FAQ
This is a collection of common queries and other useful bit of information about GNOME artwork.
Licensing
The GNOME Desktop is licensed under the GPL, so it is only natural that the artwork in GNOME be licensed in keeping with same ideas of freedom.
The GNOME icon theme itself is licensed under the GPL. A simple explenation of how this might apply to the artwork is avaible from Creative Commons here.
Can I use a GNOME theme in my program or website?
Firstly, you must consult the license under which the artwork has been made available. If you are unsure of the license for a particular artwork, you must contact the author for confirmation.
Having read the license, you must decide how it applies to your situation. Creative Commons have published some "human readable" versions of popular license, including:
Using Themes
Installation
Most desktop themes can usually be installed by using drag-and-drop on the appearance preferences window. The appearance preferences window is available on most systems by selecting the System menu, choosing Preferences, and clicking on the "Appearance" menu item.
Using Themes
GNOME provides the Appearance Preferences dialog to allow users to customise the appearance of their desktop. This can usually be found by choosing Preferences from the System menu, and clicking the "Appearance" menu item.
From the Appearance Preferences, you can choose an entire new appearance, or you can customize individual aspects of the desktop. Selecting a preview from the Theme tab will automatically apply it to your current session. To customize specific aspects (such as Icons, Window borders, etc), click the Customise button. The Customize window then presents the various options available for specific aspects of GNOME.
If you have created a custom group of settings, you can save this by selecting the "Save As..." button on the main Theme tab.
How do I use a theme-engine?
You will need to extract the archive you downloaded, then compile and install it. From the command line, change to the directory you extracted the files to, then run ./configure --prefix && make. After this has finished successfully, change to root (possibly by using su or sudo) and then run make install. You will need to make sure you have all the relevant development packages installed.
If your distribution includes a copy of the theme engine you want to use, it is recommended you install it via your distribution instead.