getmusicbee.com
MusicBee & Add-Ons => Customizations => Skins => Topic started by: psychoadept on December 20, 2012, 08:39:47 PM
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There is a gallery of all (hopefully) skins on the wiki, here: http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Skins
Larger sets of skins, like Dark Variations, I've been creating a single entry for and linking to a gallery showing all colors. (In fact, I've been linking all sets based on Dark Variations to the Dark Variations gallery, because I don't have the energy to make that many screencaps...)
Every skin name on the page can be used as an anchor link (it must be written exactly as shown on the page, replacing spaces with underscores). For instance, if you wanted to link to Mellow Blue:
http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Skins#Mellow_Blue
Feedback and suggestions/requests are welcome!
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I'd like to encourage authors to add your skins to the wiki at the same time you add them here. There are some instructions (hopefully clear - let me know if not) at the bottom of the page:
http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Skins#Adding_a_skin_to_this_page
Don't be concerned about making mistakes. Almost any problem on a wiki can be fixed with just a few clicks.
You'll see that right now there are plenty of skins that still need to be added and a number that still need screenshots. Anyone feel free to jump in on these! Please and thank you.
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Nice job, scampbll.
I noticed a few jpgs aren't showing. Specifically all of Greb's and the first three of Bee-liever's. There may be a few others, but that's what I noticed right off the bat.
Thanks for undertaking this project.
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Hi, phred!
Thanks!
Those missing JPGs are the screenshots I referred to that still need to be added. The site that hosts Bee-liever's screenshots has not been working today, but when it is I will add them.
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You'll see that right now there are plenty of skins that still need to be added and a number that still need screenshots. Anyone feel free to jump in on these! Please and thank you.
Oops...
And the sad thing is that I -did- read that line. I guess I was just so excited to see all the skins in one place, I forgot what I read. :-\
Still - you did a great job with this and you have my thanks.
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This is extremely impressive, thanks so much for your work on this, it's very admirable.
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Thanks to both of you! :)
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I think the Skins page is up to date now, aside from a few screenshots that are missing or I haven't bothered to get yet.
I'll add new ones if I notice and have time, but I hope y'all will mostly add your own. I'm going to try to do a similar page for Theater Mode next...
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Thanks a lot for your great work!
A. :)
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Great work. Thanks
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I really appreciate your effort to put all these on the wiki.
I'm not sure if this is possible, but I'd like to see much bigger screenshots there. Probably most visitors won't be much interested in who made it or what it's called, but what it looks like and what kind of choices are available. Did you see the skin preview of MB (Main menu> View> Skins> Preview)? That kind of thing (the bigger, the better) is what most users would like, I think, to see on the wiki to compare different skins and get a feel from each.
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I adjusted the template. See if you like it better now.
Also, it's possible to click through and see a full size image of each one just like it is with the skin preview function.
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I adjusted the template. See if you like it better now.
Also, it's possible to click through and see a full size image of each one just like it is with the skin preview function.
Thanks! It looks much better!
I noticed a lot of dead space on the right side of each skin. How about placing two skins in a row, if possible, so that users could browse more skins on the same screen? If skin info can be placed at the top or bottom of the screenshot, the size of screenshots could be enlarged a little more even with two in a row.
Another one is the term "Miscellaneous." I understand it means a non-series, single, one-shot work here. But given that the majority of skins are "miscellaneous," it could be better without it not to confuse users.
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I noticed a lot of dead space on the right side of each skin. How about placing two skins in a row, if possible, so that users could browse more skins on the same screen? If skin info can be placed at the top or bottom of the screenshot, the size of screenshots could be enlarged a little more even with two in a row.
Unfortunately, that dead space is a function of Wikia's layout. The content now is as wide as Wikia will allow.
There is another way to browse skins visually, which is the Category:Skins page, where all the screenshots are grouped together. I might link to it from the other page, though as far as I know I can't make the thumbnails any bigger.
http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Skins
Another one is the term "Miscellaneous." I understand it means a non-series, single, one-shot work here. But given that the majority of skins are "miscellaneous," it could be better without it not to confuse users.
