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235 lines
7.6 KiB
235 lines
7.6 KiB
Theme Authoring Kit - 7/26/00
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-----------------------------
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The Theme Authoring Kit (TAK) is an informal (internal use only) collection
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of tools to help theme authors build new "visual styles" for Whistler.
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TAK consists of the following:
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1. themesel.exe (theme testing program - see below)
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2. packthem.exe (packages theme files into a .mstheme DLL)
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3. tools needed for running packtheme.exe:
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- rc.exe (resource compiler)
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- link.exe (linker; used to build dll)
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- rcdll.exe (used by rc.exe)
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- cvtres.exe (used by link.exe)
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- mspdb60.dll (used by link.exe)
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4. Sample theme Directories:
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- Business
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- BusSolid
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- BusDev
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5. Informal documentation:
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- schema.txt (explains format/use of "TmSchema.h" file)
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- themes.txt (explains format/use of .ini files for themes)
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- tak.txt (this file)
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- skeming.ppt (a powerpoint intro to themes)
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6. misc files:
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- TmSchema.h (schema file)
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- SchemaDef.h (schema helper file)
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- uxtheme.h (public api for theme-aware controls)
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- uxthemep.h (internal-only api for theme selection UI)
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Manually Switching Themes:
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--------------------------
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Until the real theme switching UI is ready, you can turn themes ON/OFF
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(and switch themes) by manually editing the registry:
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To turn the business "visual style" ON:
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a. shut down explorer (Start | Shut down | hold CTRL+ALT+Shift and click on the cancel button)
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b. run: regedit
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c. navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion
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d. add KEY: ThemeManager
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e. add string value to ThemeManager key:
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string: ThemeActive
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value: 1
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f. add string value to ThemeManager key:
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string: DllName
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value: %windir%\resources\0409\themes\business\business.mstheme
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g. close "regedit"
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h. run: explorer
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i. verfiy that taskbar has a new start button, smaller text, etc.
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The file "themeon.reg" automates the above steps. You can run in using "start themeon.reg"
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To turn the business "visual style" OFF:
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a. shut down explorer (Start | Shut down | hold CTRL+ALT+Shift and click on the cancel button)
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b. shut down any other programs running (this is a temp. requirement)
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c. run: regedit
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d. navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\ThemeManager
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e. change the value of the "ThemeActive" string to "0"
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f. close "regedit"
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g. run: explorer
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h. verfiy that taskbar and start button have returned to normal
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The file "themeoff.reg" automates the above steps. You can run in using "start themeoff.reg"
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To switch to a different "visual style":
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a. shut down explorer (Start | Shut down | hold CTRL+ALT+Shift and click on the cancel button)
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b. shut down any other programs running (this is a temp. requirement)
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c. run: regedit
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d. navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\ThemeManager
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e. change the value of the "DllName" string to be the full path of the .mstheme file
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to be loaded
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f. change the value of the "ThemeActive" string to "1"
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g. close "regedit"
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h. run: explorer
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i. verfiy that taskbar and start button reflect the new theme
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ThemeSel Program:
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-----------------
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themesel.exe is a program designed to test themes (and the theming
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subsystem). It consists of a tabbed set of pages in a window.
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The main page is labelled "general" and is used to browse and select
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available themes (packaged as .mstheme dll's) and theme directories.
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It can also control special theme loading options (target only 1 app
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or 1 window, etc).
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When a theme directory is selected and applied by themesel, it
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will call the "packthem" utility to package the theme into a .mstheme
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DLL and then load the DLL as the current theme.
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The other tabbed pages are used to view the effects of the theme on
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various controls.
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ThemeSel and Hooking Services:
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------------------------------
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The loading of system-wide hooks needed by themeing is done in
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explorer.exe. When explorer starts up, it will install the hooks
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if there is a theme active for the current user. ThemeSel will ask
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explorer to install the hooks when themesel is started and there isn't
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a theme active. When ThemeSel exits, it will ask explorer to remove the
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hooks if no theme is currently active.
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Packaging Themes:
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-----------------
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1. a theme directory consists of:
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- a "themes.ini" file
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- one or more "classdata" files
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- all of the image files used by the theme
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- all of the NTL files used by the theme
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2. the only image files supported in a classdata file are ".bmp" files
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3. the following files can be converted using "imagecon.exe" to .bmp files:
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- .jpeg
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- .gif
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- .png
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- .tif
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- .emf
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- .wmf
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- .ico
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4. the contents of a theme directory can be packaged into a DLL file by
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using the "packthem.exe" tool. this tool is run automatically by themesel
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when you select a theme directory.
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5. "packthem" requires that the following tool support files are available in the
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same directory (as packthem.exe) or in your PATH:
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- link.exe
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- rc.exe
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- cvtres.exe
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- rcdll.dll
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- mspdb60.dll
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6. the above support files can be copied from: \\rfernand7\public\tak
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7. packthem takes a directory name as its cmd line argument and processes the "themes.ini" file
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in that directory. For example:
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packthem subcool
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8. As the "themes.ini" file is processed:
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- the file is parsed for syntax errors
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- the "themes.ini" file is added to the package being built (as a TEXT resource)
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- recognized properties from the [documentation] section are written to a
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package string table
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- each color scheme name, display name, and tooltip string are written to
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package string tables
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- each size name, display name, and tooltip string are written to package
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string tables
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- each specified classdata file is processed
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9. As each "classdata" file is processed:
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- the file is parsed for syntax errors
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- the classdata file is added to the package being built (as a TEXT resource)
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- any .bmp "ImageFile" references within the .ini file
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are added to the package (as a resource)
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- any "NtlFile" references within the .ini file
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are added to the package (as a resource)
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- any font specifications are written to a package string table
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9. if no errors are encountered during the above steps, a DLL is produced (the base name
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will be the ending name of the directory; the extension will be ".mstheme").
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Unpackaging Themes:
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-------------------
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Sometimes you will only have the .mstheme file and want to make an adjustment. There is a
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"-u" switch for "packthem.exe" that will let you do this:
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packthem -u -a professional.mstheme
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The above cmd will unpack all of the bitmaps and .ini files from professional.mstheme into the
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current directory. The "-a" tells packthem to write the text files as ANSI (default in UNICODE).
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