The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => LBT Projects => Topic started by: landbeforetimelover on October 17, 2007, 07:16:14 PM
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Hello all! I have created a self install exe for my theme, but in all honesty, windows blinds is so easy that my install program was harder. :D I've got the version of windows blinds here. Please email or PM me for a code you can use with it. I hope you like it!
Program:
http://www.driveway.com/oipze31000 (http://www.driveway.com/oipze31000)
And here's the theme file (DO NOT EXTRACT!!!(the zip file is the theme)):
http://www.driveway.com/qhqde31739 (http://www.driveway.com/qhqde31739)
Just install the program and enter the code. Wait a minute and select the theme. That's it! Now you can apply this theme and any other themes I create in the future! Trust me, my install was much more difficult so I don't see a point to it. :D
Screenshots:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/2-4.jpg)
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/gof-10.jpg)
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(http://cbastudios.profusehost.net/pictures/thelandbeforetime/2-4_edit.jpg)
Those areas look out of place. I mentioned them in the other thread, but I thought marking them off would help you spot them.
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Well, I personally like the other version better, but I created another version. You may use this one if you'd like. Is this better? I can make changes about as easily as saving an image in a different format now. :D
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/better.jpg)
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I thought this was pretty cool. What do you think? When you go start, shutdown, this comes up :D
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/shuttingdown.jpg)
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/shutdown.jpg)
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Well the last part with Littlefoot sleeping is nice, but everything is much too hard to read for me to ever consider this.
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I find it very nice. Good work :yes
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would anyone like a lite version? By that I mean I can take any aspect of the project and apply it only. For example, you could have nothing but the Littlefoot start button or the littlefoot start button and the shut down splash screen.
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The tasks on the taskbar still take on the old graphics. Can't you change that, as well?
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How's this Manny? I totally deleted the boxes that the text goes in cuz everything looks stupid against that star background:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/modifiedtaskbuttons.jpg)
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I've got a couple more things to say.
First, the white text, particularly, the thing at the top of the start menu thing, that says "E-Mail", is hard to read (as Petrie suggested). Seocnd, the blue background against the Windows logo on the Littlefoot sleeping scene stands out a bit too much. Can't that be made black or something?
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Is this better to see the text on if I made the text black? I made the pictures more transparent:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/Theme5.jpg)
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Does this make it easier to see on?
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/Theme4-1.jpg)
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And how's this? I totally removed the windows logo from the shut down menu:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/shuttingdownfinal.jpg)
Sorry, but I can't edit my posts cuz there's something wrong with my resolution. :(
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Whoa! You changed way too much! You brought back some of the "plain" graphics, like from the taskbar and where it shows the user name. Making the text black would have sufficed.
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I have many, many different copies. I was doing this to a throw away copy so I didn't destroy what I had already done. I am planning on offering several dozen different variations of my theme in a future thread. So, do you want it now? Here's how it looks. The letters are still a little hard to read, but I added a handy little attribute that will highlight the text your mouse is over:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa146/tlordame/highlighted.jpg)
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Yeah, sure, I'll take take that. However, is there a particular you can't change the color of the text that says the user account name?
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Ok. I've made the username black text and have packaged the file in a zip folder. I made the theme as small as possible, knowing you're on dialup, but it's still 2.76mb. It was 8mb so I think I did rather well. Anyways, here's the file:
http://www.driveway.com/njndv89265 (http://www.driveway.com/njndv89265)
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Uh, what changes did you make? If it's anything significant or beyond zipping it, just give me the link to the full deal. I've downloaded 75 MB stuff on dail-up before, so 8 MB is pbhffft. :P:
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I merely decreased the bitrate of the files, making them smaller. They have to be zipped to work right. DO NOT unzip it! :P: Just select the zip folder from windows blinds. Nothing has been changed except the black username text.
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I kind of want the full bit rate stuff. Again, I'm not bothered by downloading 8 MB stuff on dial-up (remember all of those LBT TV video files?).
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I'm talking about compression bitrate. It has no effect on quality, it just takes longer to read the files. All this means is it's going to take about 10 seconds to apply the new theme instead of 2 seconds. You're only gonna be applying it once, so I don't see the point in downloading 4X the information for the same thing.
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I'm talking about compression bitrate. It has no effect on quality, it just takes longer to read the files. All this means is it's going to take about 10 seconds to apply the new theme instead of 2 seconds. You're only gonna be applying it once, so I don't see the point in downloading 4X the information for the same thing.
