Author Topic: Additional Skinnable Areas  (Read 2691 times)

Clarence

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I wonder if it would be possible to introduce any of the following to allow further skinning options:

Player positioning:
With the advent of wider screens(e.g. 28 inch+) and the player being limited to the top and bottom panels, the result can be a player (bitmap or flat) that stretches across the entire width. Making the player narrower is clearly an option for larger screens but is detrimental to those using lower resolution/size monitors.

a). Would it be possible to have the player being docked in any panel? I appreciate that some panels have a maximum width limit but skinners could work within those constraints. This would allow for a whole new approach to player construction and layout, keeping MusicBee fresh and creating a fresh challenge for some of the excellent older existing skins to be reinvented by their skinners.

b). Should a) not be feasible, could other items be docked in the top and bottom panels alongside the main player rather than above/below it. This would have the effect of reducing the overall width of a player this way. I was thinking of elements such as the spectrum visualiser, volume visualiser, column browser, etc.

Player content:
Could other elements be made available to be included within the main player. For example, it would seem an ideal location to include the volume visualiser, as well as other pre-defined data fields that could be incorporated within the player area. I appreciate that the text display line(s) can be customised to include other data but this has the effect of making text scroll more frequently and it can look very jumbled/confusing.

Other areas:
Could other areas be made skinnable by bitmap?

I'm not suggesting that the entirety of MusicBee become skinnable by bitmap images but allowing it for certain areas would allow skinners to produce a style that can be more consistently maintained throughout the entire skin. Areas I had in mind include tabs, scrollbar surfaces plus the ability to include thumb grooves/dots, the header panel background. Personally I'd like to see panel backgrounds too but I appreciate that may be a step too far.

I've read other posts  recently that seem to want to change the overall and underlying shape and feel of MusicBee and, in my opinion, that would lead to this excellent player becoming just another 'automated' look-alike which it clearly isn't. A large number of people migrate to MB because of it's uniqueness and flexibility.  Hopefully what I've suggested above will not detract from that.
Last Edit: May 26, 2020, 12:07:47 PM by Clarence