Hello,
I have found this Mac OS X theme for Windows Mobile called Tiger 2.0, here is the link:
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7787
The problem is that I haven't been able to make it work yet on my TyTN, I find it very confusing. Can anyone please help me out on how to get this working clean, step-by-step?
I am new to skins, and it's my first time running Wisbar Advance 2.
Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it.
OK, first of all the full theme requires Wisbar Advance Desktop too. Normally the theme will have a folder marked WA2 (Wisbar Advance) and one marked WAD (Advance Desktop).
Wisbar Advance is basically a task manager that puts pretty bars at the top and bottom of the screen. To get it to work you just need to drop the theme folder into the lakeridge/themes folder on your device.
Advance Desktop is a whole different ball game. As far as I can tell you only get given the basic elements of the desktop and need to set it all up yourself.
I looked into the Wisbar thingy. Looks cool, but is hard to install.
I will look into more, maybe when I figure it out, I post some usefull stuff here.
Maybe have a look at their forum...
Hu everyone,
i have installaed the latest wisbar Advance Desktop on a Tytn couse I love some desktop skin i've seen on the net.
But i'm totally new in this program so I don't know to make the skin.
I'd like to download packed just all done.... i would like to copy on the device and all is just done.
can someone help me in where to find this packages, how to install, where to copy and what operations i have to do to make it work?
thanks
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/forum/index.php
gerazzo said:
Hu everyone,
i have installaed the latest wisbar Advance Desktop on a Tytn couse I love some desktop skin i've seen on the net.
But i'm totally new in this program so I don't know to make the skin.
I'd like to download packed just all done.... i would like to copy on the device and all is just done.
can someone help me in where to find this packages, how to install, where to copy and what operations i have to do to make it work?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gerazzo
Darky has given you a good link. Like me you're new to WAD and I found the following guide to WAD very useful in getting started.
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/downloads/wad.doc
Mike
Thanks for the link... it's very usefull. i will start to learn how to make my own skin but....
in the meanwhile i'd like to use some skin found on the forum.
i have downloaded it (for example Vistabetatwo). unpacked and copied in the
SD, set in wisbar the directory and in the theme page i can find it.
selected, but the only things changed are the upper and bottom bar.... and where are all the object on the desktop? the link? the meter?
in the preview image there so many things....
where am I making mistakes?
Thnaks
some might be from other programs like spb pocketplus /spb diary / pocket pc phone alarm ..etc, also to customize what's on your today screen go to star/settings/today/items and choose them from there
WAD is for advanced users ...
WAD
gravejoker said:
WAD is for advanced users ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gravejoker
Not sure I agree with you. Yes it is a bit finicky to work out and it does help to know your way around basic directories and file structures but from knowing nothing about it two days ago I now have 5 today screens all looking different all with different plug ins and buttons set up to move from one page to another. Where I do agree is, that this is a Hermes board and not a general one and perhaps we don't want to clog it up with non hermes specific issues? There is plenty of help\ on other sites for WAD as shown in above posts.
I would say in relation to hermes that WAD is very useful due to its provision of multiple Today screens as hermes has a relatively small screen to fit all those lovely plugins. Also I was concerned it would really slow up my TyTn with all these pages and plugins but actually having the plugins on seperate pages rather than all on one has speeded up the device! I think the real advanced users like vijay for example probably write their own code/programmes for this sort of thing.
My advice with all these things is give it a try and see where you get to, just back-up what you can before starting and go for it - that's the joy of having the hermes in the first place - unless you're a business user in which case don't tell the boss!!
Mike
Mike
I see your pints of view...
but i'm wondering about some packages like themes that can be installed easly like executing an .exe
and all is set automaticaly.
Thnkas
WAD
gerazzo said:
I see your pints of view...
but i'm wondering about some packages like themes that can be installed easly like executing an .exe
and all is set automaticaly.