Oh, hehehe. I thought you meant like a reduction in quality. I guess I can live with what you did. :P:
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Wait, I thought you was going to make this as an EXE? :huh:
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No. It's more difficult when I make it an exe, trust me :P:
It takes about 10 minutes to install it from an exe. You have to modify your registry and you have to grab programs from the program files directory in order to make shortcuts to apply the theme. It requires 3 system restarts and a 2 minute scan in the command prompt. It's such a pain in the *** that I just assume you install windows blinds(which takes under a minute) and then select the theme (5 seconds) and click apply (1 second) and wait for it to apply (9 seconds). Not only that, but it's super easy. Just email me for a password so you can install it. Not to mention that when I used an exe, the computer seemed to be slower than when I just used windows blinds. Themes are not something you wanna take lightly. The best I could do would be to create a program like windows blinds, but that would take months for me working alone. I just assume use windows blinds. There is absolutely NO system slowdowns, which is a plus. Download the program here:
http://www.driveway.com/oipze31000 (http://www.driveway.com/oipze31000)
It's just easier to install via windows blinds than a self install exe. Trust me. :rolleyes:
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Hmm.... Can I have the EXE, anyway, just to make a judgment of my own if I like it or not?
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I deleted it, cuz it was 112mb and it sucked crap. It would take a long time to explain how to do it too. I knew it wasn't gonna work for "normal" computer users.
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Hehehe, I'm just a little picky- wait, the EXE was 112 MB? :blink: Where did the difference come from? I know the Zune theme wasn't that much. How could a group of images take up that much space? Gah, I'll just try the Blinds thing and see what comes....
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wait, the EXE was 112 MB?
The thing is, an exe is supposed to be compressed, but when I compressed it, it didn't work. The images came out in 16 color mode, which made it look like crap. You could use a program called "resource hacker" to modify it, but that would be even harder than using the real method. Windows blinds is the easiest way I can think of.
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The zipped folder you provided me which contains the entire theme was appox. 6 MB extracted. Where did the other 106 MB come from?
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The way you arrange the files in the exe is different than the actual file. In an exe, there is a "log" file along with every bit of data. The log file is about 1k and there are nearly a hundred thousand bits of data in the theme (making around 100mb). It's a little hard to explain, but an exe is super different. That's why they compress it (so you don't have 112mb exe's when the files in them are only 6mb) :P: .
Agh!
You were not supposed to extract it! Rezip it and don't touch any of the files or you'll have to redownload it! You select the zip from windows blinds to apply it.
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Agh!
You were not supposed to extract it! Rezip it and don't touch any of the files or you'll have to redownload it! You select the zip from windows blinds to apply it.
Hehehe, I know that. I just peered inside the zip file to see the contents of it and what it was like extracted. I'll let you know how easy (or hard) it is when I get eveything transferred and set up.
Still, a 112 MB EXE file minus 6 MB of uncompressed theme data (images, etc.) equals one huge log file. Also, I found it very weird that there were 112 files inside the ZIP file.
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There's not 112 files. There are a lot of embedded and hidden files in there that cannot be touched by winrar or winzip. I was going to protect the entire file, but then I stopped cuz I figured I could just tell people not to extract it and save myself the hours of extra unneeded effort. :D I believe there is closer to 4000 files including the embedded ones and the ones that are automatically kept hidden by the windows operating system.
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Alright, here are my two cents.
¢1: There's leftover black strips (you know, where the minimize, close buttons are; what's the technical term?) above the program windows, plus, there are Vista buttons.
¢2: I'm still not too keen on installing other programs to do something I can just do in Windows' default control panel. I'm picky on how I set up my themes, but I'm also not too picky on what themes are actually available. I'll sacrifice a few extra million themes that I could download if it means I don't have to downloaded extra programs and install them to set the themes up. I was quite content with just the Windows XP default and the Windows classic themes, and Zune was just a little "gift" I wasn't expecting. I know you put effort into this, but my personal computer fashions are just not into this. Mabey someone else could enjoy your themes.
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Fine. But you should know that the zune theme takes up nearly 3 times the resources that a theme applied via windows blinds does. It's really not hard at all, but if you don't even want to try it, then I guess I won't pressure you into anything. -_-
Oh, and the theme posted above is not the theme I had for you. I have a theme perfected to your exacting standards. I'm sorry you can't install this within windows. You can, but you have to patch your windows dll file theme. It's harder than using windows blinds. I have this theme on a 10 year old computer and it hasn't slowed it down at all. It is no extra bloat, I promise you. Especially the older version that I posted. It uses less resources than the standard windows theme you have right now. :rolleyes: You could actually improve your systems preformance by using my theme now that I think about it. :lol
Oh well. If ya don't wanna try it, ya don't wanna try it I suppose.
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I also failed to mention that when I looked at the control panel, Windows Blinds was talking up 75-something MB of file space, and while that isn't much, I thought it excessive for just the one theme I was going to download (I still temporarily have the original files, though, in case I decide to wildly change my mind). The default Windows XP theme may use more resource, but my computer doesn't even give me any beef over resources, so I'm good there. ;)
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One gig is 1024mb. Most computers have hundreds of gigs so 70mb isn't a lot. Your original theme uses .012mb ram. My theme uses .004mb ram. Since most computers usually only have a gig of ram or less, ram is more important in the long run. Besides, with windows blinds, you can install hundreds of themes, each taking up about 213k. I choose windows blinds over the original windows theme dll any day. BTW, you were using version 6 of windows blinds weren't you? Try version 4. Uses much less disk space and memory.