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A Productivity Theme
http://forums.winstep.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10870
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Author:  nexter [ Sun Oct 28, 2018 5:03 pm ]
Post subject:  A Productivity Theme

Here's a theme (work-in-progress!) that's designed to be productivity oriented - no unnessary, distracting 'thrills and spills' and also using as little resources as possible.

The screen grab was made in a setup with the basic default configuration but with effects etc. disabled. The NextSTART Taskbar is still rudimentary and needs a lot of work still, there's no original recycler and I may just leave that as is. The shelf was moved to the right edge. All modules are shown.

Also shown is my own version of the NextSTART Startmenu. (This version in this setup is not complete - I still have to copy the fullly completed version over.) The "Your Apps Here!" menu item is a folder menu to be configured to point to a folder where the user has categorised all his app for easy access and oversight. (I use one of these myself and have done so for near as dammit 30 years on various OSs.) The menu is loosely based on the classic Windows start menu.

Just about everything is translucent/transparent to a greater or lesser degree, ranging from 90% opacity (dock) to 40% (shelf and most modules). Menu titlebars are fully opaque, as is the startbar - at any rate at present, I may change this still.

The dock at the top uses the bitmap for the bottom dock, in spite of the correct configuration. (This fault occurs in all themes, except sometimes when the dock has only five icons or less.)

The wallpaper uses parts (some - slightly modified - layers) of one of my works of digital art dating back over 20 years and re-discovered earlier this year. It'sin full 4K format and will work fine at that resolution but best effect is probably at medium resolutions. (The original is at what would roughly be 32K res. at 1200 DPI.)

All in all, this is, more or less, how the user should see and start to use it when first installed!
Attachment:
20181028SrnGrab-W10Prod-Def-01.jpg

Author:  nexter [ Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

N.B. - The histograph colour of the in-shelf metering modules now matches that of the desktop modules, or at least, the darkest colour of the latter as that is drawn from a graduated bitmap.

Also, there now are colour-matched frames/grid lines available for the shelf.

In my theme development setup I now run with the CPU, RAM, and NET modules as well as the digital clock in the Startbar - best place for them, IMO.

One question has arisen - can the Start button text run on two lines? If you Jorge could answer that, or anybody else, I'd appreciate it. Would prefer 'Next Start' split up on two lines rather than use a smaller font size.

Author:  seeker [ Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

nice work

Author:  nexter [ Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

seeker wrote:
nice work

Thank you kindly, sir. :)

It's meant to fit in well with Windows 10, including with the apparently popular 'Dark Theme' (or whatever they call it), and to provide a visually calm, easily recognisable environment to get on with work.

Author:  winstep [ Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

nexter wrote:
One question has arisen - can the Start button text run on two lines? If you Jorge could answer that, or anybody else, I'd appreciate it. Would prefer 'Next Start' split up on two lines rather than use a smaller font size.


No, sorry, you're not supposed to write the whole of War & Peace in the Start Button. :wink:

Author:  nexter [ Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

winstep wrote:
nexter wrote:
One question has arisen - can the Start button text run on two lines? If you Jorge could answer that, or anybody else, I'd appreciate it. Would prefer 'Next Start' split up on two lines rather than use a smaller font size.

No, sorry, you're not supposed to write the whole of War & Peace in the Start Button. :wink:

Well damn and double damn! I'd hoped to add Anna Karenina and Dr. Zhivago to War & Peace as well to the Start Button! :P Thanks Jorge - a smaller font it is then. :)

Author:  nexter [ Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

N.B. 2 - Forgot to say, the NextSTART Start Menu will have a vertical title bar eventually (the bitmap's ready and waiting). However, I can't for the life of me figure out how I did that in the past - certainly looks like we didn't have sub-themes back then, and I can't quite figure how to configure all this. If anybody or Jorge could tell me it would be much appreciated. :)

Author:  nexter [ Mon Oct 29, 2018 8:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

nexter wrote:
N.B. 2 - Forgot to say, the NextSTART Start Menu will have a vertical title bar eventually (the bitmap's ready and waiting). However, I can't for the life of me figure out how I did that in the past - certainly looks like we didn't have sub-themes back then, and I can't quite figure how to configure all this. If anybody or Jorge could tell me it would be much appreciated. :)

I dug up a very old NextSTART theme of mine from the days when NextSTART was all we had, so likely about NS 2.x, that featured a vertical title bar for the (main) parent menu and a horizontal one for all other menus. It seems the only way to do that in those days was to duplicate the theme, and then configure the user settings to use the vertical title bar theme for the main menu only, and then configure all other menus to use the horizontal theme. So no clues there whatsoever. :/

H E L P ! ;)

Author:  DesertDwarf [ Tue Oct 30, 2018 2:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

winstep wrote:
nexter wrote:
One question has arisen - can the Start button text run on two lines? If you Jorge could answer that, or anybody else, I'd appreciate it. Would prefer 'Next Start' split up on two lines rather than use a smaller font size.


No, sorry, you're not supposed to write the whole of War & Peace in the Start Button. :wink:

What about just "War &", Jorge?

Ric, it looks really nice. I approve whole-heartedly.

Author:  nexter [ Tue Oct 30, 2018 2:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

DesertDwarf wrote:
winstep wrote:
nexter wrote:
One question has arisen - can the Start button text run on two lines? If you Jorge could answer that, or anybody else, I'd appreciate it. Would prefer 'Next Start' split up on two lines rather than use a smaller font size.


No, sorry, you're not supposed to write the whole of War & Peace in the Start Button. :wink:

What about just "War &", Jorge?

Ric, it looks really nice. I approve whole-heartedly.

LOL!

Why, thank you kindly Ric. :) Still a lot to be ironed out, but getting there.

Author:  nexter [ Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

Well, we're getting there, slowly. Shelf now has matching grid lines for those who use them, and we're nearly there with the vertical title bar for main menu and normal, horizontal title bar for detached menus. Unfortunately, for some reason I can't fathom the theme doesn't seem to want to see the SubTheme, so it's only giving vertical title bars on everything.

Hoping to fix that pronto and post a new screen grab ASAP.

Meanwhile, here's a grab showing the vertical title bar, alas on both main and detached sub-menu.
Attachment:
File comment: Vertical Title Bar - on main and, alas, sub-menu
001015_VMenuTBProb.png
001015_VMenuTBProb.png [ 180.69 KiB | Viewed 20280 times ]

Author:  winstep [ Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

In the MAIN menu configuration file, it MUST have a line saying:

ThemeHasSubtheme=True

Author:  nexter [ Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

winstep wrote:
In the MAIN menu configuration file, it MUST have a line saying:

ThemeHasSubtheme=True

I know Jorge, and it has. But thank you anyway. :)

I compared the two config files of the Darkmatter theme with my two ancient themes' config files (one for vertical, one for horizontal title bars - we didn't have sub-themes in those early days) and also my new theme's config file, then used the Darkmatter files as starting point for my new ones, substituting the values with my own ones. In my theme folder, the files for the sub-theme went into the 'SubTheme' sub-folder, except some that are shared such as buttons, arrows, etc. which are in both. So, e.g., the 'SubTheme' sub-folder only has the horizontal title bar and roll up and rotate gadgets etc., while the main folder has the vertical title bar, close gadget, etc. etc.

I'll go over the configs again for a forth time and see. So far haven't been able to see anything.... But, as so often, it can be hard to see the wood for all the trees.... ;)

Author:  nexter [ Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

Well, I've gone over every line in both config files twice more, and still I can't see where the problem might be Jorge. :(

Author:  winstep [ Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Productivity Theme

Sigh. Send the theme over and I'll look at it when I can.

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