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The script hereafter is outdated and has been replaced by a newer version. Please Check the Download page for latest version. Please read the following post for updated instructions |
Hello World,
Today,we are finally releasing a long needed update version of our Change-Gdm-background script. The script goal is to provide an easy way for users to customize their login screen background in Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04. This script will be set to version 3.0 and replaces all the previous scripts for changing GDM background (i.e. Version 1.0 and version 2.0).
The version 1.0 of the script was really really basic and was developed to run only once with no error handling process either. The version 2.0 has been improved but again it’s has not been developed to meet all possible scenario. No error handling is included in this version. We have also detected a small bug in it if the selected file has spaces in the name…..
Version 3.0 of the script is including support for Ubuntu 20.04 mainly which involved a major change in the script logic. In previous Ubuntu versions, the configuration files controlling the background image for the login screen was readable. In Ubuntu 20.04, the file has been compiled and we needed a little bit more time to re-write the script. Version 3.0 is a actually a quite complete re-writing…
Let’s introduce the new script capable of changing background login screens…
Change-Gdm-Background Script – Version 3.0
Overview
It took us some time to come with this new version of the script because of important changes made in Ubuntu 20.04. The file controlling the background image and color of the login screen is compiled in Ubuntu 20.04. We already demonstrate how to work with gdm files and how to extract the necessary information in “xRDP – How to Fix different lock screen colors in Ubuntu 18.04 remote session” .We needed to perform a trial and error process in order to detect which files were really necessary in order to compile properly a new file that would be read properly by the GDM process. At the end, we came up with an easy to use script but still rather basic (as no strong error handling is being implemented).
The Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.sh script offers some new features and offers the following functionalities
- support Ubuntu 18.04.x and Ubuntu 20.04 (no other versions or flavors !!!)
- can run multiple times
- A basic GUI interface system has been built to be more user friendly
- The script will prompt for choices. You can decide to use a solid color as background or you can decide to specify a picture to be used as background elements
- The script will prompt you to either restart the server or restart the GDM service
- the script create a custom theme folder instead of replacing the original compiled file. So, you should be able to easily revert back changes if needed (see more below)
So, let’s see how to use the script.
How to Use the Script
Disclaimer
The script is provided AS IS ! Use it at your own risk !!!
Download the script
To download the script, you have multiple options. You can from a Terminal issue the following command
wget https://www.c-nergy.be/downloads/Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.zip
You can also simply use your browser and click on the link to download the script : Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.zip.
Unzip the File
After downloading the zip package containing the file, you will need to unzip it first. To unzip the package, you can use the Terminal console and issue the following command
unzip Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.zip
You can also use the GUI and the Nautilus file manager to select the downloaded package, right-click on it and select the option Extract Here
Set Execute Right on the script
After downloading the script and extracting from the zip, open a Terminal console. From the Terminal console, we will mark the script as executable. To mark the script as executable, you simply navigate to the location where the script is located and you issue the following command
chmod +x Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.sh
Execute the script
In the Terminal console, Browse to the location where the script has been stored and then issue the following command
./Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.sh
You will see some output in your Terminal console and you should be prompted for a password
img
After entering the password, the GUI part of the script will start and you should be presented with the following dialog box
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
As you can see, you can decide to use a solid color for the login background settings or you can decide to use your favorite picture to be used at login screen.
Solid Color Selection
So, let’s assume you want to use solid color at your login screen, you have then selected the option “Solid Color as background”. Press OK. The script will then display the color palette dialog box where you can easily choose your preferred color.
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
When you are done, click on Select button. A new Dialog Box will be displayed asking you what to do next. You can decide to restart the GDM Service or simply reboot the server completely and see if the changes have been applied successfully. Select your preferred option and Press OK
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
If everything worked as expected, you should see your customized login screen displayed properly with your selected solid color displayed on the screen…
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
Picture as background
If you prefer to use a picture as background login screen, when the script is presenting your the dialog box to choose from, be sure to select the picture as background option. Press OK.
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
The File Browser dialog box will open and you will be able to easily browser and locate the image to be used. When selected, Press OK
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
Again, a new Dialog Box will be displayed asking you to either reboot the server completely or to simply restart the GDM service. Select your preferred option and Press OK. This step is mandatory in order to visualize the changes made at the login screen…..
