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<h1>The rEFInd Boot Manager:<br />Theming rEFInd</h1>
href="mailto:rodsmith@rodsbooks.com">rodsmith@rodsbooks.com</a></p>
<p>Originally written: 4/19/2012; last Web page update:
-7/6/2014, referencing rEFInd 0.8.3</p>
+11/1/2015, referencing rEFInd 0.9.3</p>
<p>This Web page is provided free of charge and with no annoying outside ads; however, I did take time to prepare it, and Web hosting does cost money. If you find this Web page useful, please consider making a small donation to help keep this site up and running. Thanks!</p>
<div style="float:right; width:55%">
-<p>rEFInd relies on both built-in and external graphical elements in its user interface, and all of these elements can be replaced by user-specified files. This fact makes rEFInd's "look and feel" highly adjustable even by non-programmers. This page will help you get started in making such changes to each of the major sets of features: banners and backgrounds, icons, and fonts. I conclude this page with pointers to a few themes that users have created for rEFInd.</p>
+<p>rEFInd relies on both built-in and external graphical elements in its user interface, and all of these elements can be replaced by user-specified files. This fact makes rEFInd's "look and feel" highly adjustable even by non-programmers. This page will help you get started in making such changes to each of the major sets of features: banners and backgrounds, icons, icon selection backgrounds, and fonts. I conclude this page with pointers to a few themes that users have created for rEFInd.</p>
</div>
<p>You can create a new background image and logo by placing a PNG or BMP file in rEFInd's main directory and passing its filename to rEFInd with the <tt>banner</tt> option in <tt>refind.conf</tt>. If the image is smaller than the screen, the color in the top-left pixel of the image will be used for the rest of the display. This pixel's color is also used as the background color for submenu text, even for full-screen backgrounds. Using a full-screen background image can produce a dramatically different "look" for rEFInd:</p>
<br /><center><img src="refind-background.png" align="center"
- width="750" height="514" alt="rEFInd provides extensive theming
+ width="750" height="563" alt="rEFInd provides extensive theming
options." border=2> </center><br />
<p class="sidebar"><b>Tip:</b> If you use a laptop, you can create a banner or background that includes your contact information. If you lose your laptop and it's found by an honest person, this should facilitate your getting it back. Setting <tt>timeout 0</tt> in <tt>refind.conf</tt> will ensure that the message remains on the screen indefinitely.</p>
<h2>Icons</h2>
</a>
+<p class="sidebar">Prior to version 0.9.3, rEFInd's icons came from a variety of sources—mostly from the <a href="http://deviantdark.deviantart.com/art/Oxygen-Refit-70199755">Oxygen Refit</a> package, with OS icons from rEFIt and assorted other sources. If you prefer these icons to the new ones, you can pull them out of a rEFInd 0.9.2 package</p>
+
+<p>The core icons in rEFInd 0.9.3 and later come from the <a
+href="http://alecive.deviantart.com/art/AwOken-163570862">AwOken 2.5 icon
+set,</a> with additional icons created by me, and a few others taken from
+other sources. (The details are documented in the <tt>README</tt> file in
+the <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory.) These icons have a "flat" appearance, but
+with drop shadows to provide a type of depth. Most of the individual icons
+use just one color, aside from the drop shadow. Of course, the point of
+themes is that you might get bored with, or simply not like, the default
+graphics, so you can change them.</p>
+
<p>As described on various other pages of this document, rEFInd relies on icon files located in its <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory, and occasionally elsewhere, to define its overall appearance. You can adjust rEFInd's icons in a few ways:</p>
<ul>
-<li>You can create new icons, place them in a subdirectory of rEFInd's main directory, and tell the program to use the new icons by setting the <tt>icons_dir</tt> token in <tt>refind.conf</tt>. This will affect the appearance of the OS tags, the utility tags, and so on. The names of these icons should match those in the <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory (although you can substitute
PNG for ICNS files, with a suitable filename change), and are fairly self-explanatory. The default size for OS tags is 128x128 pixels, tags for 2nd-row utilities are ordinarily 48x48 pixels, and drive-type badges are 32x32 pixels by default. If an icon is missing from the directory specified by <tt>icons_dir</tt>, rEFInd falls back to the icon from the standard <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory; thus, you can replace just a subset of the standard icons. rEFInd can use icons in either Apple's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Icon_Image">icon image (ICNS)</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Network_Graphics">Portable Network Graphics (PNG)</a> format. PNG files are easier to generate on most platforms. You can generate ICNS files in various Apple programs or by using the <a href="http://icns.sourceforge.net/">libicns</a> library (and in particular its <tt>png2icns</tt> program) in Linux.</li>
