Suggestion for LiteStep Theme Category
Sunday, July 28, 2002 by geekboy2000 | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
As a relative LS newbie, I think it would be great to branch off the LiteStep themes into "beginner" and "advanced" sections. In my opinion, "beginner" themes would be those that are relatively complete, with respect to how closely they emulate standard Windows functionality. In other words, as a newbie, it's going to take me awhile to figure out how to add a systray. With themes that already include one, I can learn by seeing what was already done. The "advanced" themes, though perhaps sometimes simpler in appearance, might take more work on the part of the user to become reasonably functional. Just a suggestion, as right now, I'm browsing through themes looking for those that provide the features I want "off the shelf". Having them separated like that would be a big help . . at least to me. 
geekboy2000
Reply #2 Sunday, July 28, 2002 3:45 PM
Reply #2 Sunday, July 28, 2002 3:45 PM
I guess the problem is one more of having to tweak a theme to get the components to appear. For example: Cutter-Cogs, though pictured with a systray, didn't load one when I switched to that theme (https://www.wincustomize.com/window.asp?Cmd=PREVIEW&source=https://www.wincustomize.com/library/accounts/Jafo/litestep/Cutter-Cogs-theme2.jpg)
Jafo
Reply #3 Sunday, July 28, 2002 8:07 PM
Reply #3 Sunday, July 28, 2002 8:07 PM
Mark..
My mistake with the upload....it 'does' have one, but I omitted ckmousehooks.dll that needs to go in the LS directory for ckhotspots to work. [tasks and systray are 'hidden' by hotspots].
Shall amend the upload today...
It IS rare for a theme to not include a systray....even in the old days it would show up in the wharf.
What 'should' happen is a definite distinction between OTS-compliant themes and the 'rest'...[though that wouldn't help when twits like me leave out a dll]...
My mistake with the upload....it 'does' have one, but I omitted ckmousehooks.dll that needs to go in the LS directory for ckhotspots to work. [tasks and systray are 'hidden' by hotspots].
Shall amend the upload today...
It IS rare for a theme to not include a systray....even in the old days it would show up in the wharf.
What 'should' happen is a definite distinction between OTS-compliant themes and the 'rest'...[though that wouldn't help when twits like me leave out a dll]...
geekboy2000
Reply #4 Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:27 PM
Reply #4 Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:27 PM
Hey, thanks Jafo! I think I have a long way to go toward getting a real handle on LiteStep. IMO, part of what makes it a bit more difficult is that different authors don't "package" or structure their themes the same way. Of course, those with multiple styles make it even harder for someone learning what's going on. Now, what would *really* be cool, if there was a sort of standardized LiteStep "Control Panel", or something like SkinStudio for LiteStep. Anyway, thanks again. I'll be sure to grab your update, as Cutter-Cogs is really amazing!
Jafo
Reply #5 Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:42 PM
Reply #5 Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:42 PM
Mark...the idea behind 'OTS-compliant' themes IS that they are user-friendly, unlike the 'Good-old-days' when there was no 'standard' method for setting up a directory/theme structure.
I, like many others, used to package the ENTIRE shell as a theme, making it 'fairly' simple to re-configure to your own personal situation, but the themes were/are huge.....normally between 2 and 4 meg, rather than less than one meg, as the OTS ones tend to be...
I, like many others, used to package the ENTIRE shell as a theme, making it 'fairly' simple to re-configure to your own personal situation, but the themes were/are huge.....normally between 2 and 4 meg, rather than less than one meg, as the OTS ones tend to be...
Jafo
Reply #6 Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:47 PM
Reply #6 Sunday, July 28, 2002 9:47 PM
BTW...the 'amended' Cutter Cogs is up...[spam spam spam spam spam]....
geekboy2000
Reply #7 Sunday, July 28, 2002 10:53 PM
Reply #7 Sunday, July 28, 2002 10:53 PM
Yes, grabbed it, and got a tray thanks! I may have other issues, perhaps related to the most recent (yesterday) Indie LS build. It seems I save step.rc files, or even make changes via the LS theme app, and they are changed the next time I login. For example, with Cutter-Cogs, everything was working fine with it with the exception of the systray. Now, with the added dll, the tray is fine, but the images behind the popup are mysteriously gone. All I did was move the dll into the LS directory, I didn't update any other components of the theme. Anyway, LS is definitely a tweaker's paradise, that's for sure.
I may have other issues, perhaps related to the most recent (yesterday) Indie LS build. It seems I save step.rc files, or even make changes via the LS theme app, and they are changed the next time I login. For example, with Cutter-Cogs, everything was working fine with it with the exception of the systray. Now, with the added dll, the tray is fine, but the images behind the popup are mysteriously gone. All I did was move the dll into the LS directory, I didn't update any other components of the theme. Anyway, LS is definitely a tweaker's paradise, that's for sure.
Jafo
Reply #8 Sunday, July 28, 2002 11:05 PM
Reply #8 Sunday, July 28, 2002 11:05 PM
Mark...if you have the 'Original' Cutter Cogs [with the grey wall], the coding changed quite a lot between that and the second version with the 'real' BoXXi wall....and it'd be probably better to replace the whole theme, not just add the dll.
First 'zip' was 'Cutter-Cogs-LS.zip' [grey wall]
Second 'Cutter-Cogs2-LS.zip' [Blue wall and coding alts]
Third [corrected dll] 'Cutter-Cogs2a-LS.zip'
If you 'only' use the third, things 'should' be fine..
First 'zip' was 'Cutter-Cogs-LS.zip' [grey wall]
Second 'Cutter-Cogs2-LS.zip' [Blue wall and coding alts]
Third [corrected dll] 'Cutter-Cogs2a-LS.zip'
If you 'only' use the third, things 'should' be fine..
