P900 Themes

J2theIZZO · #1 01-12-2003, 10:00 PM

I thought this would be a nice thread for people to add themes they have made.

Here's a nice one for all your girls out there with P900's....I call it...erm....pink with pretty flowers

J2theIZZO · #2 01-12-2003, 10:01 PM

After it's downloaded, just delete the .zip extension...this was just so I could upload it to the forum...I will add .utz to the extension list very soon so you guys don't have to do that.

nk8 · #3 02-12-2003, 05:34 PM

any screen shots?

J2theIZZO · #4 02-12-2003, 08:09 PM

LOL...nah...it's pink and purple...just a test run really....working on a carbon fibre version at the moment which I will post screenshots of later tonight.

J2theIZZO · #5 02-12-2003, 08:43 PM

Here is the screenshots of the alpha version of the carbon firbre...going to add some MBM's then post it here later

Jefferson · #6 03-12-2003, 11:17 AM

Hello J2theIZZO,

what are mbm files and what to do with them?
and can you tell me how to create such files?

Thanks and have a nice day
Jeff

J2theIZZO · #7 03-12-2003, 12:32 PM

and MBM file is a native Symbian picture format, if you are going to convert another image to a MBM file then BMP is the best format to do it from.

BMConv is the program you need and it can be found in the UIQ SDK, otherwise PM Dazler as he made a great MBM Wizard which I didn't keep the link to but is extremely simple to use and gives great results.

You can make "Themes" without MBM files, but they they are needed for the status bars at the top and bottom of the window where they are just plain grey on the screenshots.

They are also needed in a "Multiple MBM" format for the "Balls or Squares" in the flip closed mode.

Making themes yourself really isn't that difficult, here is a detailed description of the MBM's needed, taken from an article from My-Symbian written by Michal Jerz, it's helped me quite a bit.

Your theme pack may contain other files. They are not mentioned in the XML file because they are used automatically if the system finds them in your pack. If they are not there, the system will use colors (defined in the XML file) instead of graphic skins. This may be useful if you want to save some operating memory. All these files have to be called exactly as below and they have to be in Symbian's native MBM format. Their resolution has to be as described here while the number of colors is not important.

AppickerSkin.mbm: This file is the backgroung picture for the top "icon bar" of your phone in Flip Open mode (the one with 6 customizable application icons). It also contains the "selection image" that is shown under the selected icon. The MBM file consists of 3 frames. The first frame contains a 208x25 pixel skin for the icon bar. The next frame contains 6 "selection images" aligned vertically. Each image is 40x25 pixels. The whole frame is 40x150 pixels. There are 6 images in this frame because you can make each of the 6 icons on top of your screen have a different shape of the selection. The third frame is a greyscale "mask" for the second frame. Use white color for areas of the previous frame that you want to display and black color for areas of the previous frame that you want to make transparent. You can also use shades of grey for partial transparency - the darker grey the more transparent the area. This third frame should be created as 8-bit greyscale.

DialogSkin.mbm: the skin for the title bar of all dialog windows. This MBM file contains TWO frames: the first frame is for normal dialog title bar and the second frame is for "selected" dialog title bar (e.g. when you tap on it or drag it). Resolution: 208x25.

FcTitleBarSkin.mbm: the skin for top bar of Flip closed mode. Resolution: 208x20. This file consists of one frame only.

LauncherSkin.mbm: background "balls" for application icons in Applications launcher. This file consists of two frames. The first frame consists of 5 "balls" aligned vertically, each 44 pixels high/wide. You can use 5 identical "balls" if you want a static selection or you can make an animated selection by creating each ball as one frame of your animation. Resolution of the entire picture: 44x220. The second frame is a greyscale "mask" for the second frame. Use white color for areas of the previous frame that you want to display and black color for areas of the previous frame that you want to make transparent. You can also use shades of grey for partial transparency - the darker grey the more transparent the area. This frame should be created as 8-bit greyscale. Of course, your "balls" don't have to have a ball shape - you can use any other shape.

ListBoxSkin.mbm: this is a "bar" used for selection on a list. Resolution: 60x19. This MBM picture consists of one frame only.

MenuSkin.mbm: this file consists of FIVE frames. The first frame is a background for menu bar. Its resolution is 208x22. The second frame is a bar that indicates selected menu title. Resolution: 19x19. The third frame is a mask for the second frame and has the same resolution of 19x19. This frame is a greyscale "mask" for the second frame. Use white color for areas of the previous frame that you want to display and black color for areas of the previous frame that you want to make transparent. You can also use shades of grey for partial transparency - the darker grey the more transparent the area. The fourth frame is a menu selection bar. Resolution: 19x18. The fifth frame is a mask for the fourth frame and has the same resolution of 19x18. Use white color for areas of the previous frame that you want to display and black color for areas of the previous frame that you want to make transparent. You can also use shades of grey for partial transparency - the darker grey the more transparent the area.

StatusBarSkin.mbm: the skin for the bottom bar of your phone in Flip Open mode and for the top bar in Flip closed mode. Consists of two horizontal strips, each 18 pixels high, 208 pixels wide. Resolution of the entire image: 208x36.

Note: if your are not going to create skins with many graphic elements on their entire area but only color bars with one pattern, you can save some memory by making them much smaller. In such case, your skins don't have to have full screen width (208 pixels). It is enough to create a shorter skin, i.e. both sides (e.g. corners) and some short central part - the center of your skin will be copied by the system to fill the entire bar width between corners. Experiment with it yourself to obtain the best result.

Flip closed mode icons:

The last thing you can change using Themes is background "balls" of Flip closed mode icons. Skins for these "balls" have to be put in a separate folder in your pack (while all the remaining files are in the "root" of your package). The folder is called "Standby" and should contain 3 image files in PNG format. The resolution of all three pictures is 42x42:

ShortCutSelectedBall.png: this image contains the ball in selected state (i.e. when you select an icon by rotating jog dial).

ShortCutUnselectedBall.png: the ball in unselected (i.e. normal) state.

ShortCutHalo.png: this picture contains a "halo", i.e. a "selection circle" that moves between icons when you rotate the jog dial.

stf06 · #8 07-12-2003, 05:17 PM

I've made this theme

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I gathered all the theme on this article with the names of the authors. If you have others of them, I will put them. If you do not agree, I will erase them of course

waks · #9 07-12-2003, 09:31 PM

i know this may sound stupid or silly but im having problems installing the themes onto my p900.. how does one install the theme onto the fone...

thanks waks

Muzikfreakah · #10 08-12-2003, 04:17 AM

Wow! I love the black theme! Can you change the font color to ORANGE or Yellow then post it for us to download? Thanks!

Quote:

Originally posted by stf06
I've made this theme

-

I gathered all the theme on this article with the names of the authors. If you have others of them, I will put them. If you do not agree, I will erase them of course

zygote · #11 08-12-2003, 02:59 PM

I made this theme to help me identify each individual element of a theme along with it's associated file name, hope you guys find it useful. Just remove the .zip extension and zap to your P900.

P.S. Don't know how to get screengrabs from my P900 so can't post a sample. Sorry!