Score:1

Xubuntu 20.04 unable to change cursor size

jp flag

I recently updated from Xubuntu 18.04 to 20.04 on my Dell XPS 15 with hi-dpi screen and I'm unable to change cursor size. I'm using XFCE with i3 as window manager. So far I've tried:

  • Adding Xcursor.size: 64 to ~/.Xresources
  • Updating cursor size in "Mouse and Touchpad" > "Theme"

I was able to scale the cursor size in 18.04 using (2) (Xubuntu 18.04 tiny cursor on hi-dpi screen), but it doesn't work on 20.04.

How do I change cursor size on Xubuntu 20.04?

~ $ cat .Xresources
Xcursor.theme:  DMZ-White
Xcursor.size:   200
~ $ cat .xinitrc
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
~ $ cat .xprofile
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
~ $ xrdb -query
*customization: -color
xscreensaver.Dialog.Button.background:  #444
xscreensaver.Dialog.Button.foreground:  #EDEDFF
xscreensaver.Dialog.background: #202020
xscreensaver.Dialog.bodyFont:   -*-dina-medium-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.borderWidth:        0
xscreensaver.Dialog.bottomShadowColor:  #202024
xscreensaver.Dialog.buttonFont: -*-dina-bold-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.dateFont:   -*-dina-medium-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.foreground: #EDEDED
xscreensaver.Dialog.headingFont:        -*-dina-bold-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.internalBorderWidth:        24
xscreensaver.Dialog.labelFont:  -*-dina-medium-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.Dialog.shadowThickness:    2
xscreensaver.Dialog.text.background:    #444
xscreensaver.Dialog.text.foreground:    #EDEDFF
xscreensaver.Dialog.topShadowColor:     #202024
xscreensaver.Dialog.unameFont:  -*-dina-medium-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.dateFormat:        %I:%M%P %a %b %d, %Y
xscreensaver.passwd.passwdFont: -*-dina-bold-r-*-*-10-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
xscreensaver.passwd.thermometer.background:     #202020
xscreensaver.passwd.thermometer.foreground:     #A9B7C4
xscreensaver.passwd.thermometer.width:  8
Xft.antialias:  1
Xft.hinting:    1
Xft.hintstyle:  hintslight
Xft.rgba:       rgb
Xft.lcdfilter:  lcddefault
Xft.dpi:        239
Xcursor.theme:  default
Xcursor.size:   200
Xcursor.theme_core:     1
Score:1

Disclaimer: I am under gnome, so some of the items below are best guesses.
Some others also described occasional weird behavior. So I will: 1) Give possible solutions. 2) Ask you to post some info. 3) Give sources.

Possible Solutions

Perhaps you already applied some of these.

  1. Reboot (trivial)

  2. Execute (you may need xorg-xrdb as per the not-so-old reference; in my system dpkg -S /usr/bin/xrdb returns x11-xserver-utils: /usr/bin/xrdb)

    $ xrdb ~/.Xresources
    

    to load the configuration.

  3. Add xrdb ~/.Xresources to ~/.xinitrc or .xprofile.

  4. Use xconf-query ("In most cases, any modifications will immediately be propagated to respective applications.")

    $ xfconf-query --channel xsettings --property /Gtk/CursorThemeSize --set <cursor_theme_size>
    
  5. Set/modify in ~/.Xresources also Xcursor.theme: <cursor-theme> to see if has any effect. Combine with setting Xcursor.size. Cursor size may respond differently with other cursor themes. I am not sure this is exactly the same as in Settings -> Mouse and Touchpad -> Theme -> Cursor size. Perhaps one is equivalent to the other, plus xrdb ... to load the configuration...

  6. Set environment variable XCURSOR_SIZE for a specific application.

  7. Try changing the cursor size with the default Window Manager.

Requested extra info

  1. Post the output of

    $ xrdb -query
    
  2. Which cursor theme are you using (not all support changing the cursor size)? Which is the size you are having, and what you want to have?

Sources

  1. https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?id=12578
  2. https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=307516
  3. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Cursor_themes
  4. https://archived.forum.manjaro.org/t/cannot-change-mouse-cursor-size-in-xfce/62573/5
  5. https://www.funtoo.org/Package:Xfce4-settings
jp flag
None of this worked!! I've added `xrdb -query` output in my original message.
sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio avatar
@sinan - What did you get after: 1) `xfconf-query ... --set ...`, `xrdb ~/.Xresources` and `xrdb -query`? 2) changing `Xcursor.theme` to something different than the default, `xfconf-query ... --set ...`, `xrdb ~/.Xresources` and `xrdb -query`? I guess you should tinker a bit with some combinations. Did you manage to install `xrdb`? What package owned it?
jp flag
I show outputs of xrdb commands in your answer, so clearly I have it installed. I will try changing the theme today.
sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio avatar
@sinan - Right... what package owns it? Bear in mind that you might need some further actions for the changes to take place. I have found not-very-consistent information on this, but what I posted and links provided give some options.
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