How do I customize the lock screen?

Support & Help Requests
#1

Dear Fellow Ubuntu Mates,

I have been trying hard to find a way to customize the lock screen. My setup is Ubuntu 19.10

Loving Mate 19.10 till now, but customization has hit a problem.

I do find ways to change the desktop background. However, I want to customize the lock screen itself. The buttons and the lock screen dialog itself is not customizable. I have not found a way to do this.

I want to change the lock dialog and not the login dialog. I am a programmer and can write/change code (haven't done that in the past but ready for it).

Any help guidance, or pointing to a resource - highly appreciated.

#2

Check out the following page -

and tell us if it meets your needs.

#3

No this doesn't serve the purpose.

I want to 'customize' the lock-screen. I am not content with just modifying the background.

The applied themes and icon and window borders must also apply on the lock screen dialog.

Please check my lockscreen - its plain boring, uninviting: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3s8nvji7h5asza1/IMG_20200111_0850200.jpg

May be this would be better:

#4

Hope you find whatever you're looking for. Good luck ksmanu.

#5

You may want to check out mate-screensaver on github, the source code and configuration files are there.

Good luck

1 Like
#6

I have started with downloading the mate-screensaver code base and setting up the environement. Howver setting up and building the source code is an uphill challenge as of now. Any help to start would be helpful.

Update: got the start
sudo apt install build-essentials git
downloaded mate-scrensaver code. added source repositories in software and updates and thereafter did a sudo apt install build-dep mate-screensaver.
it was simple to make and install it.

Now looking at the source code.

Then will have a look at how to work with custom styling. That shall be the real challenge, I guess.

#7

The lock screen definitely needs some attention. Sure, it's functional but when I first saw it I thought something was broken. It looks like some kind of fallback mode. I like the mockup of ksmanu!

1 Like
#8

Hi @jodother
Thanks, but the image is from Deepin's lock screen, from google images, used for reference. Currently, I downloaded, built and now I am navigating code, early days.

Styling is definitely left out on lock screen. There are other things to do but will take them up in other threads.

#9

I have my development environment setup, I am wrapping my head around the screensaver source code. I am dividing my attention between finding my way around mate screensaver code, looking for a job, and honing C++ and management skills.

This seems to be a good place to start app development in gnome.

Now I need to learn how the themes and styles 'apply' on the GNOME-y applications and the reason why they don't to mate-screensaver.

If there is someone who can help connect me with the appropriate place for talking about the 'code', it would be very helpful.

Due to @gigama I broke ice with the code, changed and compiled. Shall report on the progress on issues. Related issue.