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Subject: Accessibility for visually impaired Linux CLI users

Illustration: XFCE Terminal running in #Laclin #Linux with the change described below.

This article may be of interest to Linux users with slight visual impairment. It assumes basic knowledge of CLI [middle school level and up].

The following change will make the menus for Gtk3 programs more readable in some cases. In other cases, it won't make a difference as menus have been properly configured in other ways.

Gtk4 programs are addressed further down. Note: superuser isn't required to make the change.

First, execute:

mkdir -p $HOME/.config/gtk-3.0

Next, edit the following text file: [create the file if it doesn't exist]

$HOME/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

Add the following settings or modify existing settings to match:

menubar > menuitem label {
    color: #0000aa;
    font-size: 5mm;
    font-weight: bold;
} 
menu menuitem label {
    color: #0000aa;
    font-size: 5mm;
    font-weight: bold;
}

Save the file and restart Gtk3 programs.

A similar change should work for Gtk4 programs. To address those programs, substitute "gtk-4.0" for "gtk-3.0" in the instructions.

Easy to overlook: If you're running programs in Firejail, remember to create and/or modify "gtk.css" files in the appropriate Firejail directories. For example, if you're running "hexchat" in Firejail, the "gtk.css" file to create and/or modify for that program might be:

$HOME/.firejail/hexchat/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css

For readers who have LinkedIn accounts, a LinkedIn version of this post is online at:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/accessibility-change-visually-impaired-linux-cli-users-robert-kiraly-xr47c