PI 1.8 - Gui Colors

[scotttxusa]

PI 1.8 trial
ubuntu 14.04 all updates

Searched forum, found one thread a year old but never answered, so asking here:

From what I've read, in older versions, there was a Window -> GUI option that allowed users to modify the look and feel of the application.

This seems a critical function considering many use the app in low-light conditions.  My interest is in preserving what vision I have... I use a dark theme on my system, and am hoping to modify the gui in PI 1.8.

Any suggestions please.

Thank you,
Scott

[NGC7789]

Why not use an acrylic screen like one of these?

http://shop.astrogizmos.com/category.sc?categoryId=7

I'm not advertising this product. It just gives you the idea. You can get red acrylic from many sources and cut to the size you need. That's what I do and I hold it on with rubber bands. In my opinion it's a much better solution.

[scotttxusa]

A great idea for smaller screen, thanks for mentioning it...  I have a rather large screen (.8 m / 32 in.)

I'm hoping there's an easy way to use a dark theme, it's the one thing preventing me from buying PI.

Thanks again for your response,
Scott

[NGC7789]

Not to beat a dead horse but a quick google produced this:

http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Colored_Plexiglass_Acrylic_Sheet_Transparent/ACRY24230-125CCM24X48

[scotttxusa]

Hey thanks, another great idea, but I need to focus on not changing the color of the entire screen, but to minimize the brighter parts of the gui to reduce overall light produced by the monitor.  This was supposedly possible in earlier versions.

Have tried qt4 settings to gtk+ style, but no result... I'm digging in the config files and will mess with them...

Surely someone has wanted to change the color of the gui before and knows how to do it... Or maybe there are thousands of astronomers wearing sunglasses to use PI in a low-light environment..

Thanks again for your responses.

All the best,
Scott

[georg.viehoever]

Maybe playing around with the style sheets in Edit/Global Preferences/Core Resources can help.

[scotttxusa]

Thank you, Sir for pointing me in the right direction.

[scotttxusa]

Even changing one background color in /opt/PixInsight/rsc/qss/x11.qss locks the program up.

I suppose to write software this good, all the time is needed to develop the inner workings... did previous versions have the option to edit the gui easily through a menu-driven option?  Why was it remvoed?

For $270 USD this seems the most basic of options... a dark, medium and default theme should be included in the initial package.  it's a deal breaker for me... on top of the high learning curve I have to fiddle with style sheets, spend two weeks learning something just so I can see the screen...

I was really looking forward to using this software, but there are other options.  I've asked the company for a dark theme file, without that I'm moving on.

[Andres.Pozo]

Or maybe there are thousands of astronomers wearing sunglasses to use PI in a low-light environment..

I never use PI in a low-light environment. If this is the first request for this capability I assume most of people don't process their images near the telescope. 

[scotttxusa]

I was being flippant...

but, you're one... 999 more to ask

It's not the first request, or it would not have been an option in a previous version. and there are dozens of other reasons why someone would need a less-than-million-candle-power display option.

Even the most basic software has options to change colors of the gui.

Not everyone is a linux guru, programmer...

Hopefully they'll consider adding a couple different themes to the next release... a dark, medium and default theme and all would be well.

Thanks for saying hi!

All the best,
Scott

[CharlesW]

I can see that having the ability to tone down the window edges might be nice and maybe it's something that the PI team will consider in the future. As suggested above, you could cover your screen with red acrylic, but that would change the color of the processing area. How about buying a piece that just covers the menu bar at the top to knock down some of that brightness?

[scotttxusa]

Great suggestion Charles, thank you... I'm using a piece of car window tint along the top and it does help but it's ackward...  cheers