JarC's skins


Tony

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tony. replied at 2013-10-3 04:25 back.gif

define what you mean by sidebar

a - the area at the very left where extensions are shown

The easiest way I have to devine "sidebar" is it is the area at the strip at th left side of the Maxthon window when the Dock it pinned to Maxthon and it becomse the Dock when pinned to the desktop.

It seems to me tht all of the default contents of the dock/sidebar are extensions ... at least they are listed in Extensions Manager. There are five: Downloads Manager, Favorites, Skynote, Feed Reader, and Maxthon Community. Most of the otehr extensions also show up in the sidebsar/dock.

It is,from what i've read, supposed to allow shortcuts to be added. But as will be discussed in another thread here, I can't find how that's done now how to remove the now empty shortcut plasceholders where the shortcuts used to be. That point can be continued in the other thered.

I hope that cleasrs up my terminology. It's always good to be clear on term tefinition so we don't talk past each other.

>>SL

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ok - with you - it can be any width you want - mine is below - LOL - a while since i played but my memory says there are other places its configured - again from memory the code in sidebar is for placement of the icons - how far from the top - their spacing - size etc - its not the sidebar that you narrow its the main window you move left or right - once you have that you then position the extension icons within that space - i had it at one time that the icons were moved to the left so only half of them showed - MX2 was like that if i remember

so yes you need to look elsewhere - as said cannot remember where off the top of my hear - layout.css maybe

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Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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Guest Prussian_Onion

joemax replied at 2013-10-3 14:04 back.gif

The dock is the sidebar placed on the desktop.

yes, but the dock pinned to the sidebar still has a favorites panel open-able....if what you are getting at is tony's screenshots of the favorites being open....

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but the dock is a fixed width - not looked too deep but i dont think that can be reduced in width - the sidebar can be whatever you want with mods to the skin

or removed completely as i do

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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Guest Prussian_Onion

tony. replied at 2013-10-3 14:10 back.gif

but the dock is a fixed width - not looked too deep but i dont think that can be reduced in width - ...

you're right, it can't. MxDock is not controlled by skins, it is a module dll and exe, and a config and language file..I've tried that already in PE Explorer. You *can* however delete graphics and resize them, then re-add them into the exe as a resource.

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Prussian_Onion replied at 2013-10-3 14:15 back.gif

you're right, it can't. MxDock is not controlled by skins, it is a module dll and exe, and a confi ...

My only efforts this far has been to modify the *.css and *.htm files to modify chaaracteristics they do specify which includes the width of the sidebar as pinned to Maxthon. I'm not ready to dig into dll's and I don't thiink I have the tools to do so anyway. Aren't they compiled binaries?

>>SL

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Guest Prussian_Onion

SnowLeopard replied at 2013-10-3 14:42 back.gif

My only efforts this far has been to modify the *.css and *.htm files to modify chaaracteristics t ...

you'd edit the exe, not the dll, so yes the file that controls the graphics is a binary. the dll was just a side-comment.

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Prussian_Onion replied at 2013-10-3 15:02 back.gif

you'd edit the exe, not the dll, so yes the file that controls the graphics is a binary. the dll w ...

I still think I'm stuck without the tools. EXE or DLL, aren't the both binary? Or is an EXE file just a BAT file by another name? BAT files I can open, read, and with the proper knowledge, edit.

As you can see, I don't know my way around cond on Windows. I do better on a Mac, though still not a programmer. At least I know the shells installed on my Mac. I have rather limited knowledge of the Windows shell.

>>SL

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SnowLeopard replied at 2013-10-3 16:01 back.gif

I still think I'm stuck without the tools. EXE or DLL, aren't the both binary? Or is an EXE file ...

I know the rendering engine and other dlls as well, use a closed-source SDK, so in thinking mxdock uses the same sdk, you wouldn't be able to edit it properly with fruitful outcome.

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Prussian_Onion replied at 2013-10-3 16:12 back.gif

I know the rendering engine and other dlls as well, use a closed-source SDK, so in thinking mxdock ...

> so in thinking mxdock uses the same sdk, you wouldn't be able to edit it properly with fruitful outcome.

And that's the reason I have passed on trying that kind of editing.

On the Mac I used to use Res, a resourse editor from Mac OS 7, 8, 9 days. In Mac OSX the editing of resources such as I did became easier due to the application bundling approach. Still I didn't have to disassemble any code for what I'd do.

