365934 - Unchecking "Use system colors" option does not work on checkboxes/radio buttons

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Firefox :: Shell Integration, defect)

Description

[aranelomalix]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.1) Gecko/20060601 Firefox/2.0.0.1 (Ubuntu-edgy)
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.1) Gecko/20060601 Firefox/2.0.0.1 (Ubuntu-edgy)

Hi there. I'm using Firefox on Linux, and I've got a dark GTK theme installed. This theme does not look very pretty when applied to text fields, buttons, etc., so I unchecked the "Use system colors" option in the Firefox preferences (under Content -> Colors). However, this option didn't work as advertised. Checkboxes and radio buttons still adopted my GTK theme, and buttons had a border with colors left over from it. Thinking I'd remedy it with a custom stylesheet, I used userContent.css to give radio buttons, checkboxes, and buttons more pleasing colors. But this did absolutely nothing; as it turns out, they're STUCK with the system theme because there's an "!important" tacked onto each of the relevant properties in [Firefox's directory]/res/forms.css.

I finally did get a custom stylesheet to work, but only after I'd removed the !important's from the forms.css file. I'm not sure why the file is written in such a way, but I AM sure I'm not the only one it's annoyed the heck out of before. Granted, the average Linux user tends to have an idea of what they're doing; but having to locate the source of this problem, delete !important's that shouldn't exist in the first place, and THEN create a custom stylesheet is rather irritating.

I'm attaching my modified forms.css file, with the !important's removed. Compare it with the default, and you'll see that I just deleted all of them under the "common features of radio buttons and check boxes" comment and most of them under the "buttons" comment. This doesn't completely fix the problem, as I mentioned, but it makes it possible for one to use a custom stylesheet to that end. For reference, I've also attached my userContent.css.

Anyway, thanks for listening!

P.S.: This is also the case with Thunderbird, but because of the nature of Thunderbird, it's not so much of a problem there.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Apply a dark GTK theme.
2. Uncheck the "Use system colors" option in the Firefox preferences.
3. Go to a site with checkboxes, or radio buttons.
Actual Results:  
Checkboxes, radio buttons, and the borders around certain other <input>'s still use the GTK theme's colors. In addition, making a custom stylesheet does not work.

Expected Results:  
All input areas should cease to use the GTK theme when told to do so. Or, at the VERY least, users should be able to apply different colors with custom stylesheets.

I'm using the Ubuntu build of Firefox, but the universal binary from getfirefox.com does the exact same thing.

Comment 1

[aranelomalix]

Attachment: The offending file

Comment 2

[aranelomalix]

Attachment: My custom stylesheet

Comment 3

[Simon Bünzli]

If you look closely, you'll see that the "Use system colors" setting only applies to text and nothing else. -> INVALID

As for your problems with the user stylesheet: you'll have to add those !important bits to your own rules in order to override the default ones. -> WORKSFORME

Comment 4

[aranelomalix]

...Aha. Well, I feel kinda stupid now. Thanks.

Comment 5

[Simon Bünzli]

No worries.