Crystal

KDE 3.x Window Decorations

Source (link to git-repo or to original if based on someone elses unmodified work): Add the source-code for this project on opencode.net

9
5.7
Description:

Crystal is a kwin window decoration theme, which offers you (pseudo) TRANSPARENT titlebar, buttons and borders. Check out my screenshots! It also has some little usuability enhancements.


Main features:
* The style grabs your wallpaper and uses it as the deco background. It has several blending modes, i.e. it can fade the background into the defined title bar color, or it can brighten or darken the wallpaper, as well as blur the source image to simulate glass.
* Choose the blending color of the buttons.
* You can define the title bar height and border size of the windows.
* Right click on minimize button toggles shade mode.
* Middle click on minimize button sends window to below.
* Double click on program symbol closes window.
* Support for button themes. Basic button theme is included, feel free to swamp me with cool themes.
* Can show a tooltip of the caption
* Mouse-wheel on the title bar to 'scroll' to all opened windows of the same desktop.
* If kdocker is installed (http://kdocker.sf.net), right click on close button will send the window to the systemtray.


Disadvantages:
- Crystal needs KDE >=3.2 and QT>=3.2.
- May be very slow and memory consuming
- Don't forget to breathe, while drooling.


-- INSTALL ---------------------
Basic Installation (from the console):
- Step 1
$ ./configure
OR: $ ./configure --prefix=`kde-config --prefix`
- Step 2
$ make
- Step 3 (as root)
# make install

If you installed crystal while it was running, you need to restart kwin to use the updated version: kwin --replace
--------------------------------


Crystal in common distributions:
- Kubuntu: Crystal is the default decoration since 6.06
- Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install kwin-style-crystal
- Gentoo: emerge -a x11-themes/crystal
- Fedora: yum install crystal
- Debian: apt-get install kwin-style-crystal
- openSUSE: install from repository http://software.opensuse.org/download/KDE:/Community/openSUSE_10.2
- FreeBSD: Port x11-themes/kde-windeco-crystal
- Mandriva: urpmi kwin-style-crystal


For KDE 4.x port see:
http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php/crystal?content=75140

Source can also be found on GitHub:
https://github.com/shlusiak/kwin-style-crystal/tree/KDE-3.5


Regards,
Sascha Hlusiak
Last changelog:

12 years ago

1.0.7:
* Added Kubuntu button theme (thanks to Kubuntu team)
* Do not draw shadowed captions of inactive windows so it's easier to read
* Nicer defaults

1.0.6:
* Probably fixed linking of kdecore on some platforms
* Don't hide borders when in half maximized state. Fixes glitch when restoring a half maximized window.

1.0.5:
* Fixed linking of needed libraries like Qt in rare cases
* Fixed crash in "cycle tasks with wheel" in Compiz/Aquamarine. Use KDE setting when running in compiz.
* Set default of "cycle tasks with wheel" to off
* Showing version in preview


1.0.4:
* Fixed bug of not clipping when window is not visible (https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kwin-style-crystal/+bug/82870)
* Integration of kdocker: Right click on close button to run kdocker for that window to minimize it to the system tray. kdocker needs to be installed (http://kdocker.sf.net)
* Menu button is finally themeable. Added menu button images to button themes, where possible


1.0.3:
* Added option to suppress drawing of caption
* Added the two more overlays "glass" and "steel"
* Merged the beautiful Kubuntu Feisty button theme


1.0.2:
* Added Kubuntu-Edgy button theme
* Doubleclick is recognized on whole window frame
* Possibly slight speedup in rendering overlay


1.0.1:
* Added sweet Kubuntu button theme
* Fixed button misplacement when returning from fullscreen mode


1.0.0:
* Added raised/sunken mode to inline and outline frame
* Minor fix for outline frame with Vista buttons
* Configdialog changes/fixes
* Option to _completely_ disable all transparency code, for more speed
* You can separately define the color of the minimize and maximize button now
* Yeah, I think, it's worth the 1.0.0 now!

541 comments
Comments/Ratings

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deprecat

14 years ago

Hallo, I'm trying to replace the buttons with larger custom ones, because default seems me too little.
Can you explain how is the procedure, as you said that the png images have to be converted to c-header file? I don't know what this means.
Thank you , great work
Fede

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C

dralgebra

14 years ago

Please send me an email, and I'll explain it more detailled.

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deprecat

14 years ago

please refer to mangus@deprecated.it
thanks!

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victorche

15 years ago

Any chance for a Slackware package for 0.9.9? Or at least a SlackBuild for it... :/

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C

dralgebra

15 years ago

Sorry, my slackware guy seems to be busy at the moment, and I have no idea, how to ceate a slackware package. So, please, if anyone could provide a slackware package, I would host it.

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victorche

15 years ago

Well... I can try, but it will be easier if I had a SlackBuild for this :/

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Grobsch

15 years ago

Congratulations, this is the best kwin decoration ever.

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tadashi

15 years ago

I notice that multiple desktop wallpapers will only show up as a grey screen sometimes and will not refresh.

The Amor icon somtimes invisible. Yes i know it is goofy but I like the little cat running around the desktop yelling out random things like "The answer is 42." =D

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tadashi

15 years ago

Is there a way to change the settings? Or a way to disable it temporarily?

