Answered by:
How to create skins for applications?

Question
-
How to create custom skins for applications using Visual C# 2005 like Media Player 11 or Windows Live Messenger?
Dont give me the link to download a Controls or Component Library...
I want practial help. Just tell me where to start and whats the basic principle of creating skins for Desktop Applications....I shall be highly thankful to you for this act of kindness...
God gives and forgives, Man gets and forgets.
Answers
-
Bottomless Wisdom said:
Just tell me where to start and whats the basic principle of creating skins for Desktop Applications....
For starting, start learning GDI+ , Region , Region will do the non rectangular window things, Instead of using button and other control , you have to create them yourself using picture and draw the picture in the form,
later you have to track the coordinate and draw the picture accordingly.
Also , search for Transparent drawing with C# in google, ..
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms172507.aspx
you can use picturebox control and load picture when needed, you have to change the picture when user hover mouse.. , ..
The main concept is to change the picture as user activity, you don't need to save multiple picture , you can join all the required picture in a single picture and can extract required part when needed.
Let's Program.. , Yam Sapkota- Proposed as answer by Harry Zhu Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:28 AM
- Marked as answer by Bottomless Wisdom Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:22 AM
All replies
-
Read up on WPF, its the easiest way to do such things, you will have a better development experience on vs.net 2008 though. If you don't want to use WPF you have no other choice then to subclass all controls you are using and override their drawing functions
-
-
-
Bottomless Wisdom said:
Just tell me where to start and whats the basic principle of creating skins for Desktop Applications....
For starting, start learning GDI+ , Region , Region will do the non rectangular window things, Instead of using button and other control , you have to create them yourself using picture and draw the picture in the form,
later you have to track the coordinate and draw the picture accordingly.
Also , search for Transparent drawing with C# in google, ..
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms172507.aspx
you can use picturebox control and load picture when needed, you have to change the picture when user hover mouse.. , ..
The main concept is to change the picture as user activity, you don't need to save multiple picture , you can join all the required picture in a single picture and can extract required part when needed.
Let's Program.. , Yam Sapkota- Proposed as answer by Harry Zhu Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:28 AM
- Marked as answer by Bottomless Wisdom Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:22 AM