Removing custom themes

[richmond62]

Thank you very much: it is a super mockup, and, personally I think it is a great pity that Apple left that look behind.

Here's some lovely stuff.

[tperry2x]

Thank you very much: it is a super mockup...

Thank you. I'm glad that worked well. I've tweaked it between doing other jobs, and it now functions as a menu.

personally I think it is a great pity that Apple left that look behind.

It really is. Although probably don't want to go back too far:

pre-tiger-possibly.jpg (143.67 KiB) Viewed 1118 times

I'm not a fan of the 'flat' iOS-type theme they are currently using, but it does not come as a surprise to me since "Desktop iOS" is the way they are headed.

macos-bigsur.jpg (1.44 MiB) Viewed 1120 times

Here's some lovely stuff.

I'll have to do a screenshot of my linux VM at some point. I have scheme presets for every OS in there (to get an idea of what a UI would look like without needing many many computers).
Edit:

Screenshot at 2023-11-10 17-35-37.png (111.1 KiB) Viewed 1120 times

Thanks for that - I'll add it to my theme / schemes collection.

[richmond62]

https://www.lighterra.com/articles/macosx10.3/

https://www.lighterra.com/articles/macosx10.4/

https://www.lighterra.com/articles/macosx10.5/

The first is the most useful.

I think your Interface Builder image is from MacOS 10.2: by 10.3 the pinstripes had begun to fade away.

[tperry2x]

It is increasingly hard to find accurate MacOS X UI elements.
So, what I've done is pop over to my Dad's house today. I knew he had a Mac Mini that is still on MacOS 10.6.8, so I did a load of screenshots from it.
I'll post that here, in case anyone else finds it useful, but I'll use these for generating the UI buttons I'm working on for 10.6 Snow Leopard.

MacOS X 10.6.png (83.43 KiB) Viewed 1107 times

I already have the bits I need for 10.7 Lion. The next change seems to be at 10.9 Mavericks, but I also have a system I can rip those from. After that, I'll just keep going. But this will take me a while.

I've also decided to abandon VMWare & Virtualbox in favour of QEMU, and QEMU appimages, so I'll be getting to grips with those to produce a lot of the required UI elements.

[richmond62]

If you can tell me EXACTLY what you require I can fire up my G4 Mac Mini and lob you things from Mac OS 10.4.

[tperry2x]

If you can tell me EXACTLY what you require I can fire up my G4 Mac Mini and lob you things from Mac OS 10.4.

That's very kind of you, but I also have access to a 10.4 mac - dug out of the shed. (I get the feeling I have too many computers, but that's what happens if you are an IT Support Tech.)

MacOS X 10.4.png (107.26 KiB) Viewed 1102 times

[tperry2x]

To the untrained eye, this probably looks like a lot of theming going on.
And it's kind of inverse to the name of this topic ("Removing custom themes").

However, the point of all of this will be so you can drag various pre-made templates onto a card of your stack, and know they will look identical. My aim will also be to have an 'adjusting set' of these controls, so they get 'automagically' substituted for the appropriate system version the stack might be running on.

This is just a start (Mac OS X 10.6 controls), but once I've made one set of controls, It'll make producing the others for various MacOS releases simpler (I hope).

Screenshot.png (34.87 KiB) Viewed 1093 times

The aim is you can just copy and paste into a new stack, then adjust the custom properties on each group.

customproperties.png (49.86 KiB) Viewed 1088 times

The controls then update (normally if you click / resize them). This idea is still in it's infancy, but I think the approach will work.

[richmond62]

Certainly looks fantastic: will try out tomorrow at work on the MacOS Sonoma machine.

Currently wading through 17 retellings of a Postman Pat film:

“Postman Pat drove past a policeman asleep in a car with a large moustache.”

And that is exactly why I love my job.

[tperry2x]

“Postman Pat drove past a policeman asleep in a car with a large moustache.”

with moustache.jpg (371.67 KiB) Viewed 1078 times

Did the policeman have a large mostache, did the car have a large moustache, or was the policeman asleep in the car with a large moustache?

Or, did Postman Pat drive past with the large moustache in his van?

[richmond62]

Ha, ha,ha!

