Installation for theme "name_of_the_theme" failed. Can't move directory over directory

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1. What are the exact detailed steps we need to follow to reproduce this errir?

This will help.

i have a .tar.gz theme package i tried to install it using "install" button in appearance preference > tab "theme" and i got this error, u can reproduce this error trying to install this theme: -->

i tried to create and archive .tar.gz with its content but it did not work at all, i get the same error, so it is not because of its type (tar.bz2)

Confirmed ... sort of.

This error (for me) occurs if the theme has already been installed.

I was looking at the following themes from: http://www.junauza.com/2008/08/10-beautiful-themes-for-ubuntu-intrepid.html

I downloaded the first three.

Steps to reproduce.
 1. System --> Preferences --> Appearance
 2. Theme Tab
 3. Click the "Install ..." button and open up the appropriate theme file (or drag the tar.bz2 file into the window).
 4. At first, it says the theme was installed. (but the theme doesn't show up in the list!)
 5. Try to install again, the error in subject line above is displayed. (Can't move directory over directory)

manzur, what happens if you try a NEW theme? (Wondering if maybe the theme you're trying to install was somehow already installed, and so you're experiencing the same thing as I am in reality?)

I ran into this problem. I installed some Shiki-Colors themes, but hadn't installed the corresponding icon theme ahead of time. So I deleted those themes using the delete button in Appearances, installed the right icon themes and then tried re-installing the shiki themes. The same directory over directory error occurred. Using this thread http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1040277, I was able to correct the error. It seems the delete function from appearances doesn't delete the folders in your .themes folder in the home directory. Once you manually remove these folders, you can install the original theme again. A new theme was able to be installed correctly throughout this process for me.

I'm not a programmer, but wouldn't that be an easy thing to fix up? Just have the ~/.themes/[oldtheme] folder deleted when you click delete.

I have this same error. But mine arose because the installed theme did not appear in the list of themes when it was not in use. Its folder was in ~/.themes, but it didn't show up in "appearance preferences". I deleted the ~/.themes folder and reinstalled. It still didn't show up, but could be used until I rechanged the theme.

I created an upstream report. If some of you could confirm it, that might help scoot progress along. I don't know how quickly this will be addressed, however.

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=591197

Come on, if no-one confirms this, this bug will never get fixed

Confirmed. I think that it is a problem with the Appearance settings manager because I tried to install the Dust theme from https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/DustTheme?action=show&redirect=Artwork%2FIncoming%2FIntrepid%2FDustTheme

And then I realized that I wanted to install the extras so I deleted the original one but it didn't work.

Still present in Karmic/2.28.1.

I updated the description on the gnome-buglist. No-one's even acknowledged it. Someone just give a few comments confirming in there or something :).

This issue affects me as well. It renders the themes pretty much useless.

Is there a separate bug for the themes not showing up in the list after installation? (Also mentioned in fermulator's post)

What worked for me was to change the background image to a smaller file, and not selecting the "tile effect" either - I noticed after booting that my theme would unload as my background loaded, This fixed the problem of my themes not loading after boot which I'm assuming also caused the problem with switching or installing them after boot. If the theme loads correctly it can later changed, if not it cannot, maybe this helps, I have tried everything written here before i figured this out on my own machine. -- As soon as I load a tiled background picture it happens all over again once i boot, bug?

Dual monitor boot, amd 64 bit chip, ati video card, ubuntu 10.04.

Still a problem. Even when installing a new theme, I get the same error message. Extremely annoying.
Using Lucid 10.04, themes are located in /home/logos/.themes.

I have more then one problem with this theme thing, but I know how to fix both of them,
My two problems are : I keep getting that message that all of you are getting, my other problem is that when I download the theme, and install it, and select a other theme, i can no longer see it, then i get that message

to get it to instil the theme, download the theme, open it, copy the folder out of (thethemename.tar.gz) and change the name of though folders to what you like, or just delete one letter off, then delete all the old folders out of (thethemename.tar.gz) and copy your renamed folders back in, now when you go to instil the theme, it well,

to make the theme application keep the theme, do what we just did ----^ up there, but after you install it, click on (save as) then save it with what ever name you like, click OK, done, it well not come off the theme thing now,

I see this as a big bug in the system, and am thinking of moving back to windows on this system, GET IT FIXED !

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. This bug did not have a package associated with it, which is important for ensuring that it gets looked at by the proper developers. You can learn more about finding the right package at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage . I have classified this bug as a bug in gnome-control-center.

When reporting bugs in the future please use apport by using 'ubuntu-bug' and the name of the package affected. You can learn more about this functionality at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReportingBugs.

I also have this problem is there any confirmed workarounds.

Christopher: navigate to your ~/.themes folder and delete the name of the theme's folder.

SignedAdam:

You really have no right to demand something like that. If anyone here does not want to submit a patch then the best you can help out is confirming the bug here with a "me, too" (https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=591197), which noone has done for over a year, now despite my multiple requests to do so.

Desktop themes are deprecated in GNOME3, closing that bug