beauty is skin deep

[nikos]

This thread was originally posted  in the xplorer² Professional forum.        
Moved here 19-May-2010 =fg=
=====================================================

here's the comment area for today's blog entry found at:
www.zabkat.com/blog/06Jan08.htm

Here you can also post your questions on how to create custom skins yourselves, and even show us previews of what your skins look like!

[TracyB]

Firstly, very nice! An X² beta... *drool*

Just a suggestion here, and I hope I'm not out of line... have you considered offering X² licenses to the winners - just the few of them whose skins you bundle along with the app. I suggest this coz I've known you to offer licenses to people even for becoming lifelong X² advocates, and an offer like that would reach out to the very-talented non-X²  crowd out there! Can't wait for it to catch on at someplace like deviantart

[Mr.Pleasant]

Well-o-well, Nikos, given in to the 'eye-candy clan'? I guess everyone has his moments of weakness
No, but serious, I'm actually kind of curious to see the next x2. Normally, I wouldn't want to sacrifice any perfomance nor functionality to good-looks when it comes to software (my Windows is always in 'classic' display, mainly because of higher performance and more efficient use of screen estate). But even I sometimes feel a bit frivolous (oh golly), and change themes on my Firefox browser. Just as long as it isn't really impacting general performance. Of course. And I trust that's in save hands with you!
Plus: the possibillity to use your own customized icons for user commands is really an improvement.
I'm really looking forward to this 'skin competition'. To refer to the words someone used in another topic: we finally can have some lace on our chainsaw!  :laugh:

[kunkel321]

Hi All,
Just curious... How do you know which buttons (icons) go with which pictures?
I thought there might be an ini file in the download, but didn't see anything...  -steve

[snakebyte]

Hi Steve,

The order of icons in the bitmap is fixed. See APPENDIX COMMAND ORDER in the readme file.

For example if you want to change the icon for refresh button, you just modify the 3rd icon in the toolbar bitmap.

[kunkel321]

Hi Snakebyte,
THanks for the reply.  I don't seem to see the readme file... OR maybe I'm going blind, which is possible... In C:/Program Files/zagbat/explorer2 I see:
    snap
    changes                           txt
    Editor2                              txt
    editor2_UC                        exe
    editor2_UC.exe.manifest    manifest
    licence                              txt
    registry                             txt
    Uninstall                            exe
    x2docs                               pdf
    x2help                               css
    x2help                               htm
    x2SettingsEditor                exe
    x2tips                               rtf
    x2tips                               txt
    xplorer2_UC                      exe
    xplorer2_UC.exe.manifest     manifest
Maybe somehow I didn't download it???
Also, I don't know if it's related, but I noticed if I go to the xplorer2 Help Menu and click [Contents] it doesn't do anything...  I'll go see if there's another download on the site... maybe an external help file or something...
THanks again for the reply..

[kunkel321]

Please forgive the reply I just posts, reinquiring about the readme file ... I see now that there is a readme in the folder with the icons!!
SOrry!  :oops:   -steve

[pschroeter]

Just so you know I'm fine with the style and the way the icons look now in xplorer². I hope any new icons fit in with the old ones, they are very clear and unobtrusive. I just want more of them to match practically any command that MenuHack can access. I don't want to look at seven hammers in my toolbar anymore.

xplorer² update, best Christmas present yet!

[snakebyte]

I just want more of them to match practically any command that MenuHack can access. I don't want to look at seven hammers in my toolbar anymore.

pschroeter, Nikos mentioned that each of the individual user command icon is customizable. So no more hammers on the toolbar.

Nikos, rephrasing pschroeter's query. What about the xplorer2 commands not associated with any icons in the menu. Can they be customized as well?

[nikos]

What about the xplorer2 commands not associated with any icons in the menu. Can they be customized as well?

not yet

have you considered offering X² licenses to the winners

obviously, that's the least I will do. But I think that the artistic people will be more rewarded having their creations showcased to a wide audience

[zstoichev]

Hello Nikos!

Probably now is the time to add support for transparent images in toolbars and menus. Thus you should use PNG SDK images, instead of the BMP ones. Both Windows XP and Vista use transparent images. What are your thos?

And second question about skin images location. Currently uTorrent uses ApplicationData\{appname} folder for its skins files, and not the executable's forder. This is because Program Files is not writable for users under Vista, for example. Maybe this is good to be like?

Regards,
Zdravko

p.s. by transparent I mean alpha-blended, with shadows etc.

[nikos]

hi Zdravko

as far as i can tell, plain bitmaps can also have alpha transparency, but i'm no expert! For the 256 color bitmaps I use the "pink" background color for transparency. See the readme file here: http://www.zabkat.com/skinz.zip

it will have to be bitmaps because at runtime, it will be easier to load bitmaps without any extra baggage that PNG or anything else would require

[ZoNi]

GREAT! Finaly  :!:

I came today to my office, after last night celebrating "Serbian" (Orthodox) New Year and saw this nice gift!

Thank you, Nikos! I hope we'll finally have some nice skins (I do not have artistic skills )

[nikos]

I do not have artistic skills

me neither, let's hope we'll attract some other people's attention!
I was thinking, in the worst case there won't be any skins to download immediately, but down the road there will be some user-created icons for all to share

[ZoNi]

let's hope we'll attract some other people's attention!
I was thinking, in the worst case there won't be any skins to download immediately, but down the road there will be some user-created icons for all to share

yes, I thought similar, but I did something more - I have sent an email to the author of great Phoenity icons Hope he will be able to make some nice icons (although he told me it would be nice if x2 icons can support alpha blending - that means: PNG is better than BMP for icons )

but, BMP should be enough for now