But I have none of those kinds of tools in Windows and that's OK with me. I haven't had an inclination to modify the Dock. Focusing on the sidebssr benefit me for both the installed and the portable version; the dock hacking would onlly apply to the installed version.

>>SL

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tony. replied at 2013-10-3 23:42 back.gif

the only hack the dock needs imo is to be deleted - its a pointless addon - again my opinion - it ad ...

Nevertheless, I continue my search for full functionality for the sidebar.

You mentioned that the difference between JarC's top and bottom versions of his skins is the position of 2 lines of code in one file. I found the file, layout.htm in the skin root directory.

And i have found that moving those 3 lines of code makes the difference between a skinwhere the sidebar ccotext menu opens normally and a skin where it does not. The only thing that happens between those tow positions is the page.htm file is loaded in and it calls the sidebar/index.htm.

When the Tab Bar code followss the page-htm loading, the context menu works; when it precedes it, there's no valid cpmtext menu, but just a one-line stub. So both bottom skins have the context menu; both top skins pull up the stub. Darned if I can figure out why the order makes a difference.

In case I had any doubt, I unpacked a working bottom single-line skin, and switched the two lines of code ... no other changes, repacked it making a top single-line skin. Then I installed it. The context menu was now only the stub ... just like switching the lights off.

Ideas anyne?

>>SL

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i really cannot follow your line or make sense of the problem you seem to be creating for yourself - bottom tabs is the simplest mod possible and sidebar addons work - i have not loaded the dock - but cannot see a problem - i say again as i have said to someone on another skin - imo you are looking at it from the wrong end

making JarC's skins work is a pointless exercise - the code you are modifying is at least 2 years out of date - the devs have moved on in that time and whilst the skin looks the same and the structure is the same much has changed - the skin is not a complete entity - it calls up and uses things in the core - maxthon.dll and other areas - so if the links and calls are wrong as they possibly are then you are pointing calls in the skin to nowhere - JarC's skins are great - for many they have features that add greatly - but they are a reference to whats possible imo - look at them - learn from them certainly but thats all - i am no expert - the man whos skins you are playing with was i think but i decided with my little knowledge a long time ago that to try and update those skins was a bad idea - i can see no problem in re creating all he did but not the way you are going about it

but thats up to you

heres tabs on the bottom - - 2 lines of code moved and extensions in the sidebar by installing them

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Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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tony. replied at 2013-10-4 06:24 back.gif

i really cannot follow your line or make sense of the problem you seem to be creating for yourself - ...

Hi Tony,

You misread what my prroblem is (was, now). First, the bottom tabs versons of JaarC's skins never had any probllem, so your screen shot I would expect to work including the context menu.

What context menu? Right-clicck on an empty area of the sidebar. A context menu opens with choices: 910 Extensions Manager, (2) Pin Sidebar to Desktop, and (3) Hide Sidebar. I succeeded in getting the botom tabs versions to work by your suggestion to copy in the sidebr folder from a current ui.dat.

But doing thst with the top ttabs versions was not enough. That context menu would open with only one item: $PinToDesktop$ and a checkbox, but it did nothing.

I have solved, I think, that problem by moving the sidebar out of the page container into the global container where it is by default in Mx4. Now, I have one top tabs version working. It''s not quite as aesthetic, but it's fully functional.

It's certainly an eduational exercise ...

>>SL

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top - bottom or no tabs i get the context menu - its the same code in each skin so why should one be different - i can only suggest that your different skins for tab position is not using the same code with just the reverent line moved - like i said i think you are working the wrong way round - start with todays code - modify and things seem to work - well they do for me

start with 2 year old code and modify it and there would seem to be problems - up to you really

as to the sidebar and dock - i have lost interest - i comment it out of my skin - same with status bar and top favourites - makes things easier

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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start with todays code - modify and things seem to work - well they do for me

start with 2 year old code and modify it and there would seem to be problems - up to you really

100% correct.

Always use the latest version of the code and adjust that as required to get what you want. Use the old code only as reference to understand how/what it is doing and then implement and adjust it as required to make it work in the new code.

Starting with the old code and expecting it to work is just asking for trouble. Also there is more chance that any changes in the future will affect the older code moreso than the new code.

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