+<li>You can create new icons, place them in a subdirectory of rEFInd's main directory, and tell the program to use the new icons by setting the <tt>icons_dir</tt> token in <tt>refind.conf</tt>. This will affect the appearance of the OS tags, the utility tags, and so on. The names of these icons should match those in the <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory (although you can substitute
ICNS for PNG files, with a suitable filename change), and are fairly self-explanatory. The default size for OS tags is 128x128 pixels, tags for 2nd-row utilities are ordinarily 48x48 pixels, and drive-type badges are 32x32 pixels by default. If an icon is missing from the directory specified by <tt>icons_dir</tt>, rEFInd falls back to the icon from the standard <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory; thus, you can replace just a subset of the standard icons. rEFInd can use icons in either Apple's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Icon_Image">icon image (ICNS)</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Network_Graphics">Portable Network Graphics (PNG)</a> format. PNG files are easier to generate on most platforms. You can generate ICNS files in various Apple programs or by using the <a href="http://icns.sourceforge.net/">libicns</a> library (and in particular its <tt>png2icns</tt> program) in Linux.</li>
-<li>You can do as above, but place your new icons in the default <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory. This method is discouraged because using the <tt>install.sh</tt> script to upgrade rEFInd will replace your customized icons.</li>
+<li>You can do as above, but place your new icons in the default <tt>icons</tt> subdirectory. This method is discouraged because using the <tt>refind-install</tt> script to upgrade rEFInd will replace your customized icons.</li>
<li>You can customize the appearance of an individual boot loader by placing an ICNS or PNG file in its directory with the same name as the boot loader but with a <tt>.icns</tt> or <tt>.png</tt> extension. For instance, if your boot loader program is <tt>elilo.efi</tt>, you can create a custom icon by naming it <tt>elilo.png</tt>.</li>
</ul>
+<p>As an example of what the combination of icons and backgrounds can do, consider my own Snowy theme, showing the same boot options as the preceding image:</p>
+
+ <br /><center><img src="refind-background-snowy.png" align="center"
+ width="750" height="563" alt="The Snowy theme uses predominantly white
+ icons and a background image to match its name" border=2>
+ </center><br />
+
<a name="icon_backgrounds">
<h2>Icon Selection Backgrounds</h2>
</a>
<h2>Known Themes</h2>
</a>
-<p>I used icons from the Oxygen Icons project, both from the <a href="http://deviantdark.deviantart.com/art/Oxygen-Refit-70199755">Oxygen Refit</a> package and from Gentoo's <tt>oxygen-icons</tt> package. These icons supplemented or replaced icons that rEFIt used; however, many OS icons (such as those for Windows and Mac OS) are carried over from rEFIt. I've also used a handful of icons for individual Linux distributions from other sources—usually documentation associated with the distribution in question.</p>
-
<p>In addition to this default icon set, I've received word of a few other rEFInd themes:</p>
<ul>
-<li><a href="http://ecto-plazm.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-Icon-Theme-296571397">ecto-plazm's theme</a></li>
+<li><a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/refind/files/">Snowy</a> is my own theme. It's built from (mostly) white variants of rEFInd's standard icons and includes a photo of a snowy field as a background image. It's shown earlier on this page.</li>
-<li><a href="http://opendesktop.org/content/show.php?content=153267">The Gris Theme</a> (also available as an <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=61917">Arch Linux package</a>.)</li>
+<li><a href="http://ecto-plazm.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-Icon-Theme-296571397">ecto-plazm's theme</a> was one of the first independent themes to be created for rEFInd.</li>
+
+<li><a href="http://opendesktop.org/content/show.php?content=153267">The Gris Theme</a> (also available as an <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=61917">Arch Linux package</a>) uses a minimalistic white-on-gray design:</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://opendesktop.org/content/show.php?content=153267"><img
+ src="http://opendesktop.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/153267-1.gif"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="Gris uses a minimalistic white-on-gray
+ color scheme" border=2> </a></center><br />
<li><a href="http://www.turnerharris.com/themes/refind.theme.mac.zip">The Mac theme</a> was created by Wesley Turner-Harris. See <a href="http://www.turnerharris.com/my-themes/">Wesley's Web site</a> if you want to contact the creator of this theme.</li>
-<li>Evan Purkhiser's <a href="https://github.com/EvanPurkhiser/rEFInd-minimal-theme">Minimal theme</a> uses black icons on a gray background of varied brightness.</li>
