Trying to patch a beautiful desktop

[Kristian Vaaf]

At 10:22 08.03.2006, Giorgos Keramidas wrote:
>On 2006-03-08 05:34, Kristian Vaaf <vaaf at broadpark.no> wrote:
> >
> > Hello!
> >
> > I've done some research on how to make ones desktop look the best,
> > without being too bloated in terms of looks and functionality but 
> still classify
> > as good design and give users a smooth experience.
> >
> > I've found that if done correctly, Openbox together with Gnome can look
> > pretty darn nice. I've found some nice themes for Openbox as well as GTK
> > 1 and 2, however the Openbox code needs some patching. There already
> > is a patch, but having the obsessive compulsive disorder, I want the patch
> > file to also look good.
> >
> > After I edited it, it wouldn't work. No matter what 
> line/character coordinates
> > I typed in for the @@ lines. I also assume it's unnecessary, at least it
> > ought to be, including lines other than + and - unless they serve a
> > purpose.
>
>You're going backwards.  The proper way of generating a patch is not by
>manually editing a file.  Extract the original source tree, copy it to a
>'clean' place, make your changes and use diff(1) to generate the patch.
>
>- Giorgos

I know, but I need to do it this way.
How may I learn more about the .diff format?

Thanks.