Thnkas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point of Wisbar Advance and Wisbar Advance Desktop is that you can set them up and customise them and so you have to hunt down a nice theme download it / unzip and place it on your device in suitable directories. These do not in my experience come in nice exe or cab files but are files you put directly into the folders WA and WAD looks for it's themes. The following link has the popular Windows vista theme:
http://www.sbsh.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11182
Download the qvga skin package. (can download the icons and wallpapers as well for later use.)
When you unzip there will be a lot of folders the most essential ones to put in your Wisbar Themes folder on your device are the ones named Windows Vista WA2, Windows Vista WAD, and Windows Vista Media Player.
The themes folder is likely to be on device or storage card in programme files>lakeridge>wisbar advance>Themes. Drop the files in there. Go to WA settings>my theme page and hopefully the theme will show up for you to select, If not you need to go to WA >settings>programme directories and tell it where to find the new files.
Sadly no programme that just does it all for you and as darky pointed out some of the fancy stuff on today screens posted in the forums:darkysome might be from other programs like spb pocketplus /spb diary / pocket pc phone alarm ..etc, also to customize what's on your today screen go to star/settings/today/items and choose them from there
So the look is coming from many different features all running together.
Cheers
Mike
Thnaks very much for you istrucions.
i've just done all the things you say. The upper bar is modified and the desktop come out but with no item on it.
HOW i can install desktop Themes?
Mmmmm..
gerazzo said:
Thnaks very much for you istrucions.
i've just done all the things you say. The upper bar is modified and the desktop come out but with no item on it.
HOW i can install desktop Themes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gerazzo
This may take some time to explain. (a good general guide is the WAD.Doc link shown earlier).
1. Be sure Advance Desktop is active - go to windows symbol and give it a long press. This brings up a menu. Select Settings. Click arrow beside My Theme, this brings up another menu select plugins at the bottom, an item "Desktop" should appear and be ticked. (If not Wisbar Advance Desktop is not installed properly).
2. Get back to Desktop. Long Press on a free area on the desktop and a menu should appear. Select "new" (we'll add a RAM Meter) so select "meter". A screen appears, use drop down box at top of screen and select "Memory RAM". Leave storage set to "My Device".
3. In the Path to image box you must enter the path to an image. (If you downloaded the Icons file along with the vista theme and saved them on your device/storage card then use gray box on right to find your way tothe folder and select a nice icon. If you did not put the icons folder on your device then just use the gray box followed by down arrow top right to go to the My Device> "Windows" folder. A lot of icons should then appear. Pick one - (doesn't matter which one it's just so you see how it works), and click ok. Pressing ok again takes you back to desktop and your meter should be there. You can drag it to a suitable place.
It's very much the same procedure for adding new shortcuts other meters, new desktop pages etc. With practice you can change to new wallpapers font sizes etc etc.
Enough for now.
Mike
I know hot to build virtual pages, dock, and meter... but i'm not looking for guides to build my own theme but i'd like to download theme just done!
so i have only to copy files into the device; the wa2 folder and the wad folder,
but i need that in the wad folder there is the skin file that i can load throught ther theme manager
thanks
(originally posted here)
I would like to propose the open-source development of a new program for Windows Mobile theme changing.
Themes are very popular. People love to personalize their mobile devices. Many ROM cookers will create their own themes that are implemented across a variety of included applications. Unfortunately, themes for third party applications cannot be defined or changed from within Windows Mobile’s native “Today” Control Panel Appearance tab. There are completely different methods of changing the Today screen theme, Media Player theme, and Phone dialer theme. Then if you’ve got some HTC applications in your ROM, there are yet other methods of changing the HTC Home Plug-in theme, TouchFLO Cube theme, Comm Manager theme, SIP keyboard themes, etc. The possibilities are endless.
I would like to propose a standard unified way of changing the look on all of these applications as well as future applications.
The program could be similar to the HTC Home Customizer where users would select named themes to be applied to specific programs, and the software would copy the proper images/files to the proper locations. The difference would be that there would need to be a way for users and 3rd party developers to interface with the program in order to let it know where its new theme files are supposed to go. Maybe there’s a master XML file that lists application specific XML files which include image/file location information.