+<li>Evan Purkhiser's <a href="https://github.com/EvanPurkhiser/rEFInd-minimal-theme">Minimal theme</a> uses black icons on a gray background of varied brightness, as shown here:</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="https://github.com/EvanPurkhiser/rEFInd-minimal"><img
+ src="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/999cff82d4bea54f222e165d647b5df597f45b86/687474703a2f2f692e696d6775722e636f6d2f33624d473655372e706e67"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="Minimal uses flat icons and a subtly-graded background" border=2> </a></center><br />
<li>Sean Gibbons' <a href="http://sdbinwiiexe.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-Next-Theme-407754566">rEFInd Next</a> theme is "inspired by both iOS 7 and Windows 8 interfaces." It includes both a background image and a number of OS icons.</li>
-<li>Zhu Qunying has created a <a href="http://zhu-qy.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-slackware-banner-logo-for-refind-boot.html">Slackware-themed banner logo</a> for rEFInd. Although it's not a full theme, I thought I'd mention it here.</li>
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://sdbinwiiexe.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-Next-Theme-407754566"><img
+ src="http://orig15.deviantart.net/5db2/f/2013/290/b/d/refind_next_theme_by_sdbinwiiexe-d6qrlfq.png"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="rEFInd Next uses simple white icons against green artwork" border=2> </a></center><br />
+
+<li>Zhu Qunying has created a <a href="http://zhu-qy.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-slackware-banner-logo-for-refind-boot.html">Slackware-themed banner logo</a> for rEFInd. Although it's not a full theme, I thought I'd mention and show it here:</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://zhu-qy.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-slackware-banner-logo-for-refind-boot.html"><img
+ src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XOoqzKg25s/Uwedh5shvdI/AAAAAAAAAfo/GJpMSXlhBv8/s400/swlogo.png"
+ align="center" alt="If you use Slackware, this banner may interest you" border=2> </a></center><br />
+
+<li>naymlezwun has created an <a href="http://naymlezwun.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-OS-X-Theme-469807750">OS X theme</a> for rEFInd.</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://naymlezwun.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-OS-X-Theme-469807750"><img
+ src="http://pre11.deviantart.net/6da5/th/pre/f/2014/202/9/e/refind_os_x_theme_by_naymlezwun-d7rplza.png"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="the rEFInd OS X theme uses Mac-like icons" border=2> </a></center><br />
+
+<li>jamaladdeen on deviantART has created another <a href="http://jamaladdeen.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-OSX-Standard-Theme-1-0-492876132?ga_submit_new=10%253A1415269035&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1&ga_recent=1">OS X theme</a> that resembles the OS X environment.</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://jamaladdeen.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-OSX-Standard-Theme-1-0-492876132?ga_submit_new=10%253A1415269035&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1&ga_recent=1"><img
+ src="http://orig06.deviantart.net/6a20/f/2014/310/3/5/refind_osx_standard_theme_1_0_by_jamaladdeen-d85g1no.png"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="Another OS X-like theme" border=2> </a></center><br />
+
+<li>Brian Lechthaler has created an <a href="http://sta.sh/0raifz8774v">alternative rEFInd banner:</a>
+
+ <br /><center><a href="http://sta.sh/0raifz8774v"><img
+ src="http://orig10.deviantart.net/2799/f/2015/013/2/c/refind_banner_by_brianlechthaler-d8dt90h.png"
+ align="center" alt="An alternative simple banner for rEFInd" border=2>
+ </a></center><br />
+
+<li>User munlik has created a theme called <a href="http://munlik.deviantart.com/art/rEFInd-boot-manager-theme-Regular-theme-512091944">Regular-theme</a> on Deviantart.</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://munlik.deviantart.com/art/Regular-rEFInd-theme-512091944"><img
+ src="http://orig08.deviantart.net/44bd/f/2015/277/2/d/regular__refind__theme_by_munlik-d8gvwo8.png"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="A clean theme with a light background"
+ border=2> </a></center><br />
+
+<li>Nitrofurano has posted <a href="http://opendesktop.org/content/show.php?content=169069">a 1970s-inspired theme</a> on opendesktop.org.</li>
+
+ <br /><center><a
+ href="http://opendesktop.org/content/show.php?content=169069"><img
+ src="http://opendesktop.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/169069-1.png"
+ align="center" width="750" alt="Like disco and John Travolta? Maybe
+ this theme is for you!" border=2> </a></center><br />
</ul>
<hr />
-<p>copyright © 2012–2014 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
+<p>copyright © 2012–2015 by Roderick W. Smith</p>
<p>This document is licensed under the terms of the <a href="FDL-1.3.txt">GNU Free Documentation License (FDL), version 1.3.</a></p>