I'm on Ubuntu 11.10, Unity 3D mode.
To change the color of desktop icon text, I used a text editor (gedit) to edit nautilus.css found here: usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-3.0/apps/nautilus.css. The file I have has 81 lines with sections called desktop mode, browser window, and sidebar.
In the "desktop mode" section (lines 1-27), I edited lines 3, 12, and 20 affecting @bg_color, @fg_color, and @selected_fg_color, respectively. The color value can be expressed in words for standard colors such as black, green, red, yellow, etc. Or, you can use hex code in which case black would be #000000, for example.
In case the line numbers I cited don't match @bg_color, @fg_color, and @selected_fg_color,you may have to poke around a bit!
It's not easy for me to describe without knowing the correct technical terms but:
@bg_color affects the desktop icon text when not single- or double-clicked;
@fg_color affects the desktop icon text (i) when the icon is double-clicked (and the corresponding file is open), and even in some other situations which you'll have to figure out; and
@selected_fg_color affects the desktop icon text when the icon is single-clicked until something else is clicked.
I'm not really sure, but you may have to log out and log in to see the changes. Also, as suggested above, do back up the file before editing it.
from man colormgr
[..]
DESCRIPTION
This manual page documents briefly the colormgr command.
colormgr allows an administrator to view and change color profile to device mappings.
[..]
List all devices, eg:
$ colormgr get-devices
Object Path: /org/freedesktop/ColorManager/devices/cups_HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n
Owner: root
Created: Mai 9 2015, 07:57:21
Modified: Mai 9 2015, 07:57:21
Type: printer
Enabled: Yes
Embedded: No
Model: HP Color LaserJet cp1514n
Vendor: Hewlett Packard
Serial: socket://192.168.2.160
Format: ColorModel.MediaType.Resolution
Scope: temp
Colorspace: rgb
Device ID: cups-HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n
Profile 1: HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n-RGB..
Profile 2: HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n-Gray..
Metadata: OwnerCmdline=/usr/sbin/cupsd -l
and get a profile with
$ colormgr device-get-default-profile cups-HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n
Object Path: /org/freedesktop/ColorManager/profiles/HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n_RGB__
Owner: root
Format: ColorModel.MediaType.Resolution
Qualifier: RGB..
Colorspace: rgb
Scope: temp
Gamma Table: No
System Wide: No
Profile ID: HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n-RGB..
set a profile with:
colormgr device-make-profile-default cups-HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n /org/freedesktop/ColorManager/profiles/HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n_Gray__
check with:
$ colormgr device-get-default-profile cups-HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n
Object Path: /org/freedesktop/ColorManager/profiles/HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n_Gray__
Owner: root
Format: ColorModel.MediaType.Resolution
Qualifier: Gray..
Colorspace: gray
Scope: temp
Gamma Table: No
System Wide: No
Profile ID: HP_Color_LaserJet_CP1514n-Gray..
Best Answer
Until this bug is fixed, you can load your colour profile manually with
(so you can put that in a script in your your autostart folder)