Maxthon Skin experts wanted!


eric_mx

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eric_mx replied at 2013-10-9 17:15 back.gif

We need someone to show our new graphic designer on how to create a skin for Mx4 PC. Can you help ...

I'll add to this more as I get more time...I'm tired right now and sort of lazy, sorry. This is just starters.

first of all, I've attached a copy of my old mx3 mod of modified mac skin with an amalgamation of other skins' features and some added functions of my own into menus and such. you can dissect it if you want.

okay, so I know enough to mod skins, but not enough to build them from scratch. I'm more focused on adhunter rules, tweaking, optimizing, fixing, and extensions. I'll give any help I can, so here goes and I hope this helps:

Most of skins are made out of htm and css files and a single ini file for config of the skin's name, version number, etc.

There are 3 bases for the skins, modern, classic, and main. The file that controls these and the main file for the base style, is in an ini called skin3.ini

for instance, this is an example:

_def = 1.0.12

version = 6.8

author = Imanerd11

website = www.imanerd.cu.cc

license = Free

###########################################################

main=*

classic=*

###########################################################

name = ImanerdSkin

winFrameless = 1

mainFolder = main

mainFile = index.htm

baseStyle = main

thumbnail = thumbnail.pngicons are found in the folder named "base".

htm files control menus and their functions, for instance, the main menu is in a folder called main-menu, in a file called menu.htm. this is an example code with menu functions:

the rest of the functions are found in the skin SDK doc, found here; http://forum.maxthon.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=804&fromuid=11018970

if you need more help, i hate to nominate another user, but tony can help I'm sure.

ImanerdSkin.mxskin

cooltext.png

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Imanerd replied at 2013-10-9 23:45 back.gif

I'll add to this more as I get more time...I'm tired right now and sort of lazy, sorry. This is ju ...

thats great Ima - maybe you should read the question again and think about it - the question as i see it is how a skin is designed not how its programmed - the clue is in the phrase

graphic designer

as to your hate of nominating me - fear not - i am not fussed - i am happy to do what i do for those who ask and generally leave it at that - become the skin expert - i know you like the badges - or should it be from the above 'the cut and paste' expert

;P ;P ;P

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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the question as i see it is how a skin is designed not how its programmed - the clue is in the phrase

Yeah, i'm a little confused by this.

I think they just want someone who is well versed in skin design/programming to give them a headstart on learning the MX skin system. I'd imagine anyone in IT related graphic design will be well versed in most related languages (HTML/CSS/Javascript etc) and obviously has the relevant design skills. With that said, I would have assumed anyone with coding experience should be able to pickup most of the MX skin system just by reading through the SDK documents.

If that is part of the problem, maybe these documents need to be re-written?

A little more clarification probably wouldn't hurt.

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Imanerd replied at 2013-10-10 12:46 back.gif

design is done by the code.

is it - well carry on then - sure you know best - no need for a graphic designer then

i thought in my ignorance colours and positioning is done by the code - how do you code an icon or a picture background

maybe i should give my badge up - i am obviously on the wrong track

:L

is that why skins have not moved forward in the last 12 months - nobody at maxthon knows how to 'create' one - i dont think so - but if it is that theres a job for you there ima - show them how its done

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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tony. replied at 2013-10-10 06:53 back.gif

is it - well carry on then - sure you know best - no need for a graphic designer then

i thought ...

it says "create," not "design.", see my comment.

I've already I only know enough to mod...I am not a computer graphics person, I am a tweaker. I know how to modify menus and change places, and edit css, etc. You've said yourself in another thread that, for instance, tabs on bottom takes one switch of CODE...what was that? CODE!

It takes BOTH code AND graphic design to create a skin, not just one or the other. I don't specialize in graphics, so I've provided the help on what I COULD, which is the code! There are different parts and there will be people who are specialized in a particular part and not the other. At the end of participation in this thread, it all accumulates and essentially makes a full guide in ENTIRETY! That's why I've PM-asked you, but you obviously just want to argue and NOT help.

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you miss the point by a mile - the code is constant - the structure already exists and will not be broadly changed - how you change things is the design - thats what a graphic designer will do - create icons - layout a design by colours - create a look - thats not programming - as i said the code exists

all the skins for MX3 use the same code - but they look different - thats design

you take one word from erics post - create - and ignore the important bit - well i believe it is - graphic designer

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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tony. replied at 2013-10-10 07:08 back.gif

you miss the point by a mile - the code is constant - the structure already exists and will not be b ...

you need to know one AS WELL AS know the other to create a skin...graphic designer specializes in the icons and pictures, but if he's creating skins, he needs to also know the code. You're a great example of that. You're a skin expert, but you need to know BOTH the code AND the graphics.

just because the code is static, does NOT mean it does NOT need to be learned if you wanna create a skin.

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rubbish - a graphic designer will create a 'look' - how its coded is not part of his brief - thats left to the programmers - i have no programming knowledge or skill - i say over and over - i take what there is and play - move bits of code - if that works great - if not then i dont want what i cannot do

eric gave me a title - i can think of others far more deserving of it here - they have created skins far better than anything i have done or will ever do - but they do not post much these days so are not around to help - i do what i can - which is not much really - i dont publish skins - far too much effort

as to design - yes i can do that but not the type that is asked for here - machines - engineering designs and systems - did that all my working life but graphics - colour coordination - no - leave that to others - just like css and htm programming

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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I think there are 2 ways, just not as efficient as they were in M2 or M3.

