CatThief's Themes and Extensions
FAQ
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Can I submit CatThief's themes and extensions to other sites?
IT IS MY DECISION TO *NOT* MAKE DOWNLOADS OF MY THEMES AND EXTENSIONS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE FROM ANY WEB SITE (INCLUDING ADDONS.MOZILLA.ORG) EXCEPT MY OWN AND EXTENZILLA.ORG. PLEASE HONOR THAT DECISION AND DO NOT PUBLICLY DISTRIBUTE ANY THEMES OR EXTENSIONS OR MAKE DISTRIBUTION DECISIONS ON MY BEHALF.
For additonal information follow the "terms of use" links located on the download pages for themes and extensions.
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Are there any unresolved issues with Mostly Crystal?
There are two:
- There is a long-standing issue with non-native scrollbars and the Print Preview window. You can read more about it at MozillaZine. (And to prove it isn't a bug in Mostly Crystal, try this with SeaMonkey's Modern theme -- the results are the same.)
- Ghosting can appear instead of the images that draw the scrollbars. This usually occurs at the very first startup of SeaMonkey or after installing or updating the theme. Restarting SeaMonkey should properly restore them.
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Will Mostly Crystal work with Personas?
No. Please read .
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Will you be adding Aero glass support?
I'm not planning on adding Aero support. The theme was designed primarily for Linux, and the current styling at least ensures cross compatibility between Linux and Windows. I even changed some styling that is unique to Linux just so Windows users would not have rendering problems. Since I have neither a Vista or Windows 7 system and am unable to personally test Aero glass effects, I am reluctant to include code that may potentially cause more harm than good.
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Will the themes install on Solaris (Sun OS), FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and eComStation (OS/2)?
Yes, Solaris (Sun OS), FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and eComStation (OS/2) are included as a targetPlatform for installation.
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Archived themes and extensions for older program versions
I am no longer maintaining a complete archive of files for older program versions. This archive only includes theme and extension files for the most recent of the older versions I supported. My involvement with Firefox and Thunderbird ended after version 8.
Public Release FTP pages:
I take no responsibility for the listing or removal of program versions available on any of these pages.
SeaMonkey Public Release FTP
Firefox Public Release FTP
Thunderbird Public Release FTP
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Is there a theme for future-version test builds of SeaMonkey?
No, I do not make beta or release-candidate builds publicly available. The theme will be made available only when each final program version is released.
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What happened to the rounded/stylized location bar userChrome option?
Too much code restructuring goes into supporting this option each time a new version of the program is released. There are also conflicts with several popular extensions. In fact most of the complaints I receive from users involve breakage of the theme when using this option with extensions. The last program version to see this option in the theme was SeaMonkey 2.0.*. Please don't ask me to add this back.
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What happened to the userChrome options to change the background color?
The removal of these theme options took effect as of SeaMonkey 2.3. The default background color was changed to a silvery grey in place of the color that was inherited from a user's OS. The result is a better appearance behind the colorful Crystal icons, better blending with other elements of the theme (especially the Add-ons Manager and RSS Reader), better cross-platform compatibility, and less overall maintenance of the theme. Please don't ask me to add these back or to restore the OS default.
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What happened to the userChrome options for "Native Tabs" (nativetabs.css) and "Classic Tabs" (classictabs.css)?
Too much code restructuring goes into supporting these options each time a new version of the program is released. There are also conflicts with several popular extensions. Please don't ask me to add these back.
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Will you change the tabs to look like the default theme or inherit native properties from the OS?
No.
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I don't like how some things look and want to change them. How can I do this?
A wide variety of userChrome.css options are provided that will change many of the elements to suit your taste. Since personal tastes vary so widely, I am unable to provide fixes for each and every element that users don't like and want to change. If it is not listed on the userChrome Options page, support will not be provided for further customizations and especially if you are looking for a way to change something common to all themes. A search at the MozillaZine Forums might be helpful. If none of this is suitable to you, please use a different theme.
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Where is my Profile, and how do I backup or restore it?
See Profile Folder at the mozillaZine Knowledge Base.
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Where do add-ons go when they are installed?
Themes and extensions (add-ons) are installed under your profile's "extensions" folder. Under the "extensions" folder you will find either a subfolder named for each add-on's unique ID where directly under that will be where all of their files reside. OR, you will see a compressed "xpi" file named for each add-on's unique ID with all files residing inside. The latter is something new as of SeaMonkey version 2.1.
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Will you be adding "Small Icons" in the SeaMonkey theme?
No. The toolbar images in this theme are one size only (24px). Selecting "Use Small Icons" will have no effect on the theme's toolbar buttons.
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Is there a "lite" version of the theme without the extra toolbar button images for supported extensions?
No.
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Will you be adding support for Lightning?
Some compatibility issues were addressed, but overall no special support will be added.
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With which versions of SeaMonkey are CatThief's extensions compatible?
Please refer to the extensions pages for version compatibility information.
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I use the CuteMenus extension and am getting a mix of images that belong to this extension plus images that belong to the theme.
Mostly Crystal includes built-in support for menuitem images, so you will see an image for any menuitem the CuteMenus extension does not include. You cannot disable the theme's menuitem images without removing all images, both from the theme and from the CuteMenus extension.
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Will the display of menu icons cause the program to run slower?
No. It should startup and run the same with or without these images.
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Why are images missing for some menus and menuitems?
