Thunderbird Theme Changes

[rsx11m]

As companion thread to viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2963255 for SeaMonkey, I'm opening this thread for discussions and alert on significant theme changes in Thunderbird.

[x2a]

It's kind of ridiculous how hard it is to find info on the topic. Many of the links floating about suffer from link rot and only tangentially related info, mostly focusing on FF. Short of unpacking a .jar theme file, where can I find resources on how to create a theme/what's in a theme?

Thanks in advance for your help. Apologies if this is answered somewhere that I just couldn't find.

[LoudNoise]

Merged to this in the hope you share what you find and the theme folks come by with suggestions.

[Frank Lion]

It's kind of ridiculous how hard it is to find info on the topic

Kind of ridiculous how long stuff like that takes to write as well.

Short of unpacking a .jar theme

That is likely the easiest way to start. Extract it using Winrar and examine it. Then do the same with any existing T/Bird theme, paying particular attention to how the install.rdf and chrome.manifest are written.

Then install the following extensions - DOM Inspector, Element Inspector and any of the Restart extensions.

Initially write your theme in userChrome.css, which will allow you to concentrate on just the .css theme coding and not get complicated by any theme structure. Once done, that code would then get moved to a proper theme.jar.

To make a theme, everything revolves around the DOM Inspector - with just that I can read existing styling rules within .css files in omni.ja and elsewhere and also all images, etc.

[Frank Lion]

As expected, T/bird 50.0b2 has the same problem as outlined here - viewtopic.php?p=14716797#p14716797

[Paenglab]

As expected, T/bird 50.0b2 has the same problem as outlined here - viewtopic.php?p=14716797#p14716797

This is because toolkit uses overrides https://dxr.mozilla.org/comm-central/source/mozilla/toolkit/themes/shared/non-mac.jar.inc.mn#133 to reuse icons.

[Frank Lion]

As expected, T/bird 50.0b2 has the same problem as outlined here - viewtopic.php?p=14716797#p14716797

This is because toolkit uses overrides https://dxr.mozilla.org/comm-central/source/mozilla/toolkit/themes/shared/non-mac.jar.inc.mn#133 to reuse icons.

Thanks. I figured a fix was more useful to people than an explanation of dev lunacy, so just kept things simple.

[Frank Lion]

If you're messing around with changing the T/bird tabs, the following is useful to know/use -

Code: Select all

#tabs-toolbar {
  --tabHeight: unset !important;
}

[disposable101]

I am using Thunderbird in OSx and and would like to develop a theme. However, wanted to know:

- Are the folder or message list panes styleable via themes?
- If so, whereabouts are the styles / icons?
- If not, is there another way to do this?

[Frank Lion]

As some will know, Thunderbird whacked Complete Themes in T/Bird 68. I don't think many theme devs were that bothered, after all this is the same Thunderbird team who forgot to tell users that T/Bird 60 had a bug that meant that Complete Themes if ever disabled then needed to be installed/re-installed around 3 times to work again.....most users didn't know this and just disabled the theme for good.

Anyway, like when Quantum Firefox 57 came out, it was claimed that such huge change to the program was the reason for the end of Complete Themes on it.

Nope, done just for my amusement, here's my Aluminium Kai 2 theme, this time as an extension, installed and working on Thunderbird 68.4.1.

Just click the links for fullsize images.

Frank





http://franklion.co.uk/GEN-LINKS/AK2/AK ... ic%201.png






http://franklion.co.uk/GEN-LINKS/AK2/AK ... ic%202.png







http://franklion.co.uk/GEN-LINKS/AK2/AK ... ic%203.png

[WaltS48]

You should file an enhancement bug and ask for it to be included along with the Default, Dark and Light themes that are already available.

[Frank Lion]

You should file an enhancement bug and ask for it to be included along with the Default, Dark and Light themes that are already available.

Maybe so, but it's already available to me, so I can't really see that one happening.

[dsamersoff]

You should file an enhancement bug and ask for it to be included along with the Default, Dark and Light themes that are already available.

Maybe so, but it's already available to me, so I can't really see that one happening.

Frank,

What is the current situation with themes for Tb68, for instance, my lovely Metal Lion one? Could I expect an update soon or should I stay on 60x for quite a some time?

Thank you!

[Frank Lion]

What is the current situation with themes for Tb68, for instance, my lovely Metal Lion one? Could I expect an update soon or should I stay on 60x for quite a some time?

Hi,

Current situation is that there may be the odd theme or two that is converted to an extension, like mine above. But, just like with Firefox, it's pretty obvious that the T/Bird people don't want Complete Themes on T/Bird any longer, as proved by their total lack of communication with theme devs.

I think it's always good to know when to leave the party, so no, don't expect to see my stuff on 68+ anytime soon. They will, however, continue on the SeaMonkey browser/email suite.

Glad you enjoy using my themes

Frank

[dsamersoff]

What is the current situation with themes for Tb68, for instance, my lovely Metal Lion one? Could I expect an update soon or should I stay on 60x for quite a some time?

Hi,

Current situation is that there may be the odd theme or two that is converted to an extension, like mine above. But, just like with Firefox, it's pretty obvious that the T/Bird people don't want Complete Themes on T/Bird any longer, as proved by their total lack of communication with theme devs.

I think it's always good to know when to leave the party, so no, don't expect to see my stuff on 68+ anytime soon. They will, however, continue on the SeaMonkey browser/email suite.

Glad you enjoy using my themes

Frank

Sad news, but thanks for the honest answer. I'll consider migration to sea monkey.