Anyway, I think this type of program would be extremely useful both for power users and beginners who want to easily customize the look of their device and apply different themes to their applications from a central location. However, I’m not much of a programmer at all, so I am seeking help from the community.
I’ve started a project on Popfly called “WM6ProThemeChanger”. If you search for that name using the Popfly explorer, you’ll find it. Also, you can add me as a friend using “Adamz1977”. I'm not sure if that's the right way to do this, so if anyone else has any thoughts, feel free to post 'em.
I guess we should start be creating a central list of locations and filenames for various theme-changing image files for the variety of applications we all use. Any thoughts??
**reserved**
**reserved**
**reserved 3**
That's a great idea!
I have installed Poorlyduck's vista theme for the cube and if you look at his thread, not only did he worked hard at making the theme but he had to help out a really big bunch of people who had a hard time installing it.
Hope this works out!
Are you looking for this to somehow have one file type that contains all of the necessary files, or some sort of "it reads what it can from a folder and copies them where they need to go" style? I guess I can't picture what your goal is...
xd1936 said:
Are you looking for this to somehow have one file type that contains all of the necessary files, or some sort of "it reads what it can from a folder and copies them where they need to go" style? I guess I can't picture what your goal is...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "it reads what it can from a folder and copies them where they need to go" style would probably be easiest, right? That's what the HTC Home Customizer does I think. Plus, a lot of applications might need text files, GIF, PNG images, and maybe even a DLL to be placed somewhere in order for the theme/skin design to work. The Media Player skins need a SKN text file. I think the phone dialer needs a DLL sometimes in order to change its skin.
I just think it's too difficult for us users to figure out how to change the theme/skins of all these great programs. If you know any one who might be able to help with this, please send them to this thread.
Hi there,
Hopefully one of you guys can help me, I'm needing to know whether Manilla's tabs i.e, the ones on the main interface -today, messaging, contacts, etc- are actually files located somewhere within the device.
like an exe/or similar file that would move to that tab when clicked. Not actually open it, but just move to the that tab within the Manilla interface.
It's an idea I have for getting round the landscape problem that bothers us HD2 owners.
Many thanks
I'm certainly no manila guru, so can't really give much advice, but from what I do know I can tell you that manila is a single app and it runs as a today plugin. The graphics that make up the manila theme are spread around in the windows folder (and there's LOTS of them), as well as config files (xml file format), but that's where my knowledge stops.
It's basically 1 big application, not seperate ones.
Have a trawl through the rom development and the themes and apps sections, there are a few good reads on the manila files.
Also, try the advanced google search instead of the site search, it turns up some good stuff, sometimes for different phones, but the info is valid.
Try this
tut edit manila +hd2 +leo
the google page which is worth bookmarking is
Here
PREVIOUS POST:
Hi all!
My post should be in the developer page, but since I have less than 10 posts I'll post it here. Hope someone'll read it, I think it may be useful to everybody. BTW sorry for my poor english.
I am a user of Windows 8 from the developer preview, and I learned to appreciate the new Start Page and get used to.
The only thing that makes it still "just bearable" to me is the poor (more like nonexistent) non-metro applications customization. I understand that Windows wants developers to create Metro Apps, but their usability on a desktop PC does not fully not convince me; for some uses I prefer a thousand times to use the classic applications.
The question is: how to get the tiles to the classic desktop applications more pleasing than a monochromatic square with an icon?
I started to look far and wide on the Internet, finding not that much (really this does not affect anyone?), but I found something, something (even right in this site).
I've thought about three different ways of solving this problem. Since it's a little bit tl;dr i'll organize them under quotes.
1- An app that opens programs
- it is relatively easy to modify images of Metro Tiles for metro applications already installed, just follow this guide.
