It seems the way to get rid of icons in buttons in GNOME 2.26 has changed.

The line ‘gtk-button-images = 0′ in GTK themes does not work in GNOME 2.26 anymore.

There is now a new key in GNOME Configurator Editor. Below are the steps to disable buttons on icons in GNOME 2.26 and above.

  • Press Alt + F2
  • Type gconf-editor and hit Enter.
  • Go to Desktop –> GNOME –> Interface
  • Uncheck the key buttons_have_icons

The change will be immediate and there will no icons on buttons anymore. :)

This change will affect all GTK themes. Somehow this is more convenient as I need not edit GTK themes everytime. :P