One way is to select them from from your saved skin folder, right click and then open.

The second method I use is to save them locally using Mx downloader, just open them from d/ler.

4173

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joemax replied at 2013-10-12 18:13 back.gif

I think there are 2 ways, just not as efficient as they were in M2 or M3.

One way is to select them ...

Thanks for the suggestions. But I think you're talking about how to us *.mxskin files.

I was asking about how to launch a skin that is still a nested set of skin folders and files in a folder. This structure would also work in Mx3. I'm looking for whether it can be made to work in Mx4.

If not now, then make it an addition. The Skin Center already has a save current skin. Just add another command to load skin from folder. You choose the folder and if the contenst have the right structure and format, you're running with that skin as you develop it.

To quote Capt. Piccard, 'Make it so!" ;)

>>SL

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SnowLeopard replied at 2013-10-12 18:27 back.gif

Thanks for the suggestions. But I think you're talking about how to us *.mxskin files.

I was a ...

tony> been doing that for a while now - its detailed somewhere on here

Are you referring to the Skin Update thread? There or in one of the other threads you mention substituting two dlls frm Mx3 in an Mx4 installationn. The dlls were maxthon.dll and MxCrashCCatcher.dll.

Tried that with 4.1.3.1500 and 4.2.0.900d. In both cases Mx launches and then shuts down after beginning to paint the page.

I suspect the code base has moved too far for that to work any more. Am I missing something? Is it stilll possible to get Mx4 to recognized skin folders in UserData/skins/? I don't see how with the current Skin Center. And I don't know what file in the folder is run when you double-click on a packed skin file.

>>SL

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the dll swap stopped working a long time ago - not strictly true but it broke too much and other stuff also had to be substituted

but its no longer necessary to alter ui.dat - skins can be called as they were on MX3 - folders? - dont know but a skin file certainly

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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tony. replied at 2013-10-13 06:59 back.gif

the dll swap stopped working a long time ago - not strictly true but it broke too much and other stu ...

OK ... I'm beginning to think that the current skin center is less capable than the Mx3 skin center, specifically, it cannot simply list or show the skins in the skins folder. It only shows any sign of the last three skins you used.

But, if we knew what file was called by a double-click on a skin file, it might be possible to just double-click on that file and have the skin lauch from a folder, maybe a folder that has to be in the skins folder. That would be OK. I can do such a thing with Mac applications, which are like skin files ... a bundle of files and folders ... which Mac OS X provides a command to peek inside and if you lauch the key file from the command line, the application runs. Hmmm... maybe that's the idea.

Update] - No, the Run... command didn't work. O, well, we'll have to wait and live with what we do have.

>>SL

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i am not sure what you are on about - skin centre? - do you mean the one in the browser for choosing skins or the site where you upload them

if the former - how many skins do you want to choose from

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Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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tony. replied at 2013-10-13 08:57 back.gif

i am not sure what you are on about - skin centre? - do you mean the one in the browser for choosing ...

I only realized today that the browser's skin selector and the skin website are both called SkinCenter. Sorry for confusing. I'm talking about the browser's skincenter, it's skin slector dialog.

Your example is easy enough to do, but doesn't really solve the probom. The Mx3 skin slector was like a file window in Icon mode and did not requiire any modification to extend the number of skins shown. In fact, if a skin file had multiple skins in it, each one showed by itself. I discoved that when I tossed a ui folder into my Mx3 test skins folder. Both the man and main-solid showed up as distince icons.

Now,dpes the Mx3 dialog depend on more than just the html and css code? That is, could it be implemented n Mx4 without any code changes in the dll's or other binary files? If so, I may try for a re-do of the skin selector dialog.

>>SL

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it may be possible - copy the one over from 3 and you get something - i have done that before but never pursued it - i cannot see your object - make a skin give it a name and an image and it shows as a choose-able skin - if you have more the extend the box as i did

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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tony. replied at 2013-10-13 13:33 back.gif

it may be possible - copy the one over from 3 and you get something - i have done that before but ne ...

My object is to have a skin selector that:

(1) is not limited to a specific number as Mx4 and your example are;

(2) simply recognizes skins placed in the skins folder and shows them in the selector;

(3) without any installation beyond copying; and

(3) recognizes skins in files AND folders.

I know that #3 iis questionable aith a "What's the difference between doing a copy or doing an install?" It seems to me that installation is nothing more than a hidden COPY operation plus sommethng that makes Mx4 load the skin. I'd like to be able to trigger that "something" independent of putting the skin in the skins folder. Mx3 let you do that. Mx4, so far, does not or at least we don't know how.

>>SL

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SnowLeopard replied at 2013-10-13 23:26 back.gif

My object is to have a skin selector that:

(1) is not limited to a specific number as Mx4 ...

that prompts just one question to me

why?

Tony     -  Vivaldi 4 on Windows 10 64Bit
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