- For those who have knowledge of programming C + +, Javascript, or, generically, any language to Visual Basic, creating a tile for your application is extremely easy, so easy even I did it (I don't know programming, sadly). Still, nobody yet has thought to create standard desktop applications with these tiles, even Microsoft itself (Visual Studio RC hasn't got it!).
- I know that Metro Apps work a bit like the sandbox, but you can set the permissions to access images, documents and so on, so should not be impossible to make up a "double bounce" (metro app that opens a link in the Documents which opens the user desktop) without slowing down too the opening of the original program. I do not think is too complex, yet I can not do it alone.
- Also, an xda user found a way to bypass the sandbox and HERE someone (looks like the only one on the ENTIRE internet, apart from me) wondered about this problem and tried to solve this by itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2- The icon, centered and bigger
- a simple and elegant solution: can't we just edit the registry to bring up the icon in the middle of the tiles and change as well as the size of it equal to the tile itself? Then we should just make bigger icons for programs large enough to not be pixelated.
I searched a bit in regedit on:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ ImmersiveShell \ Grid
However, I found "only" how to enlarge or shrink the tile itself or the number of these files. There are a lot of other data but does not have competence to understand the setup.
Seems the easiest way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3- Copying from Google
As you surely know Google has launched the Google Chrome metro interface, with some special features:
- The program does not come from the Windows App Store, but can be downloaded from the Chromium Project site, therefore, is installed in the usual place of Chrome (User / AppData / Local) and not in the folder WindowsApps. This is quite unusual, because I thought it was the "exclusive" folder for metro applications;
- From my analysis I understood that the application that starts, both in desktop and Metro look, is always the same, "chrome.exe". To confirm this I noticed that, in fact, the folder "Metro" in "Google Chrome" folder contains only the userdata files and not specific ones for the program, which instead are contained by the classic Chrome folder;
- I'm pretty sure that all Google Chrome files are in this folder, since I found inside the "Manifest" and the images for the tiles. Trying to change the PNG and cleaning the cache also changed the tile in the Start bar.
- The first step, too simple for it to be working ( ) was to copy the manifest and the images folder in the folder of another program (obviously changing the directory on the manifest through Notepad), clearing the cache and restarting the PC. It did not work, of course.
- The next step was to open the folder "C: \ Users \ MYUSERPROFILE \ AppData \ Roaming \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Start Menu \ Programs" and try to understand more of nature of the link to Google Chrome...Only to find out that the link to Chrome was not there! ... Does anyone know where it is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that's all. There is still nobody in the world that seems to manage a tweak for having tiles in non-metro applications, so if someone here manages to do this he'll be like the first in the ENTIRE WORLD
Hope this motivates you. I hope to read something from you developers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The user Argony-OT has found a solution to add metro tiles in the start page for common legacy application. Link to his thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1899865
Otinademoniac said:
Hi all!
My post should be in the developer page, but since I have less than 10 posts I'll post it here. Hope someone'll read it, I think it may be useful to everybody. BTW sorry for my poor english.
I am a user of Windows 8 from the developer preview, and I learned to appreciate the new Start Page and get used to.
The only thing that makes it still "just bearable" to me is the poor (more like nonexistent) non-metro applications customization. I understand that Windows wants developers to create Metro Apps, but their usability on a desktop PC does not fully not convince me; for some uses I prefer a thousand times to use the classic applications.
The question is: how to get the tiles to the classic desktop applications more pleasing than a monochromatic square with an icon?
I started to look far and wide on the Internet, finding not that much (really this does not affect anyone?), but I found something, something (even right in this site).
I've thought about three different ways of solving this problem. Since it's a little bit tl;dr i'll organize them under quotes.
1- An app that opens programs
2- The icon, centered and bigger
3- Copying from Google
And that's all. There is still nobody in the world that seems to manage a tweak for having tiles in non-metro applications, so if someone here manages to do this he'll be like the first in the ENTIRE WORLD
Hope this motivates you. I hope to read something from you developers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think that Microsoft would give a way for Google to bypass the restriction on side-loading (for verified developers like Google or the like) if they requested (Of course, they could also have found a way to install Metro Applications without the developers license/enterprise requirement, etc.)
