[request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. - Printable Version
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+----- Thread: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. (/showthread.php?tid=80155)
[request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by otto888 on 12-17-2007 at 12:54 PM
Could it be possible to convert all the 8.5 skins to 9.0 using an app? It would help me and other WLM testers(and leakers) get some awesome skins without any hard work convertiing them.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by Nathan on 12-17-2007 at 12:56 PM
Skinning is hard work 
, no matter which way you look at it.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by riahc4 on 12-17-2007 at 01:09 PM
quote:Leakers are not supported on this or any community.
Originally posted by otto888
It would help me and other WLM testers(and leakers)
That being said, I hate to admit it but its accually a pretty good idea. Hard to implant but good idea.
quote:Skinning is not hard work at all now thanks to Plus!; XML is easy.
Skinning is hard work , no matter which way you look at it.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by Nathan on 12-17-2007 at 01:25 PM
No, it is hard work, it is very time consuming.
For anyone to produce a good skin, they have to spend a hell of a lot of time on it. And yes XML is easy, but that isnt the point
Any of the good skinners will back me up here.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by Matti on 12-17-2007 at 01:33 PM
There are just so many thing you should look at when porting a skin. The resource indexes may have changed, or even the resource images themselves. The UIFILEs of 8.5 may be incompatible with 9.0 (you can bet on that!). Just to give you an idea...
If you find a skin which has both 8.5 and 9.0 support, you should take a look at the SkinInfo.xml and compare the resource IDs for the same image in both versions. I can assure you that you'll find changes. Also, if you can, compare the UIFILEs (e.g. the 920 of 8.5 compared to the 9.0 one). You'll soon see why you can't simply update the version information of your skin to make it work in 9.0.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by vaccination on 12-17-2007 at 04:38 PM
quote:Yeah, just because xml is easy doesn't make finding all the definition values and editing the styles easy. And things don't always work the way you planned either. Then there's the design process too, if you want a good skin you gotta go and make all your own images etc etc
Originally posted by Napbree
No, it is hard work, it is very time consuming.
For anyone to produce a good skin, they have to spend a hell of a lot of time on it. And yes XML is easy, but that isnt the point
Any of the good skinners will back me up here.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by aNILEator on 12-17-2007 at 05:09 PM
This simply is not possible. The UIs coding and Id changes in the XML between 8.5 and 9.0 are too much, the best way to have 8.5 and 9.0 compatible skin is to code both versions at the same time as Sunshine and I did for our skins.
Even then it's very time consuming, it takes weeks/months to make an effective skin. and it's very easy to fall into a pithole on something and get stuck for days/weeks too, as I currently am on my new skin.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by Nathan on 12-17-2007 at 05:22 PM
This is the office skin you're making, is that the one your stuck with nile?
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by Voldemort on 12-17-2007 at 10:30 PM
quote:yeah but the engine is really shitty and it sucks
Originally posted by riahc4
Skinning is not hard work at all now thanks to Plus!; XML is easy.
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by aNILEator on 12-17-2007 at 10:54 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Voldemort
quote:yeah but the engine is really shitty and it sucks
Originally posted by riahc4
Skinning is not hard work at all now thanks to Plus!; XML is easy.
I think it's more what we've got to work on that is the shitty sucky code
RE: [request]8.5 skin to 9.0 skin converter. by Willz on 12-18-2007 at 12:43 AM
Something like this is not feasible due to the amount of variables that can occur in a skin.
For something that just modifies resources its possible, but when you touch things such as UIFIle code it is simply not possible.
For example : Ev0 3 uses custom classes and moves the layout of a lot of elements as well a restructuring other parts of WLM.
There is no way you could make a program that would be able to identify where to move things as the change would be too drastic.
Seriously people should stop trying to get spoon fed everything and just try to learn the stuff. It is not that hard once you get used to the terms and how things work 
Also its not the Plus! engine thats shitty. Its the restrictions that Windows Live Messenger has which is what makes things bad
(because technically it was never built for skinning).
@Riahc4 have you ever made a skin to say its easy? Yes Plus! simplifies the resource replacement process, but it can still be tedious when you get to UIFiles.