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
After rebooting or restarting the GDM service, you should see your new customized login screen and you can proceed with the login process
Click on Picture for Better Resolution
How to revert back changes
If you ever want to revert back the changes made to you login screen, the script does not include (yet) the option to revert back the settings. However, you can use the following commands in a Terminal console, restart your machine (or GDM service) and the default look’n feel should be restored.
sudo update-alternatives --quiet --set gdm3-theme.gresource /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/Yaru/gnome-shell-theme.gresource
If something goes really wrong (for example, your login screen is gray and all the elements are overlapping each others) and you cannot use the gnome login screen, you can try to switch to command line login prompt (Press Ctrl+Alt-F2). Provide your credentials and simply execute the command above, reboot the server and you should be back to your standard Ubuntu purple login screen and you should be able to proceed with the login process
We might release an updated version of the script that would include the possibility to revert back to defaults as an option….(if time permit and if people are asking for it…)
Final Notes
Voila ! This is it for this post !
We had some fun in writing this little script and we hope that this utility can be useful to some people out there.. Using this little script, it should be easy to modify the login screen background picture. We might want to maintain and update this script on a regular base until Gnome Desktop team finally provides an easy way to customize login screen and match the other operating system offering in that matter…
Till next time
See ya
References :
- https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GDM
- https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=197036
- https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/310923/how-to-customize-gnome-login-screen-in-debian
Annex – The Script in plain text….
Important Note :
If you copy/paste the script, you might encounter some issues because font formatting might be not maintained during the copy/paste operation. Please ensure that format is accurate before launching the script. The content of the script is presented hereafter so people can review it and see what it’s doing….. A downloadable version of the script is available here
Disclaimer : As usual, use this at your own risk !!
#!/bin/bash ########################################################################## # Script_Name : Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.sh # # Description : Change background image of the GDM Login screen # # on ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04 # # Date : May 2020 - Updated July 2020 # # written by : Griffon # # Web Site :http://www.c-nergy.be - http://www.c-nergy.be/blog # # Version : 3.0 # # Disclaimer : Script provided AS IS. Use it at your own risk.... # # You can use this script and distribute it as long as credits are kept # # in place and unchanged # ########################################################################## #---------------------------------------------------# # Script Version information Displayed # #---------------------------------------------------# echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m !----------------------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! Change-Gdm-Background script !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! Written by Griffon - May 2020 !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! www.c-nergy.be !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m !----------------------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;38m !----------------------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;38m ! Disclaimer !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;38m ! !! Script provided AS IS. Use it at your own risk.!! !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;38m !----------------------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" echo #--------------------------------------------------------------------------# # -----------------------Function Section - DO NOT MODIFY -----------------# #--------------------------------------------------------------------------# #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # Function 1 - Display GUI for Change Login script # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# call_gui_choice(){ #------ Selection Dialog Box Displayed ----------------------------# echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Starting Wizard Interface \e[0m" cbxChoice=$(zenity --width="500" --height="170" --list \ --title="Login Screen Background Changer" \ --text "What do you want to use to customize your login screen?" \ --radiolist \ --column "Choice" \ --column "Description" \ FALSE "Solid color as background" \ FALSE "Picture as background" 2>/dev/null) #---------Check which option has been selected - Color/picture/Nothing------# if [[ $cbxChoice = "Solid color as background" ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Solid color selected..Proceeding\e[0m" selectcolor=$(zenity --color-selection --show-palette 2>/dev/null) if [ -z "$selectcolor" ] then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m |-| No color has been chosen..Exitin\e[0m" exit else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Solid color ........ : $selectcolor \e[0m" fi elif [[ $cbxChoice = "Picture as background" ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Picture Selected...Proceeding\e[0m" pix=$(zenity --file-selection --title="select the new login image" 2>/dev/null) if [ $? -eq 1 ] then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m |-| No Image Selected...Exiting\e[0m" echo exit else #--Get the File Name only not the full path -----## fname=$(basename "$pix") fi else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m |-| No option Selected...Exiting\e[0m" echo exit fi } #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # Function 2 - Update css file on Ubuntu 20.04 # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# gdm_2004() { # Step 1 - Install prereqs for compilation later on sudo apt-get -y install libglib2.0-dev-bin sudo apt-get -y install libxml2-utils #--Define some Variable workdir="${HOME}/shell-theme" xmlfile=${workdir}/custom.gresource.xml echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Creating Directory Structure \e[0m" if [ ! -d ${workdir} ]; then mkdir -p ${workdir} fi if [[ ! -d ${workdir}/icons ]]; then mkdir -p ${workdir}/icons fi if [[ ! -d ${workdir}/icons/scalable ]]; then mkdir -p ${workdir}/icons/scalable fi if [[ ! -d ${workdir}/icons/scalable/actions ]]; then mkdir -p ${workdir}/icons/scalable/actions fi echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Creating xml file for compilation step \e[0m" bash -c "cat >"$xmlfile <<EOF <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <gresources> <gresource prefix="/org/gnome/shell/theme"> EOF echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Populate xml file... \e[0m" #--Extract Resources -- Important location gst=/usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/Yaru/gnome-shell-theme.gresource for r in `gresource list $gst`; do gresource extract $gst $r >$workdir/${r#\/org\/gnome\/shell\/theme/} if [ $? -eq 0 ] then echo " <file>"${r#\/org\/gnome\/shell\/theme/}"</file>" >>$xmlfile fi done #Close the file echo "</gresource>" >>$xmlfile echo "</gresources>" >>$xmlfile echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Modifying gdm3.css file...\e[0m" if [ -z "$selectcolor" ] then echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Copying Picture to working Directory... \e[0m" cp "$pix" ${workdir} sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/!b;n;cbackground: #2c001e url('file://${workdir}/${fname}');\nbackground-repeat: no-repeat;\nbackground-size: cover;\nbackground-position: center;\n}" ${workdir}/gdm3.css sed -i "/<file>gdm3.css<\/file>/a<file>${fname}<\/file>" $xmlfile else #Find line #lockDialogGroup and replace line below with this code... sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/!b;n;cbackground-color: ${selectcolor}; }" ${workdir}/gdm3.css fi /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Compile Resource File...\e[0m" cd ${workdir} glib-compile-resources custom.gresource.xml echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Create new Theme Folder... \e[0m" if [ ! -d "/usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/custom" ]; then sudo mkdir /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/custom else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Folder exists...Proceeding \e[0m" fi /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Copy new gresource file...\e[0m" sudo cp ${workdir}/custom.gresource /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/custom /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Copy picture to new theme folder...\e[0m" sudo cp "$pix" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/custom echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Applying Changes... \e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| redirect to new theme folder...\e[0m" echo sudo update-alternatives --quiet --install /usr/share/gnome-shell/gdm3-theme.gresource gdm3-theme.gresource /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/custom/custom.gresource 0 sudo update-alternatives --quiet --set gdm3-theme.gresource /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/custom/custom.gresource echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Rebooting or Restarting GDM Service... \e[0m" #Reboot Server or Restart GDM Service ... cbxReboot=$(zenity --width="500" --height="170" --list \ --title="Restart GDM Service or Reboot ?" \ --text "Select which option is best for you?" \ --radiolist \ --column "Choice" \ --column "Description" \ FALSE "Reboot Now (Recommended)" \ FALSE "Restart GDM service" 2>/dev/null) #---------Check which option has been selected - Color/picture/Nothing------# if [[ $cbxReboot = "Reboot Now (Recommended)" ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| want to reboot....;:-) \e[0m" sudo reboot elif [[ $cbxReboot = "Restart GDM service" ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Restart GDM service....;:-) \e[0m" sudo service gdm restart else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m |-| Nothing here..... \e[0m" echo exit fi } #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # Function 3 - Update css file on Ubuntu 18.04 # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# gdm_1804() { echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Check if script has been run already \e[0m" if [ -f /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css.griffon ] then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Script has already run...resetting !\e[0m" sudo rm /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css sudo mv /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css.griffon /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css fi echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Backup original ubuntu.css file... \e[0m" sudo cp /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css.griffon echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Modifying css file used by GDM \e[0m" if [ -z "$selectcolor" ] then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Update in progress ........ \e[0m" sudo cp "$pix" /usr/share/backgrounds/ sudo chmod og+r /usr/share/backgrounds/"${fname}" #-- Delete 2 lines after #lockDialogGroup sudo sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/{n;d}" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css sudo sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/{n;d}" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css #-- add modified Value sudo sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/a background: #2c001e url('file:///usr/share/backgrounds/${fname}');\nbackground-repeat: no-repeat;\nbackground-size: cover;\nbackground-position: center;\n}\n" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Update in progress ........ \e[0m" #-- Delete 2 lines after #lockDialogGroup sudo sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/{n;d}" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css sudo sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/{n;d}" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css #-- add modified Value sudo sed -i "/#lockDialogGroup {/a background: ${selectcolor}; }" /usr/share/gnome-shell/theme/ubuntu.css fi echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Changes Applied.... \e[0m" #Reboot Server or Restart GDM Service ... cbxReboot=$(zenity --width="500" --height="170" --list \ --title="Restart GDM Service or Reboot ?" \ --text "Select which option is best for you?" \ --radiolist \ --column "Choice" \ --column "Description" \ FALSE "Reboot Now (Recommended)" \ FALSE "Restart GDM service" 2>/dev/null) #---------Check which option has been selected - Color/picture/Nothing------# if [[ $cbxReboot = "Reboot Now (Recommended)" ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| want to reboot....;:-) \e[0m" sudo reboot elif [[ $cbxReboot = "Restart GDM service" ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Restart GDM service....;:-) \e[0m" sudo service gdm restart else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m |-| Nothing here..... \e[0m" echo exit fi } #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # Function 3 - Show Credits # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# sh_credits() { /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m !-----------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! Change-Gdm-Background-3.0.sh - Version : 3.0 !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! Written By - Griffon - May 2020 !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m ! Web :www.c-nergy.be - www.c-nergy.be/blog !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;36m !-----------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" echo } #--------------------------------------------------------------------------# # -----------------------END Function Section -----------------# #--------------------------------------------------------------------------# #--------------------------------------------------------------------------# #------------ MAIN SCRIPT SECTION -------------------# #--------------------------------------------------------------------------# #---------------------------------------------------# #-- Step 0 - Try to Detect Ubuntu Version.... #---------------------------------------------------# version=$(lsb_release -sd) codename=$(lsb_release -sc) #Trick to get prompted for sudo password - Nothing will be logged sudo touch gdmlogin.log echo /bin/echo -e "\e[1;33m |-| Detecting Ubuntu version \e[0m" if [[ "$version" = *"Ubuntu 18.04"* ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Ubuntu Version : $version\e[0m" call_gui_choice gdm_1804 echo elif [[ "$version" = *"Ubuntu 20.04"* ]]; then /bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m |-| Ubuntu Version : $version\e[0m" echo call_gui_choice gdm_2004 echo else /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m !------------------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m ! Your system is not running Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04 Edition !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m ! The script has been tested only on Ubuntu 18.04 & 20.04 !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m ! The script is exiting... !\e[0m" /bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m !------------------------------------------------------------!\e[0m" echo exit fi sh_credits
1. You have an typo: the actual script name reads version 3.5 but the instructions refer to 3.0.
2. Tried running it on a fresh updated version of Ubuntu 20.04.1 – didn’t work while choosing picture. It did do it’s magic, but the GDM Loging remained at default after reboot.
3. Choosing a solid color – same result…
@Amichai,
Ah, indeed, we think that we have provided a link to an outdated version of the script (even if you read version 3.5). Please use version 3.1 of the script (see this post http://c-nergy.be/blog/?p=15740) and tell us if this would work better for you. Sorry for the inconvenience, we will update the post and the script with the proper information….
thank you for the feedback, for testing and for letting us know
Till next time
See ya
@Amachai,
Confirmed the script 3.0 is not working anymore with Ubuntu 20.04.1… You have to use the latest version of the script which is 3.1 and freely available at the download page (http://www.c-nergy.be/products.html)
Thank you for sharing your findings and detected issue with the script
Till next time
see ya