I tried removing that at one point, and it seemed more confusing to me to have a blank line with just "collapse" at the end of it. Of course, that was just my opinion. Maybe there's some alternate text that would be clearer? "General skins" or something?
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Unfortunately, that dead space is a function of Wikia's layout. The content now is as wide as Wikia will allow.
I see. I found full-size image browsing through clicking works very well since it allows navigating skins back and forth through mouse click.
I tried removing that at one point, and it seemed more confusing to me to have a blank line with just "collapse" at the end of it. Of course, that was just my opinion. Maybe there's some alternate text that would be clearer? "General skins" or something?
"Single works" is the best I can think of. Maybe other members have a better idea, or you could just leave it as is.
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I see. I found full-size image browsing through clicking works very well since it allows navigating skins back and forth through mouse click.
Oh, that's right! I'd forgotten about the pop-up view because I had it disabled. That does seem useful for this purpose. I'll see if there's a way I can link directly to the image pop-up for easy browsing...
Edit: Doh! It does it automatically, nevermind. I have added a line at the top to direct new users, though.
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First of all, very nice initiative scampbll!
Second of all, very nice work scampbll!
And a small comment ;-)
I think it is currently not possible to have a view of the skins without them being re-sized? Even when zooming-in details and text will be downsized and a little fuzzy.
Maybe it would be nice to have zoom-in pixel perfect?
Sorry if I'm a little bit to 'anal' about this, but creating those skins sometimes requires this quality a little bit ;-)
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Thanks!
I think it is currently not possible to have a view of the skins without them being re-sized? Even when zooming-in details and text will be downsized and a little fuzzy.
At the top of the pop-up image viewer, you should see a link next to the image name that says "See full size image." Try that!
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Thanks!
I think it is currently not possible to have a view of the skins without them being re-sized? Even when zooming-in details and text will be downsized and a little fuzzy.
At the top of the pop-up image viewer, you should see a link next to the image name that says "See full size image." Try that!
Ahum.
Bye, I was never here ;-)
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Here are my categorization of skins (custom skins only). It's up to you how to sort on the wiki.
If authors have a different opinion after this is implemented, they can edit the wiki directly or leave a comment on this thread.
Light skins: SKBeeLite, Mondo! Bizu!, Candy Cane, Polar Bear Dreams, TouchLite (6 skins), Tundra Series (Aurora, Caribou Migration, Ice Floe, Summertime), MetroColours (light), Crimson Creme, Ebony & Ivory, Jistme the Bee, Jistme on the Outlook, A Sophisticated Bee, Tweakers.bee, King Penguin (King Penguin original, King Penguin toned down), Calcium, Dawn, Mondrian, A Brighter Bee, Mellow Blue, Clarity
Multi-Color skins: Wing-ated, WTF Skin
Dark skins: the rest
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Reorganized! I decided the clearest way to call it is light text = dark skin, dark text = light skin, so I lumped the two outliers into the dark skins.
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Excellent work! Now it's much more useful and better than this board. Thanks for your effort!
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Thanks to you, too! It's nice to have help. :)
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Could I get a mod to sticky this, so people can find the Skin gallery for browsing and updating? Thanks!
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The wiki looks great. But it occurred to me that it would look even better if dark skins can be displayed on a light-color background. Many theater views, too. Would it be possible? If not, how about choosing another color for background except for white and black?
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I originally had it in the same blue as other elements on the wiki, but that seemed too bright and distracting. Why don't you find a color you like?
Just edit this page, changing the hex codes (or text name) for color and background-color, at the top. If you find something you like, I can hard code in into the css for those boxes.
http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Template:Skinfobox
It is a quirk of Wikia that the CSS will not be refreshed until you make an edit, so on the Skins page you may have to make a small edit to see new color in effect.
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How does it look now?
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Personally, I'd go with something more neutral. Maybe a brown. I find my eyes drawn to the background color rather than the skins.
You know, there's that nice gray-blue that shows up at the top of the edit screen. That might blend in well. Added: hex code is 313d55.
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How does it look now?
