While it is currently possible to theme the gnome "Lock" screen, there is no graphical way for a user to preview or choose such a theme. This limits customization, and discourages artists from designing lock screen themes. For example, the designer of the gnome/shiki/arc-colors artwork recently wrote this (http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/GNOME-colors?content=82562):
"Yes, that would work for manual installation, where the user is fully aware of the contents and the website provides proper instructions. However, for packaging, providing artwork that has no means of being enabled, listing or previewing the contents intuitively is often a bad idea.
I know it's not exactly impossible, but it is unknown to most users. Installing, for example, a lock screen package through apt-get because it is suggested by gnome-colors should not require searching the internet for the knowledge necessary to begin using it.
That said, third party lock screens are welcome. I just don't want to release something official that I wouldn't be able to support properly."
There should be a gui for previewing and selecting lock screen themes (perhaps a new tab in "Appearance Preferences"?).
ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Mon Nov 30 18:42:26 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release i386 (20091028.5)
Package: gnome (not installed)
ProcEnviron:
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-15.50-generic
SourcePackage: meta-gnome2
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-15-generic i686
XsessionErrors:
(gnome-settings-daemon:2023): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
(gnome-settings-daemon:2023): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
(polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:2125): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed
(nautilus:2120): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
I don't really know what you mean by "Lock screen theme". The gnome-screensaver lock dialog uses the same GTK theme as the rest of your user session, which is already customizable in gnome-appearanc