The Un-Official WindowBlinds/SkinStudio Documentation Project

Published on September 11, 2003 By Koasati In Skinning

The Un-Official WindowBlinds/SkinStudio Documentation Project

Documentation for skinning WindowBlinds using Skinstudio is sorely lacking. The intention of this thread is to gather as much info as possible about the subject. I think a few rules need to observed, to keep this thread on track.

1. Keep the chit-chat to a minimum.... any comment that doesn't contribute to the purpose of this thread, and threatens to hijack it, will be deleted.

2. If you have a question, begin the comment with QUESTION:

If you have an answer to a Question, begin your comment with ANSWER to #xx: (#xx being the post number of the question)

If you have a tip, start the comment with TIP:

You get the idea.

3. Please do not post a solution if you're guessing. Be sure you know what you're saying is correct, otherwise you're not helping anyone.

4 I would like to see images in this thread only when that would help explain the problem or solution, BUT optimize your images before you post them here.

Use jpg, and compress until it hurts.

Learn to use the image insertion feature before you post the image. (I don't want to see a bunch of red X's) (You can't uploaded images from your harddrive)

Your image should only show the relevant parts of the skin, or SkinStudio interface. (NO FULL DESKTOP IMAGES!) Some of us are on dialup.

If you don't know how to use the feature, or how to optimize jpgs, don't ask in this thread, start a new one in the HELP section.

Hopefully we will have most of our top skinners contributing to project... you know how you are..

LET'S DO IT! Who will be the first to contribute?

[Message Edited]

Comments (Page 1)

Koasati

on Sep 11, 2003

#1 by Hippy - 9/11/2003 4:41:44 PM

TIP: Small tip for the Start Menu usericon in XP.
The size of the image is 48x48, so keep that in mind if you're trying to blend in or line up your user icon on a skin, and you're having problems.
A lot of people assume it to be 50x50, which can give you a real headache if the icon is a matching one for the skin, and you want to blend it in.

Edited by me, because Hippy obviously didn't read al the instructions ....

But I do appreciate you, Mark!

Koasati

on Sep 11, 2003

#2 by Hippy - 9/11/2003 4:44:03 PM

TIP: If you want to change the height of the taskbar in XP, try adding/editing the top and bottom content margins on the taskbar buttons (And also quicklaunch ones too if you use them).
You can use thise to change the height

MarkMcQ

on Sep 11, 2003

If you're one of the skinners who likes to get everything totally perfect on a skin that you want to upload, then there's a small issue with the XP Systray you might like to check out. It's something not too obvious, and thus gets overlooked by a lot of people.

The systray supports content margins, and if you're using the 'hide' option on the tray, then you'll have used the left content margin probably, to push the icons to the right a bit so as to space them out from the systray arrow a bit.

The problem comes when the tray is set not to use the hide option.
If the content margin is set too low, or isn't set at all, then the icons may spill over onto the part of the tray you don't want them too.

Setting a higer margin will fix the problem.

I.R. Brainiac

on Sep 11, 2003

Tip:Those shellstyle images at the bottom right of explorer windows wont show unless the top left pixel of your image is EXACTLY the same color as your window background color.

That ONE pixel determines whether or not the image will appear.
[Message Edited]

Koasati

on Sep 11, 2003

Dang it Mark! There is a very good reason why I want tips to begin with TIP: and so forth...... And that would be to help me when I start building a FAQ with this thread. Could you please comply? Like Brainiac did it, yeah! Truly Mark, I appreciate your sharing this info with us, just please help me a little.

EVERYONE please read the instructions before you post.

[Message Edited]

Koasati

on Sep 12, 2003

QUESTION: What is the "Control Panel Vertical Separator"?

Koasati

on Sep 12, 2003

Question: How/where do I change this? Other Control Panel Options (header?)

Koasati

on Sep 12, 2003

ANSWER to #9: Special Folders-> Control Panel -> Control Panel Header

Odd, that the colors were not set to the colors shown in the image above, but never changed until I physically moved the slider. Seems to me, to be mislabeled also. Shouldn't it read "Other Control Panel Header" if that's what it relates to?

[Message Edited]

I.R. Brainiac

on Sep 12, 2003

ANSWER to #8...about a 2 or 3 pixel strip running vertically between the task pane and the main content of the control panel.

Go a shade darker and a shade lighter(sideways) than your main content background color to give it a 3d effect.

I.R. Brainiac

on Sep 12, 2003

ANSWER to #9...I had never even seen this before till you brought it up.Mine was some outlandish color and like you said,NOT the colors it was showing in SS.Nn option for an image but you can add 2 more color options to the gradient.

eieio

on Sep 12, 2003

Tip
Those undefined fonts will get you. If you leave some fonts undefined, WB seems to use the last font used (previous skin) for them. So while the font for the Toolbar Buttons, etc. may look good on your system, someone else opens the skin and gets these teeny little, barely readable fonts. Define all your fonts even if they seem to 'look ok' undefined on your machine.

And, along that same line, the fonts you can't define use, I believe, Font #0, which is pretty small itself. It doesn't hurt to make this one a little bigger.

Koasati

on Sep 12, 2003

by Skinner I.R. Brainiac - 9/11/2003 5:52:29 PM
Tip:Logoff and shutdown flag.You CANNOT use magic pink.

Plus,if the alignment of your replacement image is critical because it completes or supplements the overall design,BEWARE,the flag is not placed in exactly the same position in both instances.Your better off replacing the image with a single pixel that blends with the logoff\shutdown graphic.

It is the 'please wait' dialog that pops up when you change skins that dosnt' line up.The flag displays about 7 to 10 pixels to the left in comparison to the logoff\shutdown placement.

by Madam Fuzzy Logic - 9/12/2003 9:47:36 AM
TIP: You cannot delete the logoff/shutdown flag, so if you want to hide it create a flag 1x1 pixel in magic pink.

by Skinner I.R. Brainiac - 9/12/2003 6:01:49 PM
Fuzzy you cant use magic pink,it will show, in the 'please wait'dialog.(tho it barely shows)

Any way to clean 6,7,13,15,16 up into one post?

Yes, but I had to delete the post numbers, or this could get really confusing..

MarkMcQ

on Sep 13, 2003

ANSWER to #6:
This is the control panel vertical seperator, marked in the image with the arrows.
It supports a colour gradient attribute or you can specify an image if you prefer.

crissy14

on Sep 13, 2003

QUESTION: I seem to always have problems getting the start panel logoff buttons to function/ appear properly. Any tips on this attribute? Must the buttons be in tga. format to work properly?

I.R. Brainiac

on Sep 13, 2003

ANSWER to #14
once you add a logoff\shutdown button background,the buttons themselves stop reacting to mouseovers.

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