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Micronaut

Member

Registered: 2019-07-04

Posts: 228  

Using redshift

Not sure if this is a "desktop" or a "system configuration" issue. Installing redshift and redshift-gtk, I ran it and then clicked the icon to get at the config option to have it start with the system. But as far as I can see, it does nothing. There was no change in the color of my screen as the evening wore on, even though it reported that it knew the time was 'night'. Is there some other option that needs to be tweaked somewhere to get it to actually affect the screen color?

This was on a laptop using the default XFCE desktop, so there is no complex issue with ATI or nVidia drivers. Its the standard Intel video driver, and it's the desktop environment the whole system was designed around.

fsmithred

Administrator

Registered: 2016-11-25

Posts: 2,486  

Re: Using redshift

I don't remember how to get it to work automatically, but I know it needs geoclue-2.0 installed. I disabled that after one day and just use it manually. You can test with something like redshift -o -P -O 4800. If that doesn't work, I'll take a wild guess and say it's the nvidia driver. In that case, check nvidia-settings for a way to change the screen temp.

geki

Member

Registered: 2019-02-04

Posts: 104  

Re: Using redshift

I autostart it like so:

$ cat .config/autostart/redshift-gtk.desktop 
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=redshift-gtk -l 52:9"
Hidden=false
X-MATE-Autostart-enabled=true
Name=Redshift
Comment=Farbtemperaturanpassungswerkzeug

The important part is the '-l' option to make it work:

$ LC_ALL=C redshift -h|grep '\-l'
Usage: redshift -l LAT:LON -t DAY:NIGHT [OPTIONS...]
  -l LAT:LON	Your current location
  -l PROVIDER	Select provider for automatic location updates

sgage

Member

Registered: 2016-12-01

Posts: 341  

Re: Using redshift

When I install Redshift (and redshift-gtk) on a new system, I just run redshift-gtk once from the command line or alt-F2. I get the little icon on the top panel (I use MATE) that has enable/suspend/autostart/info/quit.

Autostart seems to be selected by default, and has always worked for me. Tweak redshift.conf in ~/.config to suit your tastes.

Micronaut

Member

Registered: 2019-07-04

Posts: 228  

Re: Using redshift

Running Redshift with those "one time"  switches will change the screen color for about 15-20 seconds. Then it reverts. So far, nothing seems to make Redshift-gtk actually effective. Hmm.....

Last edited by Micronaut (2020-04-04 00:41:05)

Micronaut

Member

Registered: 2019-07-04

Posts: 228  

Re: Using redshift

OK, I think I see what is going on. It works, but I didn't understand what it does. I thought it was actually supposed to turn down the 'red' part of all colors in the display. It's just dimming the display slightly. So what I want to do is really eliminate the blue light from anything I run on my desktop. Submarine-style "rig for night running" mode. Is there a way to do that? Or will each program have to be individually configured to only use red colors? I suppose there is an all-red theme for XFCE, or one can be created. But the other programs might be more of a challenge.

Copper36

Member

Registered: 2018-11-27

Posts: 55  

Re: Using redshift

My 50 cents:
Also all-intel laptop (no nVidia), pretty old one, so no expected driver issues, etc
As far as I remember, redshift is supposed to do both dimming the screen and changing its color temperature based on sunrise and sunset times at your location. I've never been able to make it work automatically, however it was a way to set manual settings for dimming and temperature and to engage them (also manually). But it was an older Xubuntu distro and I suspect there is a problem with newer versions of libs, etc, because I (like you) can't make it work any way in Devuan ASCII.

sgage

Member

Registered: 2016-12-01

Posts: 341  

Re: Using redshift

OK, I think I see what is going on. It works, but I didn't understand what it does. I thought it was actually supposed to turn down the 'red' part of all colors in the display. It's just dimming the display slightly. So what I want to do is really eliminate the blue light from anything I run on my desktop. Submarine-style "rig for night running" mode. Is there a way to do that? Or will each program have to be individually configured to only use red colors? I suppose there is an all-red theme for XFCE, or one can be created. But the other programs might be more of a challenge.

It does turn down the color temperature, not just dim the display. I don't know what the problem is on your system, but I've never had any trouble with it.

Micronaut

Member

Registered: 2019-07-04

Posts: 228  

Re: Using redshift

Oops, I didn't phrase that right. I was expecting it to remove non-red, or at least blue, from the display. Color 'temperature' is a broad effect that only slightly changes the actual colors on the screen. As I said further along in the paragraph, "submarine-style night mode" is what I was really looking for.