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I'm currently testing Ubuntu 11.10 and I LOVE it. The only thing that really bugs me is how Banshee doesn't have a dark toolbar, yet Rhythmbox does. Imo it really integrates it much better..

Rhythmbox:

enter image description here

Banshee:

enter image description here

I know the stable release is quite a ways away, but I'm just curious as to why this is the case.

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2 Answers 2

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Banshee's toolbar looks different because its toolbar color is hard-coded. This was initially coded in the days when it wasn't popular for gtk themes to set custom colors for the toolbar. It was done to help the resize grip widgets (and possible other custom icons and widgets) blend in better with the toolbar.

Unfortunately, the custom toolbar makes Banshee stick out like a sore thumb with themes that do paint the toolbar. There's an open bug report (mine, actually ;) ) for the issue.

Part of the problem can probably be found near line 214 of BaseClientWindow.cs. I tried my limited C# abilities and couldn't come up with a fix. If you can, I'm sure the Banshee devs would welcome a patch. :)

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  • I thought that the reason of old-style toolbar was that Banshee is still using GTK+2...
    – fitojb
    Sep 7, 2011 at 0:34
  • @Fitoschido, it's true that Banshee is still using gtk2, but there are gtk2 themes (such as Osliner Radience) that set custom toolbar colors, and those themes generally work in all applications except Banshee. In the process of moving to gtk3, they may fix this, but I don't think that alone is the whole issue. I could be wrong, though.
    – Michael Martin-Smucker
    Sep 7, 2011 at 17:17
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This is not on official answer, but some creative guesswork on my part: Banshee uses Mono, which has always had issues integrating 100% with the GTK theme. Therefore, to get to to look right in the GTK2 days, it required an rc file (which is like a theme for one program). As yet in 11.10, I haven't seen any rc files that would be used to fix little issues in theme compatibility. This is why Banshee looks out of place.

If you want to see another instance of rc issues, look at the Ubuntu One control panel. In Natty it has a different tab switcher because of custom rc file. In Oneiric, this doesn't exist.

Now, as for why those RC files don't exist, I cannot say. GTK3/the unico engine may not support it yet or it may not be possible, or it may just be waiting in the pipes.

Recap: Rhythmbox native GTK app, will look right. Banshee is a Mono app, will never look 100% correct without some work.

EDIT: Please read MichaelMS's comments on this answer, he clarifies some of the misconceptions in this answer. (Mainly that Banshee COULD look 100% right, but is coded in a way that it doesn't.)

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  • However, even with said file to address those issues, Banshee STILL would not look 100% correct due to its mono development
    – ShroudedCloud
    Aug 22, 2011 at 23:12
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    -1 Like Rhythmbox, Banshee is also a native GTK app, and it's using a native GTK toolbar widget. The only difference is that Banshee is overriding the toolbar color. There are gtk(-sharp) bindings for Mono/C# applications, so there's no reason Mono would have "issues integrating 100% with the GTK theme."
    – Michael Martin-Smucker
    Aug 23, 2011 at 1:51
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    While I appreciate that you're trying to be helpful, the last thing we need is even more misinformation about Mono. :p
    – Michael Martin-Smucker
    Aug 23, 2011 at 1:55
  • MichaelMS : I'm sorry, like I said, my information is not official. I will attempt to update my post based on what you said so we won't have to worry about that.
    – ShroudedCloud
    Aug 23, 2011 at 2:04
  • Also, MichaelMS, would that explain why Banshee's selection highlight has a gradient to it? Also because it's hardcoded to do so?
    – ShroudedCloud
    Aug 23, 2011 at 2:20

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