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Dealing with Weather Backdrops!

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Dealing with Weather Backdrops!

Easy Solution For Saving them all!

from WinCustomize Forums
As many of you have seen I have started creating Weather backdrops with all of my recent docks and mostly everyone else has followed along with this.

Here is an easy solution for saving them and not losing any of your weather backdrops that you may start accumulating. Create a "Weather Backdrops" folder in your "My Documents" folder to store them in...and as you acquire them....just name them starting with backdrop1.png and continue on increasing your number of backdrops accordingly. Make sure that you start with the next number in line of your collection as you acquire more of them before moving them to the "Weather Backdrops folder" you created...since when they are created they are usually numbered according to the particular side docks they were created for.

Now...all you have to do if you want to change your Weather backdrop is this...copy and re-paste the backdrop you want to use to the same folder your collection is in....rename it to backdrop.png and move it to the Weather docklets folder in Objectdock and let it overwrite the one that is already in there. You can do this at any time without changing your side docks and you won't lose any backdrops...as long as you continue renumbering them in the Weather backdrops folder.  ;)

Note: This works easily with XP....not so sure now with Vista!
21,060 views 46 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ooh I know. Al Monty, do you have photoshop? If so, open photoshop and then select open from the file menu, navigate to the weather docklet folder and tell me if you see the file you created in there.
Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WG if you look at the screenshot everything is spelled correctly and changing the image even taking it out of the folder does nothing. Thanks anyway ;) 

messiah yea I have photoshop. I opened up the image and it was the default one(the one in the folder ss) and resaved it. Still nothing ;p 

What I did find out the backdrop image doesn't have to be 130x112 It could be 256x256. I wanted to see if I had any problems on my XP machine so I just grabbed an image and dropped it in. That works fine.

Oh did I metion I replaced the whole weather docklet folder with the one from my XP machine and still nothing.
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Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top
AlMonty....send me the image your using @msn.com....the one you created.
Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WG I didn't create any image. I took one of the tiled backgrounds from here WWW Link and named it backdrop.png dropped it in the folder and it changed the background shown in the ss in reply #10 (which disappeared). And now it won't return to the default.

Another ss for #10 post.
Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Monty, I didn't mean to actually open it up. What I meant was, with photoshop open go into that folder like you were going to open a file in there. Can you see the other backdrop file? I ask because when in Vista, I changed some files in a folder and even added them, but just viewing the folder in the Explorer window, I can't see the new files, but if I nav in from PS, they are all there.
Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And if you make one for yourself make sure its 130x112 in size.
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Hey WG, using a 256x256 image here and it works fine.
Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Monty, I didn't mean to actually open it up. What I meant was, with photoshop open go into that folder like you were going to open a file in there. Can you see the other backdrop file? I ask because when in Vista, I changed some files in a folder and even added them, but just viewing the folder in the Explorer window, I can't see the new files, but if I nav in from PS, they are all there.
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Looks like I'm late to the party ! But I was going to say the same thing, I had the same problem as Monty, for some reason there was an invisible backdrop , I went nuts trying to figure it out. And besides for browsing for it with a program, I was able to see it through a folder menu on right click.
Also, once you find it, however you do it, like messiah said, don't open it, just delete it right from the
"open file" browser window. What I do now, just to avoid any problems is, I rename and copy the one that I want to use, then I delete the one that's in the docklet folder, and then I paste the new one, instead of overwriting.
Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Messiah answer to your question is NO. There is only the folder, the default backdrop and the dll file.

Cool thing I discovered was when you right click inside a folder and select properties if you select the tab that says Previous Version you can choose a date that will show you all the stuff you had in that folder. Example: I created a folder inside the weather docklet folder call Backdrops. Yesterday I deleted this folder just to find out what was going on with the backdrops. Just now I click on Previous Versions and selected the date 7/29/08 and the backdrop folder was in there.
Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Messiah answer to your question is NO
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Ok, thought maybe somebody else might be experiencing the same thing as me. Don't know what to tell you then bud. Real strange that.
Reply #35 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm sorry I was wrong. :p I didn't see it with Photoshop but I do see it with Paintshop Pro. But...nothing happens when I change the image. I can open it up with PSP, make it blue and it's still the image in the screenshot above. X-( 
Reply #36 from WinCustomize Forums Top
But...nothing happens when I change the image. I can open it up with PSP, make it blue and it's still the image in the screenshot above.
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Also, once you find it, however you do it, like messiah said, don't open it, just delete it right from the
"open file" browser window.
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probably the best thing to try
Reply #37 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hey WG, using a 256x256 image here and it works fine.
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I guess it doesn't really matter then...I was basing my images on the original backdrop that came with the weather docklet. So if that sizes works...cool. ;)


And I'm assuming all you guys that are having this problem are on Vista? I'm on XP and its a simple matter of sending the new image there and it changes on the fly. I never thought something so simple could become so complicated. ;p
Reply #38 from WinCustomize Forums Top
guess it doesn't really matter then...I was basing my images on the original backdrop that came with the weather docklet.
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So was I but then I just tried a 200x200 size and it worked just as well. It's doing it's own resize apparently.

And I'm assuming all you guys that are having this problem are on Vista?
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Yup, only happens to me when I'm in Vista.

Reply #39 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It's doing it's own resize apparently.
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Yeah I figured that as well....I tried making it a bit bigger since the text seemed to be overlapping the sides....but it didn't work. (:(
Reply #40 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah I figured that as well....I tried making it a bit bigger since the text seemed to be overlapping the sides....but it didn't work
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Same here. Be nice if you could control these through the od config like other stuff. Be able to turn the days at the bottom on/off...text size on the backdrops etc...wish there was a thread about that...wait a minute...Some things I'd like to see for ObjectDock
Reply #41 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Be nice if you could control these through the od config like other stuff. Be able to turn the days at the bottom on/off...text size on the backdrops etc...
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I thought that exact thing yesterday when looking at your ss of the docks you're working on for vStylers new wb. The weather backdrops looked great but the text overlapping the sides kind of ruins it.
Reply #42 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The weather backdrops looked great but the text overlapping the sides kind of ruins it.
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Precisely.
Reply #43 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The weather backdrops looked great but the text overlapping the sides kind of ruins it
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Can't edit my previous...that backdrop being shown is the exact same size as the actual zoomer dock...It's actually the exact same image. I can tweak it a bit so it doesn't overhang to bad, this was just a quick shot to see if it would work with the same image or not. Plus, it tested my resize theory. That image is 200x200. with a 10 pixel buffer around all edges. Which is what I can tweak, I'll remove the 10 pixel buffer and just make the graphic fill up all 200x200. That should take off some of the overhang.
Reply #44 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cool. And don't think I was putting them down. Just agreeing that it'd be nice not to be so limited as to what we can do with them. Here's hoping we'll be able to change it in the future through OD settings like you suggested.
Reply #45 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Would be nice if us dock creators were able to go in somewhere and make the needed changes for some stuff....like margins on the weather backdrops and other stuff.
Reply #46 from WinCustomize Forums Top
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OnlineAugust 20, 2008 05:54:10
Would be nice if us dock creators were able to go in somewhere and make the needed changes for some stuff....like margins on the weather backdrops and other stuff.
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See reply #92...I'd like to be able to control this thing through a config also.
Some things I'd Like to see for ObjectDock