Shoutbox

two things:

Mike: it is possible to make only regions of a window transparent -- in fact, before applying Aero to a window, you need to make transparent the regions about to be aero-ified.

Willz: i remember you saying something about everyone giving up on giving messenger glass and mentioning my name, but i still believe it is currently possible as well

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Originally posted by ShawnZ
two things:

Mike: it is possible to make only regions of a window transparent -- in fact, before applying Aero to a window, you need to make transparent the regions about to be aero-ified.

Willz: i remember you saying something about everyone giving up on giving messenger glass and mentioning my name, but i still believe it is currently possible as well

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lol I didn't know you were still working on that

Just out of interest have you managed to get further then what TheSteve did? That's generally the point where people conclude its not possible

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Originally posted by Willz
Just out of interest have you managed to get further then what TheSteve did? That's generally the point where people conclude its not possible (Smilie)

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no, but if that's where people conclude it isn't possible they're not trying very hard, because that point is pretty easy to get to

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Originally posted by ShawnZ

quote:

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Originally posted by Willz
Just out of interest have you managed to get further then what TheSteve did? That's generally the point where people conclude its not possible (Smilie)

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no, but if that's where people conclude it isn't possible they're not trying very hard, because that point is pretty easy to get to

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Yeah I am aware of that getting there is easy, the problem is controlling it and thats where people can't figure out what to do as there is no clear way of controlling it.

So yeah i'd say energy is best spent on advancing something else in skinning as its quite possible that Microsoft can go down the path of Windows Live Mail desktop (which has Aero enabled) for 9 beta. It would explain the delay in builds if they are doing that.

why do you have such an objection to adding glass to messenger? it seems like you're trying to avoid it

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Originally posted by ShawnZ
why do you have such an objection to adding glass to messenger? it seems like you're trying to avoid it

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I don't really have an objection to glass to be honest, the thing that I don't like is people talking about glass as if they know about what has already been tried and messengers current limitations (e.g riahc4).

At least with you, you have tried experimenting with glass so you know what is going on so I can respect that and any opinion you give, I won't shut it down, I'll merely just say whats been tried and what I think.

I honestly believe that if it is indeed possible, by the time someone figures it out properly and controls it well enough to be used, Microsoft will probably have added it themselves. That is why I am saying that energy is better spent on something else that would benefit those who aren't on Vista as Aero will only benefit Vista users.

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Originally posted by Willz
Just out of interest have you managed to get further then what TheSteve did? That's generally the point where people conclude its not possible

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I'd just like to add that the only reason I stopped trying with this is that I don't have access to an aero capable vista installation. (Just the virtual machine type)

If anyone is interested in trying as has program experience, I recommend looking at the Desktop Window Manager API

There are two things in messenger's architecture that *might* be the cause for problems. Messenger uses normal GDI functions to paint it's window.  This can be a problem if the the desired operation requires that the alpha value remain intact. 
The other possible problem is that messenger's UI is drawn entirely on a child window. The may prevent proper rendering.

In any case, you would need support from a separate program, (probably Messenger Plus if Patchou is willing to implement it.) in order to pull it off.