Bebi Bulma Bebi Bulma

Show off your Impulse skin!

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Show off your Impulse skin!

Take that, green!


Yes....that's right. Who thought it would be sooo easy to skin.

It's as simple as replacing the images in Program Files/Stardock/Impulse/Skins/Images* (3 folders) and editing font colors in the skin.xml. So easy even *I* could do it! :LOL:

TIP: When Impulse updates, it WILL overwrite all the original images that you changed. Take a tip from Snowy and rename all your modified images (I just added [s] to the end to know they're mine) and then update the changed image names in the skin.xml and save a copy somewhere, so when Impulse updates, all you need to do is replace the skin.xml. I just tested it and worked great. (Impulse updated and it was green again, gah!)

So let's see your skinned Impulse. ;)

Mine (just some basic recoloring and changed the back.jpg):

It's so purdy....
67,836 views 111 replies
Reply #26 Top
Aaron is right, all I did was open all the green images and ctrl + u in Photoshop and shifted them all to -124, which gave that magenta color. That was it. (Of course, for the ContentPanel and ContentHeader I just shifted the Saturation all the way to the left to take out the color and changed the opacity to 40% so the background color would seep through, making it transparent.)

TIP: When Impulse updates, it WILL overwrite all the original images that you changed. Take a tip from Snowy and rename all your modified images (I just added [s] to the end to know they're mine) and then update the changed image names in the skin.xml and save a copy somewhere, so when Impulse updates, all you need to do is replace the skin.xml. I just tested it and worked great. (Impulse updated and it was green again, gah!)
Reply #27 Top

its a bit garish , but it's my very first try.
still haven't gotten it to show different color on three of the pages, but I haven't gotten far enough to figure out how.

btw, when impulse updates it wipes out the whole thing and goes back to the original
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
Reply #28 Top
btw, when impulse updates it wipes out the whole thing and goes back to the original
End of quote

Yeah, I updated my previous post and the original post with a tip on how to easily fix that.
Reply #29 Top
hmm... I gotta figure out how to use that image shack thing....
Reply #30 Top
Wulfie this should help you: how to post a screenshot.

(Basically, you need to copy the url from the last field at the bottom [direct link to image] and then paste that into the popup for the insert image button.)
Reply #31 Top
Thanks Bebi
tryin again....


Reply #32 Top
If it's anything like SDC it'll update almost everytime u open it. Not much point in skinning it is there if you have to replace everything every time it updates. I've opened it twice, it's updated..2 times.

lol.
Reply #33 Top
You don't have to replace everything, like I added to my original post, all you would have to replace is the skin.xml.

But you're right...it is a pain. Maybe Stardock will keep all this in mind and leave all the skin aspects alone.  :NOTSURE: 
Reply #34 Top
Hehe .. my latest after the update..



Reply #35 Top
well that worked so well, I broke my connection and had to re-establish.
Reply #36 Top
hmm... is the skin xml something subject to change?
if not, why not make a copy of the skin you create and just substitute it everytime you update?
Reply #37 Top
Reply #38 Top
store , news and community look awful with the green combined with the different colors though. don't think there's a way to fix that is there?
Reply #39 Top
No...that's all web-based stuff.
hmm... is the skin xml something subject to change?if not, why not make a copy of the skin you create and just substitute it everytime you update?
End of quote

Hence:
TIP: When Impulse updates, it WILL overwrite all the original images that you changed. Take a tip from Snowy and rename all your modified images (I just added [s] to the end to know they're mine) and then update the changed image names in the skin.xml and save a copy somewhere, so when Impulse updates, all you need to do is replace the skin.xml. I just tested it and worked great. (Impulse updated and it was green again, gah!)
End of quote
Reply #40 Top
ok finally got it.

 :HOT: 
Reply #42 Top
I just save a copy of the skins folder...
Reply #43 Top

If something can be skinned, skinners will find a way. You can't keep a skinner down  ;)  So, Stardock, you and your George Bush, we beat you! Skinnerz rulez! You will submit to the will of Landrew...

Anyway, there are only two rules in computers:

1) If it moves, shoot it

2) If it doesn't move, skin it

Reply #44 Top

Ooops, went off into Star Trek land there.

Prolly just swapped my blue shirt for a red one...  :SURPRISED: 

Reply #45 Top
Maybe Stardock will keep all this in mind and leave all the skin aspects alone.
End of quote


As in If Overwote > Leave alone. :CONGRAT: 

I'd skin mine but it would probably just look like an Aero clone right now anyway  X-( 
Reply #46 Top

Work in progress :D ;D

Reply #47 Top
Snowy . . I like
Reply #48 Top

It's far from done, Zu
I'm still figuring out what does what in the XML. It's just like in the old days when manually working with UIfiles for WB ;)

I somehow hope Stardock leaves the "skinning" of Impulse as it is. It's fun doing it by 'trial and error', and skinning should be fun ;p

How about a Skinning Impulse Contest? hehe ;) ;)

Reply #49 Top
How about a Skinning Impulse Contest? hehe
End of quote


How about a Impulse skinning category? ;)
Reply #50 Top

How about a Impulse skinning category?
End of quote

Let's get it to be 'final' before we head down that road ;)
But it's definitely a great idea.

I bet this is one effect Stardock didn't expect Impulse to have ;)