How to disable the transparent terminal background in Linux Mint
Linux Mint is a beautiful Linux distribution, and the developers do very well to provide users with excellent themes on all of their different editions. However, for as good as their themes are, their terminal theme is pretty bad. Why? It’s set in transparent mode, which makes it incredibly hard to read. In this guide, we’ll go over the three Linux Mint editions (Mate, XFCE, and Cinnamon) and show you how to shut off the transparent mode in the terminal.
Mate terminal
Are you using the Mate edition of Linux Mint and sick of the transparent terminal? Here’s how to fix it. First, press the Ctrl + Alt + T on the Mate desktop. These keys, when pressed together, will automatically open up a new terminal window. After opening the terminal window, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Find the “Edit” menu in the Mate terminal, and click on it with the mouse to reveal it’s options.
Step 2: Inside of the “Edit” menu, locate the “Profile Preferences” option, and click on it with the mouse to access the profile settings for the default profile of the Mate terminal.
Step 3: In the “Profile Preferences” area, you will see several different tabs available to click on. These tabs are “General,” “Title and Command,” “Background,” Scrolling,” and “Compatibility.” Locate the “Background” tab, and click on it with the mouse to access the settings area that governs the transparency of the Mate terminal.
Step 4: When you make it to the “Background” tab area, there are several options. These options are “Solid color,” “Background image,” and “Transparent background.”
To disable the transparency in the Mate terminal window, find the “Solid color” checkbox, and click it. This option will automatically turn off the transparent functions.
Alternatively, if you do not like the “solid color” option, find the slider under “Shade transparent background” and drag it to the “Maximum” area. This change will allow you to disable transparency when using a Background image,
When transparency is shut off for the Mate terminal, click the “Close” button, and the settings will instantly apply the changes.
XFCE Terminal
The XFCE edition of Linux Mint, like all other editions, sports a transparent terminal. While aesthetically, it looks nice, not everyone is a fan of this setting and would like to disable it.
To disable the transparency in the XFCE terminal in Linux Mint, start by launching a terminal window. You can open up a terminal by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + T keyboard combination. Then, with the terminal window launched on the XFCE desktop, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: Find the “Edit” menu in the XFCE terminal and click on it with the mouse. By clicking on this menu, you will reveal the options inside of it.
Step 2: Upon revealing the options inside of the XFCE terminal’s “Edit” menu, find the “Preferences” option and click on it with the mouse.
Step 3: Inside of the “Preferences” window in the XFCE terminal, you will see several tabs to choose from. These tabs are “General,” Appearance,” “Colors,” “Compatibility,” and “Advanced.” Look through and click on the “Appearance” tab with the mouse. The “Appearance” tab is where you’ll be able to modify the transparency settings for the XFCE terminal.
Step 4: Inside of the “Appearance” tab, locate the “Background” section. From there, find the “Opacity” slider.
Take that slider, and move it from 0.98 to 100. Setting it to 100 will effectively shut off the transparent aspect of the terminal. Alternatively, click on the “Background” drop-down menu and set it to “Solid color.”
Once all settings are changed, close the window. Transparency will shut off automatically.
Cinnamon (Gnome) Terminal
Are you using the Cinnamon release of Linux Mint? Tired of having a transparent terminal window and want to change it? Here’s what to do.
First, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Or, by clicking on the terminal shortcut on the Cinnamon panel. Then, when the terminal window is open, follow the step-by-step instructions down below.
Step 1: Find the “Edit” menu and click on it with the mouse to reveal the options inside.
Step 2: Click on the “Preferences” option in the “Edit” menu with the mouse.
Step 3: Upon clicking on the “Preferences” button, you will be presented with several clickable tabs. These tabs are “Text,” “Colors,” “Scrolling,” “Command,” and “Compatibility.” Look through for the “Colors” tab, and click on it with the mouse. “Colors” is where the Gnome terminal allows users to modify the transparency settings.
Step 4: Inside of the “Colors” tab, find the checkbox labeled “Use transparency from system theme” and un-check it. Unchecking this box will instantly disable transparency in the terminal window. Alternatively, click the “Use transparent background” box, use the slider to adjust the transparency settings of the terminal window.
