KDE looks terrible in arch

Question

I usually use kubuntu, but I had to install a custom kernel on my laptop and it's a lot easier with arch. The problem is that kde looks terrible in arch, especially the GTK applications. I know there are all sorts of tutorials of installing gnome icons, and various peicewise fixes, but is there a way to find out exactly how kubuntu sets up KDE so I can just duplicate that?

Answer 1

Kubuntu makes many modifications to various applications (e.g., Firefox, OpenOffice), so it is unlikely that there is an easy way to recreate the Kubuntu look on ArchLinux.

That being said, I moved from Kubuntu to ArchLinux and I now prefer the vanilla applications (e.g., OpenOffice looks much better).

One thing that helped a lot in synchronizing the look of gtk applications with KDE was to install qtcurve, a theme that works for both qt (KDE) and gtk (Gnome) apps.

pacman -S qtcurve-gtk2 qtcurve-kde4 gtk-chtheme
gtk-chtheme
# Change the theme for qtcurve

Answer 2

On Arch you should consider installing KDEmod ( from The Chakra Project ) instead of KDE.

Install a minimal KDE4 system:

# pacman -S kdemod-minimal

Alternatively, fetch a richer set of applications:

# pacman -S kdemod

or opt for a fuller set:

# pacman -S kdemod-complete

According to the kdemod wiki, you will need to install this package :

pacman -S kdemod-extragear-gtk-qt-engine

to get a more uniform look for QT and GTK apps.

Also checkout this article.

Answer 3

Sadly KDEMod Repositories is no longer active.

Use this now.