That background is awful, it makes it next to impossible to focus on the actual content. That said, my disability makes these things worse than for the majority, but I would prefer a non-wavy and somewhat less loud background picture.
Lakrits
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How about now? Still loud?
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@Lakrits: are you referring to the whole site background?
The brown is definitely better, although it's still pretty strong on... color. Think lower saturation.
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Tone downed a notch. How's it?
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the background color of the whole site to brown. You know, bees and honeycomb.
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Getting there! It doesn't overpower the light skins.
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Lowered saturation a little more. Need to change light-blue headings too. Would you do that?
And think about the idea.
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both done!
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both done!
No, I meant brown instead of grey background, not the black honeycomb pattern.
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Ah. In that case, I'm not going to mess with it. I don't want to get bogged down in trying to make a whole custom theme. Hopefully the gold background addresses Lakrits' issue, though.
Also, I tried out the blue on the skins. If you prefer the brown I'll revert back, I was just curious.
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I don't like it at all. Why did you remove the honeycomb pattern? I am starting to regret my having made this suggestion in the first place.
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I removed the honeycomb because Lakrits said it was bothering him. I was concerned from the beginning that the wavy look would be problematic for some. I can change it back, or make it something else.
I'd much rather create content than fine-tune theme elements. I'm concerned that changing one element will lead to needing to change all of them. Wikia has a fairly straight forward theme designer. I don't have any problem giving you admin access if you want to play with it. Are you comfortable with CSS?
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No, I don't want to.
BTW You know where the pattern come from. Don't you like to make the wiki site have something in common with MB's homepage? When I first saw the wiki page, I liked your choice. But, not any more.
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I changed it back to a dark background. I do like the idea of the wiki having a common theme with this site, which is why I bothered to create that background in the first place. But Lakrits is right, it was very wavy, and accessibility is more important than style, in my opinion.
What color did you prefer on the skins page? If you definitely want the brown, I will write that into the sitewide CSS file.
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Personally I don't like the current look, but I won't comment about the color choice any more.
But now I understand what you said about the wavy pattern, though. I didn't understand why there's accessibility issue here first.
Keep up the good work!
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Okay. Any time you want to mess around with the theme, the invitation is open.
I'm looking into another way to use the honeycomb pattern - maybe as a graphic header where "MusicBee Wiki" is now.
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I think is better treating the style of the wiki like a skin of only one person, we making suggestions but leaving for you the decission Scampbll. The scheme needs some logical design which can be better not being edited by us.
For me, the logic is using the same or near tones for all the big areas. It can be all grey dark colors or clear colors like in this forum. Nothing which calls our attention. And reserving the color uniform tones only for small and clickable areas, and that would call our attention when looking for clickable elements.
How it is now, the background is blue and border is yellow, my vote goes for a grey background nearer or same than the general background, and a lighter grey border. Maintaining the style with the other boxes, and not calling our attention something which is in front of our eyes.
Another thing which i think could be an improvement, and from my experience skinning is i think we are dark side or clear side guys. So a button to switching between both sides could be welcomed. But i'm not asking for it, if someone likes the idea just comment here
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@Lakrits: are you referring to the whole site background?
The brown is definitely better, although it's still pretty strong on... color. Think lower saturation.
No, just the wavy, metallic, 3D-ish background in the Skins section.
When you can't filter (in this case) visual input, a background with
too much "activity" makes your eyes unable to focus on the actual
content. I guess it's comparable to trying to have a serious conversation
in a very busy and load nightclub. The surroundings take too much of
your concentration.
Lakrits
[Edit: it seems to be gone now. Thanks. :)]
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No, just the wavy, metallic, 3D-ish background in the Skins section.
Huh. I'm not sure what you were experiencing, since the background on that page should have been the same as the rest of the site. But I'm glad it's fixed. I'll try putting the honeycomb pattern back, then.
Actually, one more question: where on the page was this background? Around the edges? Because I still can't get anything but the honeycomb pattern from "wavy, metallic, 3dish". So there would have been skin boxes, on top of flat gray background, on top of wavy background that goes to the edges of the window. Does that sound right?
