Thanx!!!

BH

I have several skins that I have needed to have the specific size for the start menu to work right. (in pixels) I start with a 392 wide x 488 High rectangle.
Top Panel 392 x 68
Program List 196 x 392
Places List 196 x 420
More Programs 196 x 28

There are times I adjust these figures but it keeps me from having to do alot of tweaking to get the sections to line up correctly. And I am the same way, most of the time I come up with an idea for the start menu and then work from there.

I use Windows XP. When I begin a new skin I always start with the taskbar and start menu. Once I have them exactly as I want them then I base every other bitmap on the bitmaps I used in those 2 things. I find it easier that way, to keep consistancy in the look of the skin........but that's just me.

Yes motion, I think we think like on those topics
Are you making the startmenu as a big picture and copy & paste later in where they belong, in smaller pics?

BH

I'm one of those who likes to take skins apart, to see how they were put together, and go from there.
I would never have thought of starting with the StartMenu/Tasksbar stuff, coz I seldom see them on my machine. Now that you guys have mentioned it, I may try that route.

Yes Cyberjack, that's how I do it. One large picture of the Start Menu and then another one of the Start Bar. Then I cut and paste.

Good
Then I will start skinning.... expect one skin this christmas

THanx again dudes!!

CJ

One way to get an average start menu size is to open the start menu and make a screen capture image of it.
Cut that up for the parts.

Putting a large image in the start menu is hard because ppl's start menu are different sizes with large and small icons and the number of programs in the list varies, etc.

Find a stretchy image.

Yes Delicious, you are thinking absolutly right,hehe
I am working on the "biiiiiig" picture right now, and the ONE "big" thing is : Use the "TILE" function as much as possible
So I am make that picture so that i can tile and strecht as much as possible.....

Thanx

Does anyone know if windowblinds checks the screensize, iconsize and fontsize that is set? Or is the start panel the same on different screensizes. Or does it only display the start panel right on the default settings?

Good question Lecrayon, I have been trying to figure that out myself. I have found the windows seems to regulate the size of the progam and places lists sizes (I get into problems there when I use one pic that stretches across the two-they don't always align properly) unless I am missing something, the icon and font sizes are also regulated by windows and I can't see where windowblinds actually checks the sizes or resizes accordingly. If someone else knows more, I too would love to get information on that.

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This may seem obvious but tile is similar to repeat as IRS is similar to terrorists.
If you want a big picture, make a pic that has one tile that can be stretched and set the margin for the height and width of the picture and use that one tile to adjust for the various menu sizes

In other words, stretch the heck out of that one tile as ppl on social security do to survive.

You can do that with abstract tiles, but what about photographs? Those are Impossible to tile I have looked to screenshots of startmenu panels and some do look very different than the default. The "all programs" sits in the way. Maybe if you add the same sized area to the placeslist you won't get as much distorted panels.

The more programs has a specific purpose when someone adds a single pic to the Start Menu.

The purpose of the MP area is to add sauce to the goose.

I wish they would add a vertical start button to WB skinning. The horizontal and vertical taskbar doesn't work well with many start buttons.

Who uses a vertical taskbar, Anyhooo?