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Velvet Waves by ThemeNorth

Windowblinds version

With a little help from SkinStudio, and permission by ThemeNorth, I bring you one of the best mmstyles, to grace XP, to Windowblinds. The original VS contained two colours - Marine and Moss, each with 3 sub-styles - a Full start menu, a Compact start menu, and a style designed to be used with a vertical taskbar.

This Windowblinds version only gives you the Marine colour, along with the 3 sub-styles, but with the added bonus of having custom colour support. So now you have got potentially millions of colours to choose from. It shouldn't be too hard to find a wallpaper and icon set to match this theme...

Notes for use

Please uncheck the 'Show user icon in startpanel' in the user overrides section from within the Windowblinds Advanced Configuration.

Please make sure you have the latest version of Windowblinds otherwise the 'all programs' startmenu item will be offset.

Many thanks to ThemeNorth to allowing permission to release this.

Many thanks to Adam\SkinStudio for making it that much easier to convert this.

Permission.txt and original Readme.hta included.

**Preview**

VelvetWavesPreviewV5_small.jpg

Click on the image for a full sized screenshot

**mmstyle links**

link Discussion on Velvet Waves at Neowin.

link Original at DeviantART.

link Original at GetSkinned.

**Downloads**

Download from Wincustomize

Download from DeviantART

Edited by Woodbridge
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/133323-vs-wb4-velvet-waves/
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There's not really any need for me to say I like it. Kinda goes without saying :p. Nevertheless nice to see such a good port, especially the whole colouring business.

Thanks for allowing the port, it's a really great piece of art (and as stated in the other thread) engineering. :)

***Update***

23 Jan '04

New

+UIS1 sub styles

+New Shutdown/log off dialog box

+Shadows added to certain text elements

+Added Startmenu Item rollover

Bugs fixed

*Caption buttons - rollover and pressed states correct

*Maximised Window borders now the same as mmstyles version

*2 Margin errors corrected (spinners)

*Changed Control Panel Header colours - was using default colours (ewwwww)

*Removed unneeded images from folder - shaved about 75k off your download (aren't I nice :) )

*Very, very minor changes to the custom colour masks, doubt anyone will be able to tell the difference, but hey :)

Same links as above, but Wincutomise isn't loading for me at the moment, so use the DA link for the time being

I don't have user picture and I see the all programs in offset. I have WindowBlinds 4.2

Also, the progress bar appears empty when I'm copying a file. I can see the progress line in all the other programs but not when I'm copying a file.

You're not meant to have a user picture with this theme, and you'll need the very latest release of WB 4.2 ( I'm on WB 4.20b.002 looking via StarDock Central).

I'll look at the progress bar and see what I can do, but don't expect an update untill the weekend (I'm still waiting for Wincustomise to show the last update :rolleyes: )

You're not meant to have a user picture with this theme, and you'll need the very latest release of WB 4.2 ( I'm on WB 4.20b.002 looking via StarDock Central).

The immediate fix would be to set the left content margin for the User pane for -48 or so, and the user picture will just disappear. Another thing is, what will happen when the user is on doman (then the name will slip off the user pane). But that can be handled with a switch in WB config dialog - by disabling the user picture and leaving the skin as it is.

Any updates to this comming? I love this skin, but that little bug is a little annoying

Thanks

Yep, updates are comming - I'm looking at hiding a 'smart button' that shows if the window is pinned/always-on-top at the moment - if you don't use smart buttons then you will not notice that it is there. Also, I plan on re-doing the custom colour masks again as well as looking at fixing the progress bar so you can see it in that dialog.

Hey,

I'm using Win2K (D'oh!)

One thing I have noticed a *LOT* of skins (not just Velvet) have omitted is the 'window attention' status in the task bar; that is when a window is minimised and it wants attention (eg: MSN, Trillian, etc), the task ber entry for that window *should* flash.

I have noticed that it doesn't on the majority of skins.

Is this left out deliberately, or do most skinners just not realise it and it is an oversight?

Any chance of fixing this?

I looove the Velvet look and am really keen to keep it as my primary theme....

Regards

j0lx

There is an alert taskbar status, but its not very ... attention grabbing :rolleyes: I use Win2K at work, but I can't say I use any apps (while at work at least) that flash the taskbar to get attention. I will add this to the next update, which include yet more tweaks to the custom colour mask (so very light colours work well), the progress bar not displaying on very thin backgrounds, and to include a classic startbutton that shows up in XP when using the classic taskbar (it should default to the pushbutton, but when in XP is doesn't).

I'm also trying to add an indicator to the titlebar to let you know if the current window is pinned-always-on-top, but I'm having trouble using a .tga file as a button. I can't make it transparent, it just appears an the button on a black background. See the attached pic for the effect I'm trying to get. I could do the same effect using a normal bmp, but if you use custom colours it looks awful, so I need it to be transparent. Adam/SkinStudio, if you're reading this, have you got any ideas at to whats wrong?

post-62-1075935417.jpg

Updated yet again, same links as before. Preview in first post updated.

8 Feb '04

New

+Toolbar icons - BeOS style to match the Style Shell

+Always-on-top button/indicator for UIS2 sub-styles

+Re-done the custom colour mask - lighter colours now work well

Bugs fixed

*Fattened up the progress bar - progress bar now shows up on file copy windows

*Magic pink no longer showing on the 'Please wait' dialog box (e.g. when changing themes)

*No longer need to hide the user icon via the Windowblinds Advanced Configuration window

Reported bugs that have not been fixed

-Undock icon in Startmenu - I cannot check this, so I can't fix it, sorry

-Classic startbutton under XP (how do you get that showing anyway?)

The Toolbar icons in this skin where originally put together by Marvilla, they are used here under the Design Science License http://www.dsl.org/copyleft/dsl.txt

also, can be downloaded from GetSkinned

I'm also trying to add an indicator to the titlebar to let you know if the current window is pinned-always-on-top, but I'm having trouble using a .tga file as a button. I can't make it transparent, it just appears an the button on a black background. See the attached pic for the effect I'm trying to get. I could do the same effect using a normal bmp, but if you use custom colours it looks awful, so I need it to be transparent. Adam/SkinStudio, if you're reading this, have you got any ideas at to whats wrong?

If you have Skinstudio 4 you can import the image as a PNG and it'll convert it to the correct TGA format.

If you have Skinstudio 4 you can import the image as a PNG and it'll convert it to the correct TGA format.

Yeah, tried that many time over, same results - .tga with black background. Tried both bringing in as a .png via SS and using a proper .tga all using the latest betas of SS. However, I'm happy with the way this has turned out. If I get .tga to work in the titlebar then I may add a slight glow to the indicators.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
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