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Another thing which i think could be an improvement, and from my experience skinning is i think we are dark side or clear side guys. So a button to switching between both sides could be welcomed. But i'm not asking for it, if someone likes the idea just comment here
This is currently possible, although it's a little more complicated than just a button. If you log into Wikia you can change your settings to show the Monobook skin, which is more like a standard Wikipedia look. White background, blue links, etc. There will be certain elements that look less polished because the sitewide CSS doesn't apply to Monobook.
I agree the theme needs to be fairly centralized. I'm willing to hand over the reins to another interested party, though.
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So there would have been skin boxes, on top of flat gray background, on top of wavy background that goes to the edges of the window. Does that sound right?
Yes, that is about right. I used all my skill and my years of training in primary school
and created this picture. The background I'm referring to is the area in red.
(http://i.imgur.com/GxFG217.png)
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Okay, yeah. That's what I changed. I'll leave it with the current look.
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Hey scampbll,
I tried to put a more recent screenshot of my 'A Sophisticated Bee' on the wiki, but I only proved I'm not capable enough for that...
Maybe you can do it when you have some time? Thnx!
(http://i.imgur.com/fALxRr3l.jpg) (http://i.imgur.com/fALxRr3.png)
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Done!
Getting past the floating image pop-up is a little confusing. The file itself is located at http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/File:A_Sophisticated_Bee.png, where there is a link for uploading a new version whenever you want.
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Great, thnx!
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And I fail again.
I created an entry in the wiki for 'A Sophisticated Bee (at Night)', but again can't figure out how to add the screenshot.
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What happens when you click the link that says 400px?
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I get a screen saying:
Login required
Special page
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Hmm. I know you don't have to be an admin to upload photos, but I guess you do have to be logged in. No worries, I can do it for you.
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Ok, thnx.
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Done! Along with other needed skin updates...
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Hi I am relatively new to Musicbee and the forums but I have created about 20 skins for myself and possibly might make a couple more. They are of a fairly simple design with plain borders and coloured content boxes because I am not a fan of full skin overhauls, in which the borders and menus etc are coloured in. I prefer that only the content areas (playlist column etc.) contain colour. Do other people like this sort of skin? If I were to release them to the community how would I add them to the wiki page? Also is it possible to add them as two zips or other such archive, one for my colourbeelight skin set and one for colourbeedark skin set or must they be uploaded as separate xml files?
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I'd say post them, for sure. The more, the merrier!
There are instructions on the wiki page for what to do with them. Zip files are fine, most people upload them to media fire or another file sharing site.
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Ok, thank you :). I imagine I probably will release them, I'll probably create a hot pink one and a purple one for people who like that sort of colour and then make sure all the others are perfect as well.
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FYI, given the increasing number of included skins, all skins on the wiki are now arranged by author. Thanks to redwing for getting the process rolling.
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Nicely done! To clarify, all I did was just suggesting the included skins category be disintegrated, and all real hard work was done by scampbll.
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FYI, given the increasing number of included skins, all skins on the wiki are now arranged by author. Thanks to redwing for getting the process rolling.
Would it not be feasible to sub-classify the skins by MusicBee versions (v2.5 and 3.0) as well?
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FYI, given the increasing number of included skins, all skins on the wiki are now arranged by author. Thanks to redwing for getting the process rolling.
Would it not be feasible to sub-classify the skins by MusicBee versions (v2.5 and 3.0) as well?
If the new forum system for skins isn't operational by the time I start using the wiki for 3.0, I plan to do that. But I don't see much point in investing a lot of time in a system that is about to be superseded.
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Have a look at Alexis's skin section. It's messed up with several additional pictures. They look like duplicates from other sections but I'm not sure.
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This: http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Skins?diff=next&oldid=17928
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Thanks, I'll look at it tonight.
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This time Analien's section: http://musicbee.wikia.com/wiki/Skins?diff=prev&oldid=18025
Why is this happening? Are they spambots?
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Hello thank you for your previous link, ke always looking for the skin as the front page. I tried monaural but the result is completely different. Thank you