moving the scrollbar to the left side

[chrisak]

Move microb scrollbar to the left side... instructions here:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Layout.scrollbar.side

[fiferboy]

You mean like in the screenshot I have attached here?

Pretty easy, actually. Just took some searching and the realization that a local .gtkrc-2.0 file is not looked at in Maemo.

Pick your favourite theme to edit and go to the appropriate directory in xterm (ex. "/usr/share/themes/glasser/gtk-2.0/")

As super-user ("sudo gainroot" after installing "becomeroot" package) edit the "gtkrc" file in that directory.

Add the line:

gtk-scrolled-window-placement = top-right

somewhere in there (I did it after the short HID section near the top). Restart your tablet (may be unnecessary, but I was having some stability issues that may have been caused by this change or by another application I was using). Make sure you have the theme you modified selected, and most applications will now be left-handed! To get the web browser left handed, follow the link earlier in this thread. xterm is the only application I have come across that ignores this change.

I regret there is no easier way to do this. Having to make this change for every theme sucks. The problem seems to stem from the fact that hildon looks at the file "~/.osso/current-gtk-theme" to get the theme information. There is only one line in this file (pointing to the current theme location) so you can not include a second line without having it overwritten each time you change themes.

If this process is too difficult for a lot of people I could package up the default themes as left-handed themes. Let me know if there is interest.

[l3xl3]

sorry for the n00b query, but how do you edit the gtkrc file? I got as far as getting into the directory...i think. not much knowledgeable with xterm commands, not at all actually :S a step by step guide (with images if possible) would be very much appreciated...as a lefty I'm sick of changing hands using the stylus or using my right thumb to scroll (which doesn't work very well unless I grew my nail)

thanks in advance

[l3xl3]

just a follow up, I'm using becomeroot. But i used to have easyroot... does that make a difference at all? I read somewhere that easyroot's "easier" to use or is it basically the same thing, as easyroot's being described as an alternative to becomeroot. What about rootsh?

[codeMonkey]

They're all quite similar, but Rootsh is now the preferred method, because you get to do things like:

rootsh apt-get update

and it'll update without leaving you inside the root shell.

[santa_matt]

Originally Posted by fiferboy

Pretty easy, actually. Just took some searching and the realization that a local .gtkrc-2.0 file is not looked at in Maemo.

Pick your favourite theme to edit and go to the appropriate directory in xterm (ex. "/usr/share/themes/glasser/gtk-2.0/")

As super-user ("sudo gainroot" after installing "becomeroot" package) edit the "gtkrc" file in that directory.

Add the line:

gtk-scrolled-window-placement = top-right

Will this work on a 770? I have added this line to four different themes now and it appears to have done nothing. I have even made exited and then gone back in to make sure it took. Is there a better place to add it? I have tried several places but I notice that gtkrc appears to have blocks of info delineated by {}'s. Can you show us a bit more of where you placed in in your gtkrc? If this is not for the 770 has someone come up with a method for the 770? A search reveals this is pretty much the only thread about left handed scroll bars and the only one containing a "How to".

santa_matt

[sampieter]

Bit more info for the browser's scrollbar:

- enter about:config in the address field
- in 'Name', type layout.scrollbar.side
- in 'Value', type 3
- hit the enter button of your nokia
- click on the 'Set preferences' button on the browser page

voila

(thank you fiferboy at the #maemo channel & HowieG at this thread:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=21905 )