This is probably how it works since the Metro application is not in the usual Installation folder. It is something to wonder about though.
My god! Me and my friend are having this same problem with windows 8! We like the metro menu a lot, but we want to customize non metro program tiles!! We can make some pretty cool images for the tiles, but we just dont know how to change the tiles. I think ur on to something with Google chrome though! I hope some can figure this out! Ur not the only one who wants this!
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
bb12489 said:
My god! Me and my friend are having this same problem with windows 8! We like the metro menu a lot, but we want to customize non metro program tiles!! We can make some pretty cool images for the tiles, but we just dont know how to change the tiles. I think ur on to something with Google chrome though! I hope some can figure this out! Ur not the only one who wants this!
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that I haven't got enough knowledge (not as much as my dedication to the cause ) to really do something with this...I am kinda searching for some help from XDA Developers
Same problem here
I'm also having the same problems on Windows 8. I'm also finding a way to change the default traditional app icons to the metro look, like what google do. Hmmmm.... Microsoft should add a feature to change default non-metro icons to non-metro tiles.
What's weird is that, as someone made me notice, if you make Google Chrome (the W8 version) the default browser for Metro instead of Internet Explorer, IE loses it's metro icon and become a normal Windows monocoloured tile. It's weird enough for making me think that the "copy Google" way is a bit harder than expected.
On the other hand, I've got a friend of mine searching in Windows 8 resources for a way to enlarge and center icons in Start Scren. Nowadays all the icons are big and detailed enough to fit inside a tile, and if they don't we can always make our own. I think that this is actually the easiest way.
Anyone have any clue that might help the cause? Also, since I still have less than 10 post, might someone link this thread in the Windows 8 hacking-developer forum?
Otinademoniac said:
What's weird is that, as someone made me notice, if you make Google Chrome (the W8 version) the default browser for Metro instead of Internet Explorer, IE loses it's metro icon and become a normal Windows monocoloured tile. It's weird enough for making me think that the "copy Google" way is a bit harder than expected.
On the other hand, I've got a friend of mine searching in Windows 8 resources for a way to enlarge and center icons in Start Scren. Nowadays all the icons are big and detailed enough to fit inside a tile, and if they don't we can always make our own. I think that this is actually the easiest way.
Anyone have any clue that might help the cause? Also, since I still have less than 10 post, might someone link this thread in the Windows 8 hacking-developer forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what might cause it, but I know that it's a behavior that's been there since Developers Preview, after setting Chrome as the default browser it would go away, Even when I set the older chrome versions as default it would do it.
Still nothing...! This is quite frustrating, I'm searching really deeply a way to edit the METRO UI, but nothing yet found. Any help?
The way I think would be easier is to center and make bigger the Icon inside the Metro Tiles. I'm trying to use a Resource Editor in windows, but I haven't found anything yet.
Hi, I'm (obviously) new here.
I actually joined just to try and help figure this very issue out.
1. I actually noticed about an hour ago (when installing Firefox) the change that occurred with the Metro tile for IE, changing to a default tile. Your post made me chuckle, as I had literally just done that very thing. It was as if IE felt unloved. :laugh:
2. I am a designer. The ability to not change these tiles right now is killing me from the inside! I could easily set some color values or make my own icons in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and then make new metro-esque tiles the way I want for nearly all my apps in no time.
So, with all of that said... I too shall be looking into how we can manage making our own tiles for non-metro apps.
I wonder (and this is a cheap cheap fix) if one were to design an application icon for say, Firefox, and it would be the actual size & dimension of the pre-fixed metro square...would that icon fill the sqaure and at least give the appearance of being a metro app? It may, but I fear it might just down-size the icon entirely leaving us at square one.
