I know theme support is being worked on and a wallpaper swapper is being tested by John.
I have a suggestion.
The wallpaper should be tied to the theme or at least an option.
The theme support should have profiles based on machine name.
i.e. machine name SmithTechD810 would get themeblue
machine name SmithTech1 would get themebrown
machine name suzyQ would get themeDEFAULT (no profile for this machine)
Here's why.
This is the theme I use on my Personal Drive
This is the theme and wallpaper I use on my Work Drive
If I plug my personal drive in at work I would really rather not have it start with the current theme on that drive.
Just a thought.....
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PAM Theme & Wallpaper
March 29, 2007 - 3:10pm
#1
PAM Theme & Wallpaper
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I agree with the multiple profiles for themes. I'm on different machines all the time and would love to have different themes when at work versus at home.
Love the idea of the wallpaper swapper!
Can't wait!
Timothy
AIM: TimothyDMB
http://www.mollyandtim.com/
Timothy
wait a couple of days till the new version hits the public cause I think the whole theme-ability will change.
"Physics is like sex. Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it." - Richard P. Feynman
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
Been thinking about the wallpaper swapper and have another suggestion.
In addition to being tied to the PAM Theme, I think it should detect the screen resolution so it can apply the appropriate wallpaper.
i.e. if the resolution is 4x3 aspect apply wallpaper.bmp
if the resolution is 16x10 aspect apply wallpaperW.bmp
For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)
idea.
"Physics is like sex. Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it." - Richard P. Feynman
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
The wallpaper won't be tied to the theme. Most normal (read: non-technical) users can pick a picture they like and select it as their wallpaper. Most of them won't be able to create a PAM theme. And, even technical users like to choose their own wallpaper in addition to a theme (Of all the themes I've used with ThemeXP, I've never once used the associated wallpaper.) So, I think they should be separate. Of course, a theme designer is welcome to also make available a companion wallpaper for their PAM theme.
The term 'theme' in relation to PAM is a bit of a misnomer. It's really more of a skin since it only applies to PAM (unlike, say, a Windows XP theme which includes an msstyle, background, icons, etc). This is to keep things simple and allow people to easily create lots of nice-looking themes without having to get into wallpapers, icons, etc just to release a theme. The goal is to make the bar of entry to PAM theme creation much lower than, say, Firefox or Windows XP. As for how the icons will be handled, you'll get to see that in a few days. And I do like the idea of something like a full theme package that includes a wallpaper, icons, etc as an option... just not as a requirement for all PAM themes. Once I post the next beta, let's start a discussion along those lines. Be sure and keep track of any ideas you have about it before then.
The possibility of multiple wallpapers for different aspect ratios is a good idea, but probably will not make it into the next release. We'll need to consider how to present that as an option so it isn't too prominent (most users won't use it or know what it means) but isn't too hard to find and use for advanced users.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
LOL, you want me to keep track of my ideas?
Thats why I post them so I don't forget
I'll try and remember to write them down somewhere.
I actually "meant" to say option for being tied to the theme.
I didn't mean it had to be that way by default.
For those who have fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)
I apologize for any rambling , run-on sentences , and assumptions in advance.
I am assuming, (shoot me if I'm wrong) that you eventually will have the themes self-installing from a renamed zip, themename.pas maybe. If so the skinner could specify the wallpaper file name in the .ini (assuming again) and PAM could extract the wallpaper from the theme file to a common wallpaper directory.
Now , assuming there is going to be a dialog for selecting themes , there could be a wallpaper section in the dialog. A drop down menu to select the wallpaper and maybe a small preview would be ideal. Of course there would be check boxes for
()Use wallpaper switching
()Use wallpaper specified in theme
()Use selected wallpaper
If one is not specified in the theme PAM would automatically use the selected one
The same concept could be applied to the icons as well.
I suppose you could make them seperate tabs if you want to keep the dialog small
|Skin||Wallpaper|[Icons]
This would allow for normal users, who might just want to change the skin, to not have to bother with icons or wallpaper unless they go to the tab and turn the feature on. Technical users could pick and choose the various elements without having to be "locked in" to the theme. Skinners would be able to be as creative and ambitious as they wanted to be. It's a Win-Win-Win scenario.
Just my thoughts on the matter...
If the Text on Pam is gonna be customizable then maybe a section in this dialog for overriding the theme font, size, color, etc. with user selected ones, would be nice.