Plus! Themes and Uxtheme?

[andrewweb]

Hello Developers and Hello Community!

I am wondering, is it possible to integrate a Plus! like themes manager(so you can choose a set of sounds, cursors, backgrounds, colours and activate them immediatly).

Also, could you add some sort of uxtheme.dll alternative? UXTHEME.dll is the part of xp that powers the nice Blue theme and smooth edges.(It even blues the start menu!).

If you could that would be great! 8)

[phoenix]

UXTHEME.dll is the part of xp that powers the nice Blue theme and smooth edges.(It even blues the start menu!).

Well, exactly it doesn't power any style itself, it just uses other style files and can even be patched to allow non-MS-themes.

uxtheme.dll is already under development, though it is of course not at any high priority, so for now it afaik can't do hardly anything...

a Plus! like themes manager

I don't know that manager, but does it add any functionality which you can't access though the control panels? I think, if it doesn't, there's no urgent need for sth like that for reactos...

[.aart3k]

uxtheme needs to be ported from wine, it is possible to use such themes in linux via x

[Phalanx]

uxtheme needs to be ported from wine, it is possible to use such themes in linux via x

It's in the code base. Uxtheme is not so much the problem itself, as what it needs to work.

[andrewweb]

I don't know that manager, but does it add any functionality which you can't access though the control panels? I think, if it doesn't, there's no urgent need for sth like that for reactos...

I mean, when in windows xp, when you right click on the desktop and click properties, you get a theme manager.

(previously it was Desktop Themes in Control Panel in win 98 or 95 with plus!).

[Blazkowicz]

you actually don't get anything more than a basic theme selector, clicking a .theme file in explorer does as much. the Plus! I had with windows 95 not only offered a preview but also a list of checkboxes on the right which allowed to select theme components (wallpaper, colors, sounds, pointers etc.) so you can use what you're interested in or mix themes.

[horsedrowner]

I'd like to see something like StyleXP/WindowBlinds, It's way better than just selecting Windows 98 style colors...

[Nmn]

Those won't run in ReactOS yet. The main reasons are API and i believe hooking related and will be fixed with some time.

[andrewweb]

you actually don't get anything more than a basic theme selector, clicking a .theme file in explorer does as much. the Plus! I had with windows 95 not only offered a preview but also a list of checkboxes on the right which allowed to select theme components (wallpaper, colors, sounds, pointers etc.) so you can use what you're interested in or mix themes.

Yeh I agree, xp's effort seems rubbish . Xp has a manager with preview, but IT DOESN'T let you choose the bits you want.

Oh, another thing - Uxtheme.dll. yes, no problemo in the engine, but the themes it uses are missing. There are free ones on the net though, so couldn't we use one

[bobsobol]

This is (IMHO) an incredibly premature discussion... what it looks like isn't nearly as important as how it works.

Having said that... I was curious to see the UXTheme.dll in my ReactOS\System32 folder too... which is what lead me here.

I've been skinning Windows since Windows 95, and TBH I think the best OpenSource API patching available is in Customeyes or it's stripped down predecessor ShellWM Despite the fact that it doesn't document, and almost no skins use, button, scroll bar etc skinning... if you dig deep it can do them. However there are still bugs... most notably that if you click close on a palette window it will not close and you will then not be able to access it any other way till you free it up with some focus change trickery.

Illumination is OSI software but only skins window borders.

From what I see and read, UXTheme.dll is mostly a straight port from WINE and will therefore probably not work straight in a windows system even if all the APIs that UXTheme.dll in Windows patches were implemented in ROS... because WINE relies heavily on X being present.

None of these OpenSource projects could be simply re-worked into a UXTheme replacement... because they all work on different raster mappings and event traps... and none of them will skin the start bar... though projects like ViStart and LClock or the TClock he links from go some way towards that.

Of course Start Bar functionality can be replaced completely, as can be seen in many alternative shells.

The reason I'm posting so many links is that getting some of these OpenSource projects to work in ReactOS would be a great proofing ground... and being OSS interpreting why they don't work when they don't should be easier than trying to debug some hard coded assembler that probably employs obfuscation to stop you stealing their idea. Also because their experiences may prove useful as reference material when the time comes.

