Your own theme workshop - for beginners

Discuss application theming and theme development.
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

It's true. But then when you want to actually use a GUID in an install.rdf or update.rdf file, you discover that those curly brackets are a major pain to use.

Worse: when you look at a bunch of extension directories, it's easy to pick out the ones that use words to describe themselves.

Don't use GUID's.

Thanks for bringing up the topic. I'm going to change the message.
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mcdavis
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Post by mcdavis »

ehume wrote:Worse: when you look at a bunch of extension directories, it's easy to pick out the ones that use words to describe themselves.


thank you Ed. this is so true. it is <i><b>so</b></i> much easier to work with the word form instead of the guid form.
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

Too bad we can't change the GUID's to the pseudo-email form.
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dekoninck
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Joined: August 7th, 2007, 10:17 pm

Post by dekoninck »

Hi,
I would like to ask if it is possible to use a 3D-highlight efect for the text-based menu items in the menubar, such as on the buttons. I show what I mean in a composite image:
<img src="http://invitel.hu/drraczg/misc/highlight.jpg">
So I want the folder button effect (on the right) for the menu text, instead of the default Windows highlight color. Like this:
<img src="http://invitel.hu/drraczg/misc/db2.jpg">
A lot of software can do it for its menu texts, e.g. Photoshop, Notepad++, Java apps, etc.
How cold it be done for the Firefox and TB?
Last edited by dekoninck on October 27th, 2007, 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

You should ask this question in a new thread, opened specifically to have that question answered.
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dekoninck
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Joined: August 7th, 2007, 10:17 pm

Post by dekoninck »

ehume,
Sorry, I mean, that only the hovered (or what) menu item should be highlighted, not the whole manubar background. I changed the image above. Or you reply was not addresed for me? :)
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

@dekoninck

Answering your question might be easy or hard, but if you want it answered, it is best to start a new thread devoted to that question. That way you can clarify what you want, and various people can give you different ways of doing what you want.
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Vidius
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Joined: December 6th, 2007, 9:39 am

Post by Vidius »

First I must thank you ehume for directing me to your well written beginners guide to them themes, but I seem to have misunderstood something.

My understanding of making the Workshop and Workbench was so that when I made changes to the theme I was using all I had to do was close Firefox and once I reopened the latest changes would be infect. Am I correct in that presumption? If thats the case then every time I make a chance I have to repackage the jar file and reinstall it see the benefits. I'm guessing I made a mistake somewhere along the line of making the Workbench.

This is how it currently is:

C:
--aa-theme
----TestProject-0.2
------icon.png
------preview.png
------chrome.manifest
------install.rdf
------TestProject-0.2.jar
------chrome
--------browser
--------communicator
--------global
--------help
--------mozapps
----shortcut to TestProject-0.2's GUID

What I was trying to do was replace your tab close file with Firefox's classic tab close icon but like I said I have to repackage it and reinstall it if I want to see the change. I've also tried deleting the extension.rdf after the changes but before the repackaging/reinstall but nothing changes.

Any help would be appreciated.
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

Remember that the chrome.manifest file needs to point to directories, not jarfiles. So you must change the file from this:

Code: Select all

skin   global      SphereGnome   jar:chrome/chrome.jar!/global/
skin   help         SphereGnome   jar:chrome/chrome.jar!/help/
skin   mozapps      SphereGnome   jar:chrome/chrome.jar!/mozapps/
skin   browser      SphereGnome   jar:chrome/chrome.jar!/browser/
skin   communicator   SphereGnome   jar:chrome/chrome.jar!/communicator/


to this:

Code: Select all

skin   global      SphereGnome      chrome/global/
skin   mozapps      SphereGnome      chrome/mozapps/
skin   browser      SphereGnome      chrome/browser/
skin   help         SphereGnome      chrome/help/
skin   communicator   SphereGnome      chrome/communicator/
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Vidius
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Post by Vidius »

I just rechecked the chrome.manifest again and it is coded as you have it shown, except for the fact that its TestProject rather than SphereGnome. When I first noticed the problem the manifest is what I checked first.
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

Ah. I see the problem. The structure should be:

Code: Select all

C:
---aa-theme
----TestProject-0.2
-----shortcut to TestProject-0.2's GUID
---------------------------
---Profile
----extensions
-----TestProject-0.2's GUID
------icon.png
------preview.png
------chrome.manifest
------install.rdf
------TestProject-0.2.jar
------chrome
--------browser
--------communicator
--------global
--------help
--------mozapps


Your workshop allows you to move into the theme's file in the extensions subdirectory of your profile from - the side, by moving in and out through the shortcut and your OS's back-button.
Firefox: Sic transit gloria mundi.
Vidius
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Post by Vidius »

Thanks again ehume. That has fixed my problem, I guess I just didn't understand step 5 as well as I had thought.
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ehume
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Post by ehume »

I'll look at it again when I have time.
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Basic
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Post by Basic »

OK this is my first attempt at this so I am a total newbie here.

