Pmenu Help Wanted (graphists)

[Cpasjuste]

Hi there, i'm still working on a minimal menu for the pandora, and i would like to get some help for making some skins.

You can find a file with all the backgrounds/icons/stuff here :

CODE

http://mydedibox.fr/_stuff/pmenu_data.zip



So in red are the box that are really needed, and your background/skin should have the same "box/container" size as those red box. When i say box, it's up to you to make a box for the menu items or not, make a box for the two arrows or not etc ...

You should save all your (gimp, photoshop ...) projects after any work since the layout could change a little.

I may forget some informations but i'll surely remember them if you ask some question here.

Thanks in advance !

 

[hells_dark]

I think you should comment more about what is needed because i downloaded the archive and it was quite messy ^^'

I'm glad you ask for the community talented people

 

[dflemstr]

Is it possible that your app could accept .png images with transparency for shadows etc?
And could you (not YOU, but like the french "on") "split up" the interface a bit, for example "application-frame-left-side.png" "application-frame-downright-corner.png" etc? Because as it is now, it will become very difficult if you want to rearrange something with the layout (as a user or dev) so it maybe should be more dynamic (or am I just being a PITA? )

 

[Cpasjuste]

Is it possible that your app could accept .png images with transparency for shadows etc?
And could you (not YOU, but like the french "on") "split up" the interface a bit, for example "application-frame-left-side.png" "application-frame-downright-corner.png" etc? Because as it is now, it will become very difficult if you want to rearrange something with the layout (as a user or dev) so it maybe should be more dynamic (or am I just being a PITA? )

Yes there is no problem for using png it's already supported. But you can add transparency with bmp as well.

I will try to detail more soon

 

[dflemstr]

But you can add transparency with bmp as well.

Transparency keys? Because BMPs don't support ARGB colors, if that's what you mean, except maybe some versions of BMP on windows, which I don't have access to anyways.

 

[skeezix]

BMP is defined by Windows, and so it is the canonicle reference

But usually its just a specific colour is set to be a trans colour, since you're right, there is no ARGB. (BMP was designed for screen oriented images, and thus alpha makes no sense.)

jeff

 

[Cpasjuste]

BMP is defined by Windows, and so it is the canonicle reference

But usually its just a specific colour is set to be a trans colour, since you're right, there is no ARGB. (BMP was designed for screen oriented images, and thus alpha makes no sense.)

jeff

I don't know what your talking about because with gimp there is no problems to save a 32 bits argb bmp.

 

[dflemstr]

I don't know what your talking about because with gimp there is no problems to save a 32 bits argb bmp.

Still, since BMPss are something like 400% larger than .pngs, I see no reason why not to use them.

Then, there's the question about modularity. If I or someone else were to make a "theme" for the menu, could that theme be spilt up into small images, so that you don't have to "order" a new theme everytime you move something in the layout?

 

[skeezix]

BMP is defined by Windows, and so it is the canonicle reference

But usually its just a specific colour is set to be a trans colour, since you're right, there is no ARGB. (BMP was designed for screen oriented images, and thus alpha makes no sense.)

jeff

I don't know what your talking about because with gimp there is no problems to save a 32 bits argb bmp.


Maybe I misremember; I wrote my bmp parser a billion years ago. *shrug*

jeff

 

[Cpasjuste]

I don't know what your talking about because with gimp there is no problems to save a 32 bits argb bmp.


Still, since BMPss are something like 400% larger than .pngs, I see no reason why not to use them.

Then, there's the question about modularity. If I or someone else were to make a "theme" for the menu, could that theme be spilt up into small images, so that you don't have to "order" a new theme everytime you move something in the layout?

I dont see how and why it could/should be more splitted, there is the 4 (soon 6) main menu icons, the 2 arrows, the 2 highlights (main menu icons highlight and app/games icon/name highligh), the background and that's all.

The user can (will) move each of them where he want with a configuration file, then he can do what he want with the main background image. Like i said, only the size of the red boxes must be respected.

 

[Flam]

Hi

I'll be glad to help out but it would be nice it you can give some more information about what can be changed and some more details about all functions.

 

[emcp]

so i dont have to stick to your layout, so i can rearrange a few things
also what about a possible transition between categories

so say the favourites logo is in the middle and i choose apps, everything would shift left etc

and damn the current design is messy, pleas say youll remove the cube, is totally useless and makes it look cheap, keep it just as a flat image, unless you want some sort of animated svg (which i doubt)

can dimensions change?

 

[dflemstr]

... Cpasjuste, this is what I mean.
People want 'more' than just a static image as background and want to be able to change the design WITHOUT having to make a new background image.

You will save yourself A LOT of work (I think) if you split up the images in layers and parts; something like this (note that every line means a layer):
CODE

----Buttons----
--Frame-side--|--Frame-middle--|--Frame-side--
---------------Background image---------------



Picture to clarify (Blue means the bottom layer, green the middle layer and red the top):

Then, you could support things like themes, because you can move around the parts however you want when you render them. You can of course stretch the sides of the frame to make smaller/larger frames. and, the shadows are correct since the frame side images should be transparent. Think about how most HTML pages use their images; that should give you some idea about what I'm thinking of.


I could provide a set like this if you want; just give me an OK

 

[emcp]

... Cpasjuste, this is what I mean.
People want 'more' than just a static image as background and want to be able to change the design WITHOUT having to make a new background image.

You will save yourself A LOT of work (I think) if you split up the images in layers and parts; something like this (note that every line means a layer):
CODE

----Buttons----
--Frame-side--|--Frame-middle--|--Frame-side--
---------------Background image---------------

Picture to clarify (Blue means the bottom layer, green the middle layer and red the top):

Then, you could support things like themes, because you can move around the parts however you want when you render them. You can of course stretch the sides of the frame to make smaller/larger frames. and, the shadows are correct since the frame side images should be transparent. Think about how most HTML pages use their images; that should give you some idea about what I'm thinking of.


I could provide a set like this if you want; just give me an OK


i disagree

 

[dflemstr]

What an excellent reason to quote my whole post...
Do you have a reason?

 

[banjeed]

Thanks for bringing this into the community Cpasjuste! I'm currently tinkering with a few ideas of my own for the layout. I think you've done a great job so far in implementing a simple interface demo and I appreciate you showing us how to take a whack at your project. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing, and when you decide to post the configuration file part, I'll work with it. (I didn't see one in the zip I DL'd..did I goof?)

 

[Cpasjuste]

I agree with dflemstr that an explanation would help to understand your position emcp

dflemstr, i think you could be right, but it's still more work to do for me and for the man that would do a skin no ? I'm still not sure to see the benefit, you are still able to do some shadow etc while drawing your parts on your background. Then move all the static things (icons, items list, preview) where you want.

Anyway, maybe we should wait that that i finish each section and add the skin configuration file (x/y static item pos) to decide.

 

[Tiptup300]

Wait, is this the menu that comes with the pandora to start? Or is it just a different one...

 

[Mithrildor]

Wait, is this the menu that comes with the pandora to start? Or is it just a different one...

This is the minimal menu for people that dont want to boot Angstrom everytime.

 

[arrrgh]

Wait, is this the menu that comes with the pandora to start? Or is it just a different one...

This is the minimal menu for people that dont want to boot Angstrom everytime.

Are you sure you're not thinking of Matchbox? You'll still need to boot Angstrom to run the menu.