Jafo
Reply #10 Monday, July 29, 2002 8:44 PM
Reply #10 Monday, July 29, 2002 8:44 PM
Glad to help...
It's a learning curve for me, too...this OTS stuff...but I'm well on the road to converting all of my existing themes, and enhancing their 'functionality' while I'm at it, just to see how limiting [or not] the OTS standard really is....
It's a learning curve for me, too...this OTS stuff...but I'm well on the road to converting all of my existing themes, and enhancing their 'functionality' while I'm at it, just to see how limiting [or not] the OTS standard really is....
geekboy2000
Reply #11 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 1:14 AM
Reply #11 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 1:14 AM
Lately, I've been spending a lot of time with (and liking) SharpE as a shell. Odd in a way, because it's not very graphically intense, but it just works. LiteStep is great, but without a design interface tool of some kind, it's pretty intimidating. For example, a few (very few, it seems) themes have integrated the mail plugin. For those that don't have it, but are otherwise nice, creating a simple desktop "mail checker" seems to be a real project. I guess though, that's the appeal of LiteStep. It's fast considering how cool it can look, but the trade off is that it needs to be "hand crafted". FWIW, on DeskMod, I found "RhodiumEdge", and was amazed to find it absolutely "plug and play". One of the few. Anyway, the learning process continues, but at the end of the day, I usually find myself back in SharpE.
LiteStep is great, but without a design interface tool of some kind, it's pretty intimidating. For example, a few (very few, it seems) themes have integrated the mail plugin. For those that don't have it, but are otherwise nice, creating a simple desktop "mail checker" seems to be a real project. I guess though, that's the appeal of LiteStep. It's fast considering how cool it can look, but the trade off is that it needs to be "hand crafted". FWIW, on DeskMod, I found "RhodiumEdge", and was amazed to find it absolutely "plug and play". One of the few. Anyway, the learning process continues, but at the end of the day, I usually find myself back in SharpE.
moshi
Reply #12 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 5:27 AM
Reply #12 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 5:27 AM
Mark, with literally hundreds of plug-ins it´s quite clear that the mail checker plug-in is not integrated in every theme. here is an awesome skinnable freeware program for your needs: http://www.glabouni.com/EzPop/ all major skin sites (except WinCustomize) have a section for EzPop skins.
geekboy2000
Reply #13 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 11:22 AM
Reply #13 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 11:22 AM
Thanks! Good choice! In fact, I am already running EzPop! You're right, but having a cool plugin integrated into the theme is cool. EzPop certainly does a great job though.
You're right, but having a cool plugin integrated into the theme is cool. EzPop certainly does a great job though.
moshi
Reply #14 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 5:48 PM
Reply #14 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 5:48 PM
Mark: when i see your enthusiasm i am pretty sure you will soon be able to modify themes yourself for your personal taste and integrate the plug-ins you need. that´s one of the most fun parts in LiteStep.
Jafo
Reply #15 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 6:52 PM
Reply #15 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 6:52 PM
Yes...LiteSTEP is at its best as a D.I.Y. shell....the ability to customize it to exactly how YOU want it.
To a certain degree, publicly released themes 'can' be watered down when trying to cater for a wider 'audience'.
What you use on your own system is not necessarily what gets uploaded publicly...[in my case, my shell is too damn big to upload]...
To a certain degree, publicly released themes 'can' be watered down when trying to cater for a wider 'audience'.
What you use on your own system is not necessarily what gets uploaded publicly...[in my case, my shell is too damn big to upload]...
geekboy2000
Reply #16 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 8:06 PM
Reply #16 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 8:06 PM
It certainly is fun, that's for sure. I am finding myself grabbing almost every theme in sight, and seeing which are the easiest to tweak. One thing I noticed with the 7/26 Indie build, is that when using the LSTS interface, "step.rc" files are coming up in the edit field as "sdtep.rc" or something like that. In other words, there's some corruption going on to both the path and name of the file. I didn't see this in earlier builds, so I may roll back or wait for a newer nightly. Without a doubt though, once a theme is up and running, they "feel" faster than any other shell scheme I've used.
One thing I noticed with the 7/26 Indie build, is that when using the LSTS interface, "step.rc" files are coming up in the edit field as "sdtep.rc" or something like that. In other words, there's some corruption going on to both the path and name of the file. I didn't see this in earlier builds, so I may roll back or wait for a newer nightly. Without a doubt though, once a theme is up and running, they "feel" faster than any other shell scheme I've used.
Jafo
Reply #17 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 10:49 PM
Reply #17 Tuesday, July 30, 2002 10:49 PM
LiteSTEp IS [or can be] a lighter shell than Explorer.exe...which is the 'second' reason to use it...['customizing' being the first]...
moshi
Reply #18 Wednesday, July 31, 2002 5:35 AM
Reply #18 Wednesday, July 31, 2002 5:35 AM
this has nothing to do with the IndieStep build. this is a little bug in LSTS and has been there before. it happens when there is no *thm file in the theme´s folder. just load LSTS, edit the settings of the theme and your done.
geekboy2000
Reply #19 Wednesday, July 31, 2002 12:12 PM
Reply #19 Wednesday, July 31, 2002 12:12 PM
Great, thanks again. That's what I've been doing, but didn't know why it happened . . until now. That's easy enough. BTW, I spent quite a bit of time tweaking BlackSteel RMX last night, and it looks great, and works well. Nice theme! I think I just want to eliminate the zoomer, but otherwise now, it's another of my few "almost totally working the way I want them to" themes.
I think I just want to eliminate the zoomer, but otherwise now, it's another of my few "almost totally working the way I want them to" themes. Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
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Reply #1 Sunday, July 28, 2002 2:01 PM