SkinStudio: Problems I'm having with my theme

from WinCustomize Forums
So, I've made 2 other posts asking about specific things, but now I'm having some small problems that it seems to be hard to get around, so I thought I'd make this post, so i don't crowd the forum with topics.

Problem #1: Buttons

I changed the look of my minimize - restore - and close buttons.
But they're not exactly showing up when I apply my skin.



The inactive close and inactive restore seem to be kind of working (as shown here) but none of the other ones (the restore button is supposed to be green as well.


*what they look like in skin studio*






Problem #2: User Picture

I can't change the dimensions or shape of my user picture background, only the color.










Problem #3: Windows look odd minimized
I haven't noticed this anywhere else, but in photshop, when i have more than one file open and i minimize it I get these wierd looking minimize/close/restore buttons, and the black outline.



When I have more than one file open in photoshop the minimize/restore/close buttons look wierd, and I get that black border as well
windowblinds
2,166 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think the user pic background is a set (fixed) size. You can position it, but I don't think you can change its size. I'm not sure about the others.

Cheers,
Daiwa
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think I'm beginning to understand the Minimized Window Caption issues, since I've spent the day troubleshooting them on several skins of mine trying to get the buttons to look right.

It appears that the Caption Height is fixed at the same dimension as the regular Window Titlebar Caption Height.

It also appears that the buttons are stretched vertically if they are not sufficiently tall and horizontally if they are not sufficiently wide. It looks like buttons can get "squeezed" horizontally as well. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to divine a relationship between the Caption Height & the button size that would allow me to predict the needed dimensions.

I typically use 16x16px buttons, using magic pink to make them "smaller" if necessary. Through trial and error, I found that padding a button with sufficient additional rows of magic pink top & bottom will enable an undistorted display of the buttons. Similarly, adding sufficient columns of magic pink to the sides of a button will avoid horizontal distortion. Unfortunately, the only way I've found to determine what is "sufficient" has been to revise the graphics one (set of 2) pixel row or column adjustment at a time, then save & reload the skin to see the effect. It is needlessly tedious & time-consuming, but there doesn't appear to be a rule of thumb - certainly, using the buttons defined for the regular Window Titlebar results in the distortion problem your screenshot shows.

The black corners are probably specific to PhotoShop & the way it skins (or doesn't) - many people have reported problems with ToolWindows in particular.

Cheers,
Daiwa
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Daiwa, your help is VERY much appreciated. It seems that my computer and windowblinds weren't getting along, so I'm working on getting everything off of it and reformatting my computer, since I've needed to for a while anyway. Hopefully that will be soon, so that I can get back to refining my skin.