BaseSkin ThemeManager

[MixMan]

I have started to think about a ThemeManager functionality for the BaseSkin and its ThemePacks.
I am not a programmer and a lousy with graphical stuff, but I have some friends that are better than I am, so there will be a "plugin/program" some day.

Perhaps Dottore and Torque would like to have some background/button change features for their skins, so a "general" ThemeChanger functionality would be nice to have.
Each skin could have their own Themes subdir with a specific config file for updates and Skin/ThemePacks for that specific skin.

I will write down my thoughts on functionality in this post.

Features
- Client Plugin and your Server for updates/viewing
- General background/button change functionality with all skins
- Download and/or update BaseSkin or other skin
- Download and/or update ThemePacks
- Download and/or update AppearancePacks for Themes/Skins
- Change GUI settings in config.xml
- Change Language.xml
- ???

The idea - a TDF (Theme Defentition File)
The Plugin gets a TDF file and the rest is done "AutoMagically"

The TDF is an XML file with all info about a skin or a theme.
The TDF has a standard for naming
TDF Name: "Name"."Type"."Extention" eg. SharperEdge.Theme.exe
Preview: Previev-"Name".jpg eg. Preview.SharperEdge.jpg

TDF file could be something like this, for the plugin/program to act upon:

<Type>Theme</Type> (skin, theme, xml, plugin)
<ActiveTheme>YES</ActiveTheme>
<ThemeName>BlueGBPVR<ThemeName>
<ThemePreviewURL>http://www.hyperlink.com/BlueGBPVR.jpg</ThemePreviewURL>
<ThemeDownloadURL>http://www.hyperlink.com/Advisor.GBPVR.exe</ThemeDownloadURL>
<DownloadPath>.\skins\baseskin\AllBaseSkinThemes\</DownloadPath> (relative InstallDir)
<ExecuteAfterDownload>Advisor.GBPVR.exe</ExecuteAfterDownload>
<Description>This theme is based on Subs original Blue design</Description>
<Version>2.0</Version>
<Compatibility>Baseskin 2.0</Compatibility>
<Author>Mixman</Author>
<!-- config.xml settings -->
<ActiveSkin>BaseSkin</ActiveSkin>
<AnimateTaskTransitions>false</AnimateTaskTransitions>
<AnimationStepCount>7</AnimationStepCount>

ThemeManager Menus
The ThemeMangager should have sub menus for different functions.
Today the ThemePacks uses WinRars sfxoption.txt file to create the exe file.
This makes it very easy to create a ThemePack by running a BAT file.
There is both pre and post execute options with WinRar.
The ThemePack.exe runs a BAT file that copies files, after the unpacking of files.
The plugin needs to be able to download a TDF file, download what is specified in the TDF file and execute the downloaded file.


Appearance Sub Menu - What shall the end user be able to set/change ?
Similar function like AM, but with more configuration possibilities for different Themes and ThemePacks like the BaseSkin has.
- Language
- MainMenu background
- SubMenu background
- Buttons
- TaskImage animation ?
- Overscan ?
- Newsfeeds
- Calendars
- Radio Streams

Themes Sub Menu - ThemePacks
- View List/Preview
- Update
- Select/Apply


More defenitions should be in the file.......so more will come.

[McBainUK]

Mixman: As discused, attached is the first version of a ThemeChanger plugin. Posted on here as cannot send files via PM.

It defines a BaseSkin theme as being a folder named Advisor.* in the ...\gbpvr\skin\BaseSkin folder. Within this folder it looks for the file CopyTheme.bat and the optional files: preview.jpg and readme.txt, which can be viewed.

How about when GBPVR locks the Taskimages ?
GBPVR needs to be shutdown before running the CopyTheme bat file.

I got around this by having a seperate program (ThemeManagerHelper.exe) do all the theme copying and then restart GBPVR once finished.

I've done about 30 or so theme switches with no issues.

Looking forward to your feedback.

[MixMan]

WOW ......Thanks McBainUK

The plugin works great.
My only comment is that the plugin does not "return" the task image to GBPVR so the task image does not show up in the menu for themes like SharperEdge or Horizon.

I guess Sub can answer how to get this function

[sub]

It'd be something like:

Code:

        public Image getTaskImage()
        {
            if (taskImage == null)
            {
                string taskImageFilename = PluginHelperFactory.getPluginHelper().getStandardSkinDirectory() + getSkinSubdirectory() + "\\task.png";
                if (System.IO.File.Exists(taskImageFilename))
                {
                    taskImage = Image.FromFile(taskImageFilename);
                }
            }

            return taskImage;
        }

[MixMan]

Thanks Sub
I will spread the info.

[McBainUK]

Thanks sub, I was always returning null as this is what it does in the example plugin from the wiki. Will update all my plugins tonight with the taskImage code.

Mixmin: Will create a wiki page for the plugin if your ok that it works? Will also take a look at the BaseSkin / ThemePack pages for 'backwardness' lol

Mark

ps. Like the mayhem theme you sent me, got any more? Be useful for screenshots.

[MixMan]

It seems like the plugin caches the preview images...in some way, because it doesn't show the actual preview.jpg file for all themes. It usually uses the first themes preview.jpg
I haven't found a pattern though

[McBainUK]

It seems like the plugin caches the preview images...in some way, because it doesn't show the actual preview.jpg file for all themes. It usually uses the first themes preview.jpg
I haven't found a pattern though

Try the latest version from the wiki.

Also needs UI elements v0.36 as I'm sure I fixed the caching issue in that releas.

[MixMan]

Yepp....updating UI elements fixed the cached previews

[Fatman_do]

Make ThemeManager work with other skins, not just BaseSkin.

I can manually swap themes, but I can see other users (as well as myself) would like to use ThemeManager to radically change the skin, (then use AppearanceManager to fine tune it.)

Maybe one day both those utilities can "merge" into one universal standalone utility.