All my design programs are on my OS X hard drives. Later I'll plug them back in, then re-boot my hackintosh and try to make a fill-in metro styled icon for testing purposes.
-TYPØ
Hi TYPOGRAPH1C, sadly changing the icon size won't work, nowadays almost every application icon for Windows have a resolution big enough to fit more than just the METRO tile; sadly, it's still not working.
Also, I've tried (withouth success) another experiment: In the "Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu" folder you can find the links for some of the METRO APP; those icons are from a DLL! I've tried to simply copy one of those in another folder and make a legacy program use it, but it didn't work. I guess is one way less to try
That is unfortunate. And, who knows this may be something we can't fully tackle until the full release of the OS. But, I do know that I went through yesterday and counted 30+ apps that I personally would like to make icons for. Mainly the general stuff I use, but a lot of them are things many people use as well. So between now and the finalized OS release, I should have them all done. And if worst case, we can never set the tiles ourselves... at least I'd rock some custom metro style icons on my taskbar.
But if we do get this working... I was actually thinking last night about this. If we were able to achieve the correct look for the tile icons, I suppose it would be 100% possible to have practically nothing living on the taskbar in Windows 8 (besides the current open desktop application). Everything could be bound to the Start Menu and grouped accordingly in theory.
-TYPØ
I am also looking for a solution. I really want all my programs to have the tile icon.
What i already did is make a white icon for some programs and then specify it as the icon.
Like this you have the icon in the tile (downsized ofc) but the tile itself isn't filled with a background color.
I looks better than the full colored icons from before but i still want the whole metro tile look.
Otinademoniac said:
Hi all!
3- Copying from Google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can read all about "metro enabled desktop browsers" when you get some free time. It's a cool idea, but unfortunately, you can only have one.
Could someone who knows how to make Tiles not make a custom tile app that can then handle custom image and file path, so we just update the details within the app so it points the the right place? So we could install the placeholder with the new set details and pop the icons are Larg and Small and offer booting the exe?
I have NO idea how to make tiles but I just thought maybe that could be a way?
rexzooly said:
Could someone who knows how to make Tiles not make a custom tile app that can then handle custom image and file path, so we just update the details within the app so it points the the right place? So we could install the placeholder with the new set details and pop the icons are Larg and Small and offer booting the exe?
I have NO idea how to make tiles but I just thought maybe that could be a way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows Phone has custom tile apps...Wiztiles is one I use. A user can create custom tiles using pictures they have on their phone. These tiles can then be used to link to specific functions. The function I use it for is to point to websites. You can have it open many of the built in apps on WinPhone. It will open email and draft a new email for you with contact, subject and even the body of the mail drafted...all you have o do is hit send, or edit then send. Same with sms. It can be used to dial a contact or perform a search in the marketplace or Bing app. So it doesn't just open an app, it opens and performs an initial action in the app. Not sure how much of a leap it would be to have it point to 3rd party apps, but the basic idea is there.
The website the OP posted which was this http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9527644/launching-a-desktop-application-with-a-metro-style-app actually does have a method on creating an app to launch a desktop app if anyone wants to try it. Me I'm not that great with code.
a tip for hex editors, just DUI hackers: twinui.dll UIFILES.
I think that it's possible, because you can open internet explorer desktop from internet explorer immersive
@Ka-la I've tried some time ago, but twinui.dll get corrupted... (Next time I will retry )
Pasquiindustry said:
I think that it's possible, because you can open internet explorer desktop from internet explorer immersive
@Ka-la I've tried some time ago, but twinui.dll get corrupted... (Next time I will retry )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to size content in my tiles in RTM pretty succesfully, not sure why you corrupt it. Im not using Windows 8 at the moment so I cannot really help. I remember there were templates for many variant of tiles (widewithpicture and smallwithpicture and so on). If there is one for that applies to desktop apps, it might be possible to apply a metro one to it
I'll give it a shot once im using Windows 8 but cant promise anything.
Maybe i had wrong edits in wrong place