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rominet777

15 years ago

I have a changing desktop wallpaper (one each 60 minutes or so), and each time it changes, windows are frozen while - I guess - the window decoration is calculating its new stuff...

Is there a way to have a cache of previous backgroud pictures and window decoration parameters to avoïd that ?

Cheers

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C

dralgebra

15 years ago

Sorry, what am I supposed to do? Crystal tracks wallpaper changes, and it is good so. I see no reason, why to disable that. When the wallpaper changes, crystal has to re-grab it, and to apply the image effect on it. That takes some time and makes the deco "freeze". I cannot pre-grab the wallpapers and I won't cache them, because I even don't know the wallpaper. I get it from KDE, and it maybe not even be a 'file'. So I can do nothing about that. :-/ And I see no reason, why I should.

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rominet777

15 years ago

Errr... well, I don't ask for disabling background grabbing or for pre-caching, I understand this is KDE that gives the wallpaper to the decoration :)

I was just wondering, if it could be possible to have caching yes, but I have one reason for that :when you're changing from desktop 1 to desktop 2 in KDE for example, even if you have the same wallpaper (or whatever) your windows will freeze - this means that you can't quickly switch between your N desktops because it takes 2 or 3 seconds to compute the new decoration :(

If it could be possible to "cache" (using an unique ID for each wallpaper or whatever) what KDE gives (a QImage, is it ?) , then this could avoïd rebuilding the decoration when indeed it's not needed... see what I mean ?

Cheers

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C

dralgebra

15 years ago

Oh yeah, that makes totally sense to me. And it is possible to implement, so I may think of this feature for the next release, but I cannot promise it. It surely would take a lot of RAM and it still would be slow the first time, it has to cache those images.

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rominet777

15 years ago

Thanks !
:)

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cormorano

15 years ago

very very good theme !!!!!!!

Super !!!!

Bye

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zzzzzz

15 years ago

Just to say thanks for this great windeco!
Bye.

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fatbuttlarry

15 years ago

amazing.

Cheers.

-FBL

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alphatierchen

15 years ago

kde 3.3 can't load the CRYSTAL Deco in kde-controllcenter!

..."the plugin can't be loaded"....

Pleas tell me how to fix this caus i like the Deco...

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C

dralgebra

15 years ago

I compiled the deco against KDE 3.4 with newer libs and created the debian package with that. Seems that my package is not backwards compatible.

Please download the source code and compile it yourself. You need the appropriate devel packages for that. Sorry man. I can't provide packages for every distro. :(

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alphatierchen

15 years ago

o.k. thanks i'll probe to do this.
but before i'll use the deco with the same debian sarge ang kde3.3 and it works!

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alphatierchen

15 years ago

i found your crystal-GL Deco!
this works fine on kde 3.3 and debian sarge!!!

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jmiahman

15 years ago

Is there a way instead of Having the WinDec be clear, to add our own background. The same concept that you can do with kicker.

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C

dralgebra

15 years ago

Not yet, I think of an option to define a background image, instead of the autodetected wallpaper.

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loker

15 years ago

Hi,

you can reach to pisi package of this well window decoration... http://paketler.uludag.org.tr/pardus-1.0/crystal-0.9.8-1-1.pisi

http://www.uludag.org.tr/eng/

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vstefano

15 years ago

I really appreciated your work,
it is very refine, Ciao.

Report

12 years ago

1.0.7:
* Added Kubuntu button theme (thanks to Kubuntu team)
* Do not draw shadowed captions of inactive windows so it's easier to read
* Nicer defaults

1.0.6:
* Probably fixed linking of kdecore on some platforms
* Don't hide borders when in half maximized state. Fixes glitch when restoring a half maximized window.

1.0.5:
* Fixed linking of needed libraries like Qt in rare cases
* Fixed crash in "cycle tasks with wheel" in Compiz/Aquamarine. Use KDE setting when running in compiz.
* Set default of "cycle tasks with wheel" to off
* Showing version in preview


1.0.4:
* Fixed bug of not clipping when window is not visible (https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kwin-style-crystal/+bug/82870)
* Integration of kdocker: Right click on close button to run kdocker for that window to minimize it to the system tray. kdocker needs to be installed (http://kdocker.sf.net)
* Menu button is finally themeable. Added menu button images to button themes, where possible


1.0.3:
* Added option to suppress drawing of caption
* Added the two more overlays "glass" and "steel"
* Merged the beautiful Kubuntu Feisty button theme


1.0.2:
* Added Kubuntu-Edgy button theme
* Doubleclick is recognized on whole window frame
* Possibly slight speedup in rendering overlay


1.0.1:
* Added sweet Kubuntu button theme
* Fixed button misplacement when returning from fullscreen mode


1.0.0:
* Added raised/sunken mode to inline and outline frame
* Minor fix for outline frame with Vista buttons
* Configdialog changes/fixes
* Option to _completely_ disable all transparency code, for more speed
* You can separately define the color of the minimize and maximize button now
* Yeah, I think, it's worth the 1.0.0 now!

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1.0.7
updated Feb 01 2009
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