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Themes

Revision as of 12:06, 1 November 2009

What are themes?

Themes are used by the maemo phones and tablets to determine what the interface looks like. If you change the theme, the appearance of the interface changes.

• The N900 (Maemo5) includes two default themes, which you can select using the Settings/Themes popup.
• The N800 and N810 tablets (OS2008) come with four built-in themes to choose from, which you can do from the desktop's "Home" menu at the top of the desktop screen.

Now if you're bored with the built-in designs, you can install extra themes, which is what this article is about.

Available themes

The following two pages list a number of availble themes with screenshots. Pick one you like, then read the next section on how to get and install it.

• List_of_Themes_for_Maemo5
• List_of_Themes_for_OS2008

How to find and install extra themes

By far the easiest way to find and install themes is to use the maemo.org website, which is the official site for internet tablet software development.

1. On your tablet, click on the globe on the left, open a new browser window and go to the address maemo.org Don't worry if the site is a bit slow sometimes.

2. Click on the "Downloads" link at the top of the screen, and make sure you're in the "OS 2008" section.

3. Click on the search box in the top right hand corner, enter the word "theme" and click on the search button.

4. Scroll through the results, if you see a theme you like you can find out more about it by clicking on its title. If you want to install a theme, click on the large green arrow next to its name.

5. During the installation, say "yes" or "ok" to all the questions, and eventually the tablet should tell you that the theme has been installed successfully. You can now close the Application Manager and browser if you want to.

6. To activate the theme, click on the "Home" menu link at the top of the desktop screen, then "Set Theme", then select your new theme from the list. Click on "Apply" to activate it and "Close" to close the theme box. If you want to go back to a previous theme, simply repeat this process and choose the previous theme instead.

Note that the theme doesn't replace the wallpaper, that's a quite separate option in the "Home" menu called "Set Background Image".

How to uninstall themes

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you do NOT uninstall a theme you are currently using. If you uninstall a theme currently in use, this can cause your tablet to malfunction.

The way to avoid problems is to switch to a theme you want to keep before you uninstall a theme you want to remove.

To uninstall a theme:

1. Click on the Applications icon (the green squares on the left).

2. Click on "Settings", then "Applications Manager", then "Show Installed Applications".

3. Highlight the name of the theme you want to remove, and click on "Uninstall" at the bottom of the screen. The theme should now be removed from the tablet's memory.

Make your own theme

Creating a theme is very easy, all you need is an image editing program and some creativity. Follow the guide and get going!

Distribute your own theme

You created a nice theme? Please go the extra step and make it available to other users through the "extras repository". This is the place where all 3rd party applications are centrally stored and where the Application Manager goes to give you the list of apps and themes that can be installed on your system. This guide helps you create a theme package and upload it.