Where to start

PaulyWalnuts...hi...

I'm typing this slowly so you can keep up...

I'm almost as old [so actually typing as fast as I can]...

I'm not sure at the moment how much of the tutorials etc went AWOL but with a bit of Luck T-Man will hunt down what can be hunted down.

Give us all a bit more time....

And yes, heard of Kiss... bunch of blokes with a pre-occupation with make-up.... sang OK, though...;)

Brilliant. Freddy Mercury! I'm torn between Bohemian Rapsidy <SP?> and I want to ride my bicycle. Grew up on the rat pack, but my early 20's introduced me to Rock and Roll.

So is it safe to assume this is the place to ask my inane questions?

Is there a place to introduce myself?

Grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so I know where Livonia is. Last 20 years in central California. 90 miles south of Sacramento.

On and on, I ask. Is there a place to just bull shit around? Tell moderately dirty jokes? I've heard a few in my years.

You are in "Wincustomize talk" which is as good a place as any for inanity ...;)

I'm a wee bit further afield from Livonia than you....[but I have been there twice] .... Melbourne, Australia... about as far away as it gets ... hint... it's just coming up to 4pm, Sunday here....

LAX is listed as 8001 miles from YMML [Melbourne airport] ...;)

Worked for a holding company that owned businesses as far away as Tianjin China. 24 hour IT support. I swear, they knew when I was on call. At least twice a month, the secretary called me telling me her undo button in word was greyed out. You can't say, "If you'd DO your job, there would be something to UN-DO!

Going for a nautical theme. I had a panel that fit perfectly but the wood was very similar to that of the bottom, and was too loud. I made this one to the exact same dimensions, and, well, what you see is what I got. 

I started with a theme called Vengeance that has a very simple start menu. 

If this is your first theme, I would not recommend wood as your base, since it will be a bit hard to take care of those wood groove to compress or stretch when needed. As for your top area, I believe that is due to your transparency area that not properly set.

Just make sure your graphics has transparency area properly done and save on png format or use the magic pink if you using bmp format. As for the bottom part. Not sure which issue you're referring.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Thanks for getting back to me.

As for the upper left, I had it as a .png, then saved is as a .jpg. That happens when you're over 80  

1st image: See how the red line shows the "Top part" and the "Bottom bar" are aligned with each other?

2nd and 3rd images show that the "Places list" extends past the "Top part" and Bottom bar".

NO idea what you mean by stretch or compress. Are you referring to the skin being used on another PC with a different monitor resolution, or something?

Yes.  Skins need to be able to 'look right' on different resolutions or when stretched taller or wider [and reverse] ...;)

If I remember correctly, please look into adjusting "Extra Settings" and "Width of part" for top part, left hand side: programs list and Bottom bar, Right hand side: Places list etc.

The stretching part is for user that wish to adjust the Start panel vertically and/or horizontally in size.

Something like screenshot below.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I see. I don't think I'll see anyone else using my theme. Hell, at 81 years old, I'll probably meet Satan, before I finish it.

I've actually played with the extra settings, height and width. Doesn't seem to notice any changes I make. There's no "apply."

I've changed the width of the image right hand side, places list, down to 100x557 to 227x557 like it should be. Making it 100x I would think would make it small, but it stretches it and goes too far, even when playing with extra settings. Setting them to 0x0 is supposed to use the default OS settings, but nothing happens.

Must be SOME reason. The heck am I missing?

I believe you should adjust this one.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I have. It doesn't make sense.

If you don't mind, please share your WBA file so we can have a look into it.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

In basj's Reply 10 screenshot, in the upper right you see text "Apply skin", click on that text and the skin will be applied with any changes you've made.  I'll also mention that when making changes to the start menu, it seems like you may need to click on the start button and pop up the start menu a few times before the changes show, can't swear to that though.

Okay, looked in c:\users\public\public documents\stardock\windowblinds

and c:\users\public\public documents\stardock\windowblinds\vengence, which is the skin I'm modifying because the start menu is so simple. 

Searching the entire drive now, for .wba That's taking a while:)

So, where is this beast?

Yeah, I "Save Skin", then "Apply".

So, I change the values in "Extra Setting", and nothing happens. Regardless of applying skin.

If I resize the .png, it just gets distorted. Again, I try extra setting and nothing changes.

Please try this to create, and save your work into WBA folder. And you will get the WBA folder open up for you.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Damn! My questions just keep getting dumb, and dumber:)

How do I upload it. It created one file. I can't attach it as a photo, of course.

I DO appreciate your patients. Not easy dealing with a demented old geezer!

You can upload to any file sharing site, make it public and post its link here.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Doubt this is what your after...

I have a look and its look like your graphics for the right hand side is off. It does not include those transparency space included in the Start menu top part. For me to do a Start menu properly, you will need to create a start menu as a whole than cut it/slice it accordingly. That way all the parts have proper design with in it. For example, this is how I slices my Start panel section to make it proper in Skinstudio.

Note: I am just sharing how I do it. There might be others method far superior that this.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I read something about that. Would you write up a short tutorial on how that's done? I mean what to click, what to do?

SO, sorry to be such a pain and I REALLY appreciate your efforts!

I do my WB design on an old Adobe application name Adobe Firework. If you are using the same application you can try search for tutorial application on how to cut/slices.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Yeah, but what exactly do you mean? You create the whole menu image, as one image and slice the parts for Top Part, Search mode top, Programs list...etc.?

That I can take a whack at. I use Paint Shop Pro from 2001. 24 years, there's nothing I can't do, I know it so well. Sometimes I gotta stare at the menu until I can break through this dementia bull chit, but eventually I remember.

Doc says to challenge the grey matter. Well, lemme tell, 'ya... THIS is a challenge! I LOVE graphics! Took a photo of my oldest boy whilst at a Luau in Hawaii. He got sucked up on stage and sat next to a Hula gal with those coconut "Over the shoulder boulder holders".

Cloned the nuts onto my kid. MAN he had a nice waist. NICE boulders, too. She wound up as a real cute hottie with a flat chest. Perfect, too. Looked totally real.

Yes, that is what I mean. Once you have slices them up, replace all those part and save and apply the skin. You might need to do a little adjustment here and there. But, that is, for me, the correct way.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Awesome! 8:02 pm. here, spending time with the wife, so I'll give it a shot in the VERY late am. I thing 10:00 am. is too early to be alive.

Staying up late. How do I know HOW to slice the image up? How do I know what size the top menu should be. Or the search mode top, or programs list should be?

I "think", the original image should be 424 x 424, but how do I know? Doesn't seem big enough to me. Seems like it should be at least 500 x 500?