Logon screen software

LogonStudio is made to *apply* the logons, not necessarily to make them. boss0190 is the logon master...you could try asking him how he makes his. I'm not sure of any comprehensive tutorial anywhere (psst, boss...write one up for the wiki).

Those logons are generally called "Splash" logons. They can't be made using Logon Studio, they use a totally different set of files. Logon Studio is only used to apply them.

You make the graphics and replace them in the logon folder itself and then apply them with LS.

And a few of the .bmps, including the center panel, or "Splash", have to be 32 bit alpha blended .bmps that pretty much require Photoshop to make.

If you only want to make one for personal use, you can just pick a logon you think will look good with the wallpaper you want to use, open the wallpaper in Paint or whatever graphics program you use, and save it as .bmp_100..(24 bit bmp), in the logon folder, overwriting the one that came with the logon.

The path to the logon folders is C:\Program Files\Wincustomize\Logon Studio.

And let me stress "Personal Use". It takes a long time to create the graphics and learn how to recode the files,and to upload it would be considered a rip.

If you have Photoshop and a lot of time to learn, you can email me and I'll give you some links to a few tutorials and help you out.

[email protected]

Which is why a nice, easy-to-follow tutorial on the Wiki would be so helpful! Share your knowledge logon master.


What links? They should probably be added to the tutorials section on the LogonStudio wiki page (if applicable to making a logon).

Bebi, first off there's no way to do an easy-to follow tutorial. It may not seem like it, but a lot goes into making them.

The first thing that is necessary before anything is the ability to create a working "Splash". Photoshop is necessary, and of the hundreds of people I've taught, maybe a dozen have gotten that far.

There is a tut by GreatSphynx here at WC..."How to create a transparent bmp_128." WWW Link

And I posted a logon template at DA for Splash Logons. WWW Link

If people can get that far, then they need to learn how to recode the uifile and theme.ini.

It's basically hours and hours of trial and error finding what does what, what moves what, error messages, locking up your computer, trying something else....leaving out a comma or period....crashing it again...until you figure it out.

A couple of tuts that give you an idea about the uifile are here: WWW Link

and here: WWW Link

But nothing about all of that is very "easy to follow".

Those tuts are the basics of how I learned, but it was mostly lots and lots of trial and error based off of them.

Nobody that knew how would help me when I learned...ShelbyGt pointed me to a lot of things, but I had to figure it out myself. Great Sphynx was the one who showed me how to make the splash....the others I asked never answered my emails. And even when you know how, it's not easy to make them look good.

So after all of the people I've tried to help, I recommend you download my logon template, create a working splash, check out the uifile tuts and email me for help and shortcuts to make it a bit easier.

If you want to copy this and put it on the wiki, that's fine.

It's not really a tutorial...but it's a place to start.

Aww....still, something would be better than nothing.

Added those links to the wiki page.

That was my something, and much more than I had to start with.

I spent over a year just making Logon Studio logons and trying to find out how to make the Splash logons.

I barely knew Photoshop and it took a week or two to figure out how to make a decent working splash even after I has Sphynx's tut. And then I had to learn the code...and I'm by no means a programmer.

My best "student" as it were, is I.R. Braniac...I taught him the basics and he ran with it and has made some awesome logons. Alperium, Quentin, DPStudios, UncleRob and probably a couple I'm forgetting also have done some really nice ones.

But it's just like most skins, hard at first to learn and you really have to be willing to put in the time to figure out the basics and then improve on it.

boss0190, thank you very much for helping me out. I replaced the _100.bmp file with a wallpaper of my desire and I am happy. I simply opened a .logonxp file with winrar and a file structure appeared I just searched for a logon screen with a splash that I liked and added the proper wallpaper
I am a noob with photoshop, so I will not bother you with stupid questions on how to make splash bitmaps etc. Maybe one day I realy want to make one myself who knowz...

by the way, you have a nice gallery over at deviantart, boss...Nice work man

Anyways, I thank you very much and if there is anything you think I can help you with, please let me know.

Greetings

Glad you figured it out and are happy with it, and thanks very much for your nice comments!