Now the install.rdf that ehume posted looks like this...

Code: Select all

 
<xml>

<RDF>

  <Description>
    <em>{ded0fc70-7215-4802-afeb-b2982d3e7225}</em>
    <em>1.5.0.1</em>
   
    <Target>
    <em>
      <Description>
        <em>{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}</em>
        <em>1.4.1</em>
        <em>1.5.0.*</em>
      </Description>
    </em>
   
    <Front>
    <em>SphereGnome</em>
    <em>A cool theme with pleasant colors. The buttons light up when you pass over them, and change color or change picture when you click on them. The icons are 24x22 and 32x32, making the theme usable for higher-resolution displays. It is also scalable, so if you set your system font to 125% or even 200%, SphereGnome will expand with it. NOTE: To get a dropdown history from a forward or back arrow, right click on it. It's much easier than trying to stab at a little dropdown marker.</em>
    <em>Ed Hume (edhume@gmail.com)</em>
    <em>Original theme created by Ken S. Lynch.</em>
    <em>BlueSphere SVG Icons and others by Vadim Plessky, http://svgicons.sf.net</em>
    <em>Additional Tombats font icons by Tom Murphy, http://fonts.tom7.com</em>
    <em>http://www.geocities.com/edhume/</em>

    <Front>
    <em>SphereGnome</em>
  </Description>     

</RDF>


The install.rdf in the theme I want to use looks like this...

Code: Select all

<xml>
<RDF>
  <RDF>
  <RDF>
    <em resource="rdf:#$TwvIK2">
    <em>special thanks to</em>
    <em>bird and Dr. Evil for various tips</em>
    <em>german Firefox Community: firefox-browser.de/forum</em>
    <em>inspired by apple Safari</em>
  </RDF>
</RDF>


Which is causing me some confusion but I think I might have mostly got it. I changed the above install.rdf to this...

Code: Select all

<xml>
<RDF>
  <RDF>
  <RDF>
    <em resource="rdf:#$TwvIK2">
    <em>special thanks to</em>
    <em>bird and Dr. Evil for various tips</em>
    <em>german Firefox Community: firefox-browser.de/forum</em>
    <em>inspired by apple Safari</em>
  </RDF>
</RDF>


And the chrome.manifest to this...

Code: Select all

skin   browser     Milk    jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/browser/
skin   communicator   Milk   jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/communicator/
skin   global     Milk     jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/global/
skin   help     Milk    jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/help/
skin   mozapps     Milk    jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/mozapps/
skin   sage     Milk    jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/sage/
skin   launchy     Milk    jar:chrome/Milk.jar!/launchy/


Now when I do the smoke test and install the milk.jar it throws a invalid GUID error. However mr techs local install/nightly tester tools says it fixed the invalid GUID error so the install goes through.

The first couple of times I did this then went to use the test theme when firefox reloaded it was using the default theme instead of the milk theme. Though it was showing that it was using the milk theme in the theme addon window.

I figured out what I was doing wrong there. I did not change the internal name in the install.rdf.

The milk theme is loading now in firefox though I am still getting a invalid GUID error when I install.

At this point I am basically lost. The theme is loading and pretty much looks like Safire Milk but it has problems that at this point in time I have no idea how to fix. I don't have the knowledge to fix it.

I am really bummed right now because Safire Milk is my favorite theme. I had been hoping bazonbloch would update it for firefox 2 but he stated that he was not going to do anything further with this theme. It has been taken off of deviantart.com

Well I guess I am going to have to try and learn how to do this. Though it is going take some time since I really don't have that much time to devote to it.

All you guys/gals out there who do themes for firefox have my appreciation and admiration for all your hard work, time, and attention to detail that you put into these themes.

Regards,

Basic

Edit: For some reason it is cutting out some of the code I pasted for the 2 install.rdf.
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elfares
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Post by elfares »

ok thanx alot but
can i use flash to do new theme for firefox
& Is theme consider template for firefox
thanx again
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