As that child has been learning English for only 2 years it was not bad going.

[richmond62]

Sorry, but a faux button where a programmer has to mess around with settings is no more beneficial than the existing situation in LC 963.

Your 'aqua button' as, at best, a 'sandwich' [it isn't even a group] of 4 artifacts on top of each other.
-

SShot 2023-11-13 at 13.52.04.png (102.02 KiB) Viewed 1065 times

-
When I find the time I shall crack open somer old version of either RunRev or Metacard on MacOS 10.4, or even MacOS 9, and see how those aqua buttons work, and see if they cannot be transported as unified objects to somewhere more useful.

Certainly a blank, aqua blue button as an SVG image would be an advance.

[tperry2x]

Sorry, but a faux button where a programmer has to mess around with settings is no more beneficial than the existing situation in LC 963.

How so? I don't see why setting custom properties on the inspector (which is a built in function of the inspector) is a problem at all.
What is your alternative solution?

Your 'aqua button' [as], at best, a 'sandwich' [it isn't even a group] of 4 artifacts on top of each other.

Yes, my "Sandwich" (which incidentally is a group), is made up of objects. How else would it begin to work?

I shall crack open [somer] old version of either RunRev or Metacard on MacOS 10.4, or even MacOS 9, and see how those aqua buttons work, and see if they cannot be transported as unified objects to somewhere more useful.

I'm not sure how you think that would be possible, as these are drawn from the engine in C++ (as already mentioned)

Certainly a blank, aqua blue button as an SVG image would be an advance.

SVGs aren't the solution to everything. They are actually quite expensive / slow to interpret and render in comparison to a png.
But, if you are intent on using SVGs for everything, how do you propose this would stretch horizontally without changing and distorting the rounded corners of the button incorrectly?

I'd be keen to see your working, alternative approach.

[richmond62]

You are probably right.

However, what I am searching for, and made clear earlier, is a way for an end-user to set a template object to what they want.

This, most probably, will not yield aqua buttons, just back and fore-ground buttons.

However, I wonder about rounded rectangle graphics as buttons with an aqua image as backGroundPattern.

However, off to bed with a temperature, sore throat, and a headache, so it is unlikely I will try that before the weekend.

[richmond62]

Here's a round rectangle graphic with a backGroundPattern:
-

SShot 2023-11-14 at 9.52.55.png (6.39 KiB) Viewed 996 times

-

SShot 2023-11-14 at 9.55.30.png (5.93 KiB) Viewed 995 times

-

SShot 2023-11-14 at 10.02.35.png (5.38 KiB) Viewed 994 times

-
MouseEnter triggers grey, MouseLeave triggers aqua.

The 2 images for the backGroundPattern are included in the group.

[richmond62]

Here's the stack: while it will go wonky if its height is increased, it is a simpler arrangement than yours.

Whether that is a good thing or not is purely subjective.

Of course, the ultimate aqua button would pulse on mouseEnter.

[tperry2x]

Here's the stack: while it will go wonky if its height is increased, it is a simpler arrangement than yours.

I'm not entirely sure I follow your reasoning. It looks like you are using the exactly same idea.

I see you adopted the "Sandwich" approach too

Screenshot_2023-11-14_16-59-31.png (22.46 KiB) Viewed 960 times

When you resize it, yes - it does indeed go 'wonky'. The button can be stretched vertically, which is not the standard design for a MacOS X button, and also the text colour is wrong (not set), so changes between OS.
Your card does not have a defined colour either, so is also wrong.

Screenshot_2023-11-14_16-57-34.png (2 KiB) Viewed 960 times

Please see attached.
This won't go wonky if anything is resized, and the default button now pulses.

Screenshot at 2023-11-14 15-08-24.png (25.64 KiB) Viewed 988 times

[richmond62]

Was that written 100% in xTalk?

Or did you fiddle around with C++?

[tperry2x]

Yes, 100% in OpenXTalk, no C fiddling required.

[micmac]

use 21 for rounding... same as height of button

Mic

[richmond62]

use 21 for rounding... same as height of button

Always presupposing that is the height of your button:
-

Screenshot 2023-11-15 at 12.14.36.png (351.55 KiB) Viewed 911 times