[Harteex]

you actually don't get anything more than a basic theme selector, clicking a .theme file in explorer does as much. the Plus! I had with windows 95 not only offered a preview but also a list of checkboxes on the right which allowed to select theme components (wallpaper, colors, sounds, pointers etc.) so you can use what you're interested in or mix themes.

Yeh I agree, xp's effort seems rubbish . Xp has a manager with preview, but IT DOESN'T let you choose the bits you want.

Oh, another thing - Uxtheme.dll. yes, no problemo in the engine, but the themes it uses are missing. There are free ones on the net though, so couldn't we use one

hmm, I don't know exactly what you mean but I can change different parts of the theme in my XP (at least some stuff):
http://www2.reactos.se/temp/theme.png

[andrewweb]

This is (IMHO) an incredibly premature discussion... what it looks like isn't nearly as important as how it works.

Having said that... I was curious to see the UXTheme.dll in my ReactOS\System32 folder too... which is what lead me here.

I've been skinning Windows since Windows 95, and TBH I think the best OpenSource API patching available is in Customeyes or it's stripped down predecessor ShellWM Despite the fact that it doesn't document, and almost no skins use, button, scroll bar etc skinning... if you dig deep it can do them. However there are still bugs... most notably that if you click close on a palette window it will not close and you will then not be able to access it any other way till you free it up with some focus change trickery.

Illumination is OSI software but only skins window borders.

From what I see and read, UXTheme.dll is mostly a straight port from WINE and will therefore probably not work straight in a windows system even if all the APIs that UXTheme.dll in Windows patches were implemented in ROS... because WINE relies heavily on X being present.

None of these OpenSource projects could be simply re-worked into a UXTheme replacement... because they all work on different raster mappings and event traps... and none of them will skin the start bar... though projects like ViStart and LClock or the TClock he links from go some way towards that.

Of course Start Bar functionality can be replaced completely, as can be seen in many alternative shells.

The reason I'm posting so many links is that getting some of these OpenSource projects to work in ReactOS would be a great proofing ground... and being OSS interpreting why they don't work when they don't should be easier than trying to debug some hard coded assembler that probably employs obfuscation to stop you stealing their idea. Also because their experiences may prove useful as reference material when the time comes.

Yes it is odd there is a (not working) uxtheme.dll file in reactos. I noticed this too, when it was installing(It said current file:uxtheme.dll).

Also, the shell needs modifiying, so it works with uxtheme.dll(like xp's shell does - I know the look is from uxtheme.dll because if you delete it manually it seems to be in windows classic look), but a decision must be made whether it shall work with vista or xp themes(They must be different, I meen, with the start menu differences, how could xp and vista themes be compatible!?!?!).

[oiaohm]

uxtheme.dll is not exactly not working. Applications/dlls that should be linked to uxtheme.dll are not. So yes you can install a theme but nothing will use the information to put it on screen.

As you noticed andrewweb remove the dll just removes the changes under windows.

Wine has uxtheme.dll all hooked up. Reactos does not. And its not a high thing on list to fix. Reason for a running OS is not important if its done.

0.4 and above maybe. Classic 2000 like look that works is better than a XP and above look that does not.

[andrewweb]

uxtheme.dll is not exactly not working. Applications/dlls that should be linked to uxtheme.dll are not. So yes you can install a theme but nothing will use the information to put it on screen.

As you noticed andrewweb remove the dll just removes the changes under windows.

Wine has uxtheme.dll all hooked up. Reactos does not. And its not a high thing on list to fix. Reason for a running OS is not important if its done.

0.4 and above maybe. Classic 2000 like look that works is better than a XP and above look that does not.

Yes, i see. But one thing is, the colours manager needs more colour themes!
(you know, the window appearance thing).
It should have all the classic ones that windows 95, 98, me and xp(in classic mode) had. Like Rainy Day, Pumpkin, Hig Contrast.....
Oh what nice themes!