent at compizconfig settings manager > opacity, brightness and saturation plugin
Ok, but how do I set name,class,etc? I have no clue, could you give an example, lets say for the text editor?

[Granny_Geek]

Ok, but how do I set name,class,etc? I have no clue, could you give an example, lets say for the text editor?
By the way, thanks for all your replies, I have Compiz & the Compiz Settings Manager, but I don't know much about making the windows transparent. Granny

[blackened]

Ok, but how do I set name,class,etc? I have no clue, could you give an example, lets say for the text editor?

Open a Gedit window, then in CCSM in the Window Specific Settings of the Opacity plugin, click "New". In the Edit dialog that comes up, click the "+" button.

In the "Type" dropdown box, select how you want to match the window, then click the "Grab" button and click on the Gedit window you opened earlier. Click the "Add" button, then set the required opacity in the "Edit" dialog before closing it.

[Granny_Geek]

Open a Gedit window, then in CCSM in the Window Specific Settings of the Opacity plugin, click "New". In the Edit dialog that comes up, click the "+" button.

In the "Type" dropdown box, select how you want to match the window, then click the "Grab" button and click on the Gedit window you opened earlier. Click the "Add" button, then set the required opacity in the "Edit" dialog before closing it.
Will try, I'll post how it comes out.

[Granny_Geek]

Ok, I got the effect I wanted by using the Trailfocus plugin and going into appearance and setting opacity from there but I am going to clip this info blackened because I may need the instructions when I decide to change up,which is quite often:-) Thanks, everybody for your replies! Granny:-)

[blackened]

...I am going to clip this info blackened because I may need the instructions when I decide to change up,which is quite often:-) ...

I know the feeling. Tinkering is less a hobby, more a way of life.

[abn91c]

The title says it all. It is very easy to do in Kubuntu...can you tell me how to do it in Ubuntu? Thanks, Granny
If you have Kubuntu 8.10 you did not need the compiz settings manager to get transparemn menus, all you had to do is:
system settings>desktop>desktop effects>advanced>composting type and change to XRender

[miegiel]

Once enabled in compiz I just hold left-Alt and roll my mouse wheel to change a window's opacity. Though blackened's post (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7020001) seems the way to go if you want the opacity set everytime you run the program.

[blackened]

If you have Kubuntu 8.10 you did not need the compiz settings manager to get transparemn menus, all you had to do is:
system settings>desktop>desktop effects>advanced>composting type and change to XRender, here is what mine looks like this

Don't you come around trying to pimp your DE in a perfectly good Gnome thread.

No really, it is much more out of the box in KDE, but they almost do a better job than Compiz in nesting the settings so deep that finding them is near impossible.

[Nathanael Culver]

Maybe I'm missing the obvious, but I just enabled "Opacity, Brightness and Saturation" under Accessibility in Compiz Settings Manager; <Ctrl>-<Shift>-<Super>Up and Down increases or decreases the current window's transparency. I use this especially for terminal apps such as PowerShell which use pseudo-transparency (I HATE that).

If you want a particular app always transparent, go with the other solutions offered here. However, they don't allow you to control the level of transparency on-the-fly.

--Nathanael

[Granny_Geek]

I know the feeling. Tinkering is less a hobby, more a way of life.
lol...yes! For us Linux users.Granny:-)

[blackened]

...However, they don't allow you to control the level of transparency on-the-fly...

Very true, though I've never come across an instance where on-the-fly transparency setting was a necessity. I suppose it depends heavily on how you're used to interacting with the machine.

[Nathanael Culver]

Very true, though I've never come across an instance where on-the-fly transparency setting was a necessity. I suppose it depends heavily on how you're used to interacting with the machine.

Also true. I find <Alt> plus a quick spin of the mouse wheel is quite useful for getting a quick peek at what's behind the current window. This is most useful to me when working in a terminal window -- e.g., increasing transparency temporarily to see the web tutorial I'm trying to follow (much easier than Alt-tabbing back and forth), then reducing it again so I can read the terminal's output. In general, the level of transparency of a terminal window depends on what's behind it. And, while gnome-terminal supports true transparency, my terminal of choice (MXVRT) doesn't (only "pseudo-transparency", which I HATE).

But, yes, it depends on your own usage patterns.

--Nathanael Culver