Mango provides various visual effects to enhance the appearance of your desktop, including blur, shadows, rounded corners, and opacity controls.
Blur Effects
Basic Blur Settings
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
blur | integer | 0 | Enable window blur effect (0=disabled, 1=enabled) |
blur_layer | integer | 0 | Enable blur for layer surfaces like panels and overlays (0=disabled, 1=enabled) |
blur_optimized | integer | 1 | Use optimized blur algorithm for better performance (0=disabled, 1=enabled) |
Advanced Blur Parameters
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
blur_params_num_passes | integer | 2 | Number of blur passes (more passes = stronger blur but slower) |
blur_params_radius | integer | 5 | Blur radius in pixels (larger = more blur) |
blur_params_noise | float | 0.02 | Noise amount to add texture (0.0-1.0) |
blur_params_brightness | float | 0.9 | Brightness adjustment for blurred content (0.0-2.0) |
blur_params_contrast | float | 0.9 | Contrast adjustment for blurred content (0.0-2.0) |
blur_params_saturation | float | 1.2 | Saturation adjustment for blurred content (0.0-2.0) |
Performance Impact: Blur is GPU-intensive. If you experience performance issues, try:
- Reducing
blur_params_num_passes to 1
- Decreasing
blur_params_radius
- Enabling
blur_optimized
- Disabling
blur_layer
Shadow Effects
Basic Shadow Settings
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
shadows | integer | 0 | Enable window shadows (0=disabled, 1=enabled) |
layer_shadows | integer | 0 | Enable shadows for layer surfaces (0=disabled, 1=enabled) |
shadow_only_floating | integer | 1 | Only show shadows on floating windows (0=all windows, 1=floating only) |
Shadow Parameters
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
shadows_size | integer | 10 | Shadow size in pixels |
shadows_blur | integer | 15 | Amount of blur applied to shadow edges |
shadows_position_x | integer | 0 | Horizontal offset of shadow (negative=left, positive=right) |
shadows_position_y | integer | 0 | Vertical offset of shadow (negative=up, positive=down) |
shadowscolor | hex color | 0x000000ff | Shadow color in RGBA format |
0xRRGGBBAA
Examples:
0x000000ff - Opaque black (default)0x00000080 - Semi-transparent black (50% opacity)0x000000cc - Mostly opaque black (80% opacity)0x0000ff40 - Semi-transparent blue
Rounded Corners
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
border_radius | integer | 6 | Corner radius in pixels (0=sharp corners) |
no_radius_when_single | integer | 0 | Disable rounded corners when only one window is visible (0=always rounded, 1=disable when single) |
Design Tip: Common border radius values:
0 - Sharp corners (traditional)4-6 - Subtle rounding (recommended for most themes)8-12 - Moderate rounding (modern look)16+ - Heavy rounding (macOS-like)
Window Opacity
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
focused_opacity | float | 1.0 | Opacity of focused windows (0.0=transparent, 1.0=opaque) |
unfocused_opacity | float | 1.0 | Opacity of unfocused windows (0.0=transparent, 1.0=opaque) |
Setting unfocused_opacity to a value less than 1.0 (e.g., 0.85) can help distinguish between focused and unfocused windows.
Border Appearance
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
borderpx | integer | 4 | Border width in pixels (0=no borders) |
no_border_when_single | integer | 0 | Hide borders when only one window is visible (0=always show, 1=hide when single) |
Border Colors
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
bordercolor | hex color | 0x444444ff | Default border color for unfocused windows |
focuscolor | hex color | 0xc9b890ff | Border color for focused windows |
maximizescreencolor | hex color | 0x89aa61ff | Border color for maximized windows |
urgentcolor | hex color | 0xad401fff | Border color for urgent windows (e.g., requiring attention) |
scratchpadcolor | hex color | 0x516c93ff | Border color for scratchpad windows |
globalcolor | hex color | 0xb153a7ff | Border color for global windows |
overlaycolor | hex color | 0x14a57cff | Border color for overlay windows |
Examples
Transparent Windows with Blur
# Enable blur
blur=1
blur_params_num_passes=2
blur_params_radius=8
blur_params_noise=0.02
blur_params_brightness=0.95
blur_params_contrast=0.95
blur_params_saturation=1.1
# Make unfocused windows slightly transparent
focused_opacity=1.0
unfocused_opacity=0.9
Subtle Drop Shadows
shadows=1
shadow_only_floating=1
shadows_size=12
shadows_blur=20
shadows_position_x=0
shadows_position_y=5
shadowscolor=0x00000066
Dramatic Shadows
shadows=1
shadow_only_floating=0
shadows_size=20
shadows_blur=30
shadows_position_x=0
shadows_position_y=10
shadowscolor=0x000000aa
Modern Rounded Look
border_radius=12
no_radius_when_single=0
borderpx=2
focuscolor=0x88c0d0ff
bordercolor=0x3b4252ff
Minimal/Flat Theme
border_radius=0
no_radius_when_single=0
blur=0
shadows=0
borderpx=2
focuscolor=0xffffffff
bordercolor=0x888888ff
MacOS-Like Appearance
# Blur
blur=1
blur_params_num_passes=3
blur_params_radius=10
blur_params_brightness=1.0
blur_params_contrast=1.0
blur_params_saturation=1.2
# Shadows
shadows=1
shadow_only_floating=0
shadows_size=15
shadows_blur=25
shadows_position_x=0
shadows_position_y=8
shadowscolor=0x00000055
# Corners and borders
border_radius=10
no_radius_when_single=0
borderpx=1
focuscolor=0x0078d7ff
# Opacity
focused_opacity=1.0
unfocused_opacity=0.95
blur=0
shadows=0
border_radius=0
focused_opacity=1.0
unfocused_opacity=1.0
Balanced (Moderate Effects)
blur=1
blur_optimized=1
blur_params_num_passes=1
blur_params_radius=5
shadows=1
shadow_only_floating=1
shadows_size=10
shadows_blur=15
border_radius=6
Eye Candy (Maximum Effects)
blur=1
blur_layer=1
blur_optimized=1
blur_params_num_passes=3
blur_params_radius=10
shadows=1
layer_shadows=1
shadow_only_floating=0
shadows_size=20
shadows_blur=30
border_radius=12
unfocused_opacity=0.9
Troubleshooting
Blur looks grainy or noisy
- Reduce
blur_params_noise (try 0.01 or 0.005)
- Increase
blur_params_num_passes
Blur is too intense
- Decrease
blur_params_radius
- Adjust
blur_params_brightness closer to 1.0
- Reduce
blur_params_saturation
Shadows have visible banding
- Increase
shadows_blur
- Reduce opacity in
shadowscolor (lower the alpha value)
- Set
blur=0 or blur_optimized=1
- Reduce
blur_params_num_passes to 1
- Disable
blur_layer and layer_shadows
- Set
shadow_only_floating=1
See Also
