Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 11:05Now that we can have icons for some of the menus we would like to have a new default style that uses this. The existing KDE style is looking a bit dated.
The CyberLink style is a very good example of what we'd like but unfortunately uses copyrighted images so we cannot use it in the installation.
So, we're looking for someone to put together a new default style that can make SwissCenter really stand out. Any volunteers?
NigelPlayer : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 11:18Are you planning on adding the Icon feature to additional pages?Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Pernod
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 12:25No, just the main menus.
Other menus are a little tight for space so not much room for an icon along with the text. It would be nice to maybe have icons for the categories but since these are user defined then it's not possible match them from a style. The only other menu to possibly benefit from icons is the 'Browse By' page but I don't intend to o anything with it soon.
A tip for icons: You'll notice that in the CyberLink style there is a shadow which highlights the currently selected icon. This is a single transparent png overlaying the original icon. Another way to highlight the current selection would be to use a duplicate image but slightly bigger than the original. Then when selected the icon would appear to grow and stand out.Player : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 13:15OK, goctcha.. so to run em down.. the icons needed are
Main:
Video Music TV Photo Internet Playlist Config
Internet:
Radio RSS Browse Web Weather Flickr (future feature)
and a highlight icon or alternate picture (I was thinking of doing a "negative" shot of the picture to use as the highlight (same size). Will have to see how it looks)
Shouldn't be a problem. Like a lot of folks who do web pages, I have tons of public domain icons. The only problem is putting together a set that makes a "theme" Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Pernod
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 13:23Yep, that's the full list.
Another thing, if an 'on' image is not defined then the image will be highlighted with a border box, like current compact/thumbnasil views. Would prefer an icon though.Player : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 16:21Thx!!
Man this Icon thing is really touchy.. I couldn't get the darn thing to work and then I finally realized that I had incorrectly named one item
Going to upload my experiment...Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 20:47Hey Pernod.. I took a shot at updating the KDE style itself. It's still KDE, just with some updated Icons. Is this along the lines of what you are looking for:
(The Icons are from the Hydra pack and are free for even commercial use)Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 20:47Internet... Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/11 22:15Example of a menu page...
If you would like something different, just point me in the right direction..
Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Pernod
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/12 20:23Looks good. Can you post the files in a new thread.
Thanks.Player : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/12 20:48No problem.. I'll upload the theme once done. Currently, it uses the "focus" from the cyberlink but I'd like to try something different as that focus looks great on my Plasma using the ShowCenter but is almost impossible to see on my LCD using the PCH.
Did you want to stick with the KDE background with this icon set or would you like to see something else? Shifting a different background with the same Icon set can have a profound effect.Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Pernod
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/12 21:03Did you want to stick with the KDE background with this icon set or would you like to see something else? Whatever you feel looks best. Just want something that looks well done and polished, especially for new users since it's the first thing they see. There's probably many users out there that don't visit the forum so don't see the alternative styles available, and may be put off by the dated look of the existing KDE.Player : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Pernod
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/14 07:00Some more tips on style creation...
From the PCH forum I've read that the background images should be 1280x720 and no larger than 130k in size. Based upon this then an ideal size for menu icons would be 200x200.
Anything larger than these sizes would mean images would be subject to unneccesary resizing by the hardware.Player : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Stu2j
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/14 08:18Just to clarify...
Most icon sizes come in 64 - 128 - 256 etc.
Which of those sizes would be optimal?Showcenters 1000g/200/250HD Popcorn Hour A-100 Netgear HDX101 Powerline Adapters Windows XP Simese 2.07 running latest SVN NAS Server IBM NetVista 900Mhz/256RAM
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Pernod
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/14 08:32The 256 icons are probably the most suitable.
Based upon this new info the CyberLink style should be improved to save loading time, the 400x400 icons and 1920x1080 backgrounds are overkill.Player : Netgear EVA700 & Popcorn A-100 (081106) Server : Vista SP1 Home Premium (Simese 2.07, SwissCenter current SVN) Spec : Intel C2Q Q6600, 2GB RAM, 1Tb storage.
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Jykke
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Re: Design a new official style - 2008/10/20 12:44
Started working on my first "real" theme. I don't know if it has any potential for official theme so feedback is appreciated
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