The theme includes images for most default menus and menuitems, yet you may not see an image for menus or menuitems that are added by extensions even if theme support for those extensions is included. In addition, you will not see images for menus or menuitems that have no identifier (such as id, command, oncommand, etc.) or for menuitems that are checkboxes.
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I don't see an "open envelope" image in the message pane for read mail. Is this a bug?
No. There is only one envelope image. Read vs. unread status is shown with normal vs. bold text. The image, however, will reflect other statuses such as new, replied, and forwarded.
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Will you theme the scrollbars?
No. While many themes include customizations for scrollbars, I prefer to let the operating system provide the effects -- especially with Linux.
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Why do some extensions break on Mostly Crystal?
This can happen for a variety of reasons. When third-party themes apply code to specific elements in a different manner from the program's default theme, conflicts can arise.
Many extensions add styling and coloring to elements such as the location bar, search bar, and tabs by altering default theme code or attaching overlays to default theme code. In order to achieve a particular style, not all themes are coded exactly like the default; and whenever the theme's elements do not match the default theme, extension rendering errors will most likely result.
Some extensions reference image names and locations that exist in the default theme, but are different in Mostly Crystal (and many other third-party themes as well) causing numerous elements to break, usually by displaying a blank in place of the image the extension is unable to find. Extensions should always include their own images.
Sometimes the theme code can be adjusted to avoid these conflicts, but unfortunately sometimes not.
You can follow the link from the theme's main page for a list of "known issues" with several extensions. By no means does this list include every extension for which there may be a conflict. It only documents those that have been discovered and for one reason or another the issues cannot be resolved.
The list of "supported extensions" that appears on the theme's main page are those for which I added toolbar button images that match the theme in both appearance and size. Support also addresses issues that might affect margins and padding. This should have nothing to do with an extension's performance.
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Why does an extension's toolbar button image that used to work now break in some or all places?
When extensions are updated, theme developers are usually not notified. I do my best to keep current, but most often some additional time is needed to examine code changes and get things working again.
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Does Mostly Crystal support RTL (right-to-left) localized builds?
No.
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How do I change program settings?
If you need assistance with program settings, look under the program's Help menu.
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I'm still having a problem with a theme and my issue is not mentioned here. How do I contact CatThief?
You can follow the link to the Contact Form at the top of the SeaMonkey theme or Extensions pages, or directly go there now by clicking here.
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What distribution of Linux does CatThief use?
I use openSUSE with the KDE desktop.
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How did Mostly Crystal get started?
Many years ago, I installed a theme for Mozilla Suite titled "Crystal-classic" by Wojciech Jarosz. Unfortunately as newer versions of Mozilla were released, the theme was not upgraded for newer version compatibility. I resorted to using other themes, many that I consider among the best of the best (Aaron Spuler's "Rain" and "iCandy Jr.", Johannes Schellen's "Pinball" to name a few) but missed Crystal-classic immensely.
When Firefox and Thunderbird were released, no matching Crystal themes could be found. I was using Everaldo's Crystal SVG icon set on my Linux desktop and thought these icons would be the perfect base for matching themes. So, with Everaldo's permission, and using Aaron's "iCandy Jr." code base as a starting point (thank you, Aaron, for inspiring me to begin this project way back in 2004) along with the existing code for the applications' default themes, and seeking helpful tips and encouragement from the Mozilla theming community at the MozillaZine Forums, "Mostly Crystal" was born. Soon after the themes were released for Firefox and Thunderbird, work began on a theme for SeaMonkey.
Now and then I hear comments that Mostly Crystal is a copy of Plastikfox or some other Crystal-based theme, but that is completely untrue. The only thing these themes have in common is the use of Everaldo's images. I never once opened any of these themes' jar files to examine code.
I also sometimes hear comments that Mostly Crystal is not a 100% Crystal SVG theme. This is very true, hence the "Mostly" portion of the theme's title, but any image that is not 100% Crystal SVG was created/selected for visual compatibility. And like with any other theme you find out there, Mostly Crystal -- from the selection of button images to the selection of other elements like spacing, sizing, borders, coloring, etc. -- is 100% a composition of it's developer's unique tastes. Some folks love it, some folks hate it. That's ok. Wouldn't this be a mundane world if everyone and everything were the same.
In 2007, Everaldo officially retired his "Crystal SVG" icons and replaced them with the "Crystal Project" icons. Perhaps someday I will do the same, but currently I just can't imagine myself ever growing tired of them.
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Where did the name "CatThief" originate?
In the fall of 1999, I quickly needed a name for registration to an online forum.
At the very same time, a horse named "Cat Thief" had just won the Breeders' Cup Classic, a Grade 1 race that is even bigger than the better-known Kentucky Derby. "Cat Thief" is one of my favorite thoroughbred horses of all time. His bloodline includes some of the most legendary horses in racing history -- Alydar, Secretariat, and Northern Dancer.
He is the son of Storm Cat, an outstanding Champion sire and the grandson of both the 20th Century's most important sire, Northern Dancer, and whose damsire was the legendary U.S. Triple Crown champion, Secretariat. Cat Thief's dam was the multiple stakes winner Train Robbery, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Alydar.
By coincidence, Cat is my real-life nick name, so I joined the two names into one (excluding the space) and CatThief has stuck with me ever since.
You can read about "Cat Thief" at Wikipedia.
See "Cat Thief's" 1999 Breeders' Cup Classic win at YouTube.
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