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[marko]

Here are the results of my next project.... Arctic Winter.


(Click image to view full size)

"Arctic Winter" started out as something completely different, and became what it is today after I ran into issues with the view header not supporting images, and then, just when I thought I might be making headway, I checked some split view layouts and the results made me feel quite sea-sick!!

The challenge set with this skin was to attempt to blend a tree image with the top bar of the player. The top bar is static, while the tree can be on the move all the time, in both directions. It took a while to find a suitable image. There's not a lot of integration there, but what there is took a lot of time. The ice wall creeps into the top bar, and the sun over on the right shines across the search bar.

The next thing worthy of note here is that there are no vertical scroll bars in this skin. Well, they are there, but they are only one pixel wide, and I think MC looks super smooth without them. Let's be honest, now we all have scrolly wheels on our mice, the actual bars don't really do that much apart from give a visual indication of how long a list might be. In the screen image above, only one of the panes has scrollable content and I reckon it's easy enough to spot without the actual bar. I like this approach so much that I am going to go back and redo Knit-Knots without the bars, and maybe try and get an image in there too, we'll see.

In the meantime, here's Arctic Winter, enjoy, and as always, any comments or feedback are always welcome.

-marko

Edit (17/02/2012)
A higher contrast version of Arctic Winter is available here.

Edit (09/09/2017)
Updated skin now available.
New tag window sorted out.
Edit, text and combo boxes improved.
Search bar alignment sorted out.
Vertical scrollbar handles now visible.

Edit (24/01/2018)
A change to the header height in the new tag window squished the expanded button out of shape. This has been fixed.
Made the target area for the minimise button a bit larger as it was a bit hard to hit as it was.
Reworked the ratings graphics so that they can be seen regardless of whether or not a file is selected.

As with the HC version, download is now via mjp file as I can't get the skin under 700kb. Download the attached archive, extract the mjp file and double click it. MC will download and apply the skin.

Updated (24/11/2019)
Added suitable colours for the new MC 26 waveform progress bar.

Updated (28/01/2023)
Integrity checked xml vs filenames. Skin should now work correctly on Linux.
Added a Spotlight button.
Set the Spotlight page background colour.

Edit (04/02/2023):
Updated attached mjp file, which should now work for Linux and Mac as well as Windows.

[rjm]

Looks promising but I can't find download link.

[marko]

You need to be logged in to the forum, which I guess you must be, and it's attached to the foot of the first post. A 531 Kb zip file, showing two downloads so far. Refresh the page perhaps ?

[rjm]

Thanks, I was not logged in.

[Magic_Randy]

Thanks marko...

I like the look that comes with no scroll bars.

[AoXoMoXoA]

Very slick, nice and clean without the scroll bars.

I look forward to a scroll bar free Knit-Knots if you do modify that one (so far that is my favorite when used with Negative Skin Effects)

Once again Marko, I thank you for an awesome job!

[ElQuia]

Marco, as much as I loved "the fly", this one does not "close" totally for me. I love the absence of scroll bars, the buttons, all the design, but overall I find the skin a- too dark b- it has VERY little contrast, between elements, fonts & background etc.

I would LOVE this design with the coloring of the FusionX2 for example....

Thanks for listening...

[marko]

ElQuia, but, then it wouldn't be the same skin

I think this could be a "difference between monitors" thing. The text is purposely not popping off the screen, when I picked the colours, I wanted something easy to read, but not too high contrast. I'll try and find time to open it up at the weekend and try some other colours. Nice to hear you're still enjoying "The Fly". That was my very first skin.


The 'no scroll bars' thing is the business eh? Glad you're all enjoying them. Any skins I might make in the future will have no vertical scroll bars, just wish I'd thought of it earlier.

-marko

[ElQuia]

mmm marko, I have three samsungs lcd's 1 23" and two 16" all 16x9 in a multimon configuration. None are leds 23 is @1600x900 the others @1366x768. Even on the 23 incher I find it difficult to read (and I have good eye sight haha)

OK, the color is your choice as artist but maybe, (just maybe?) you could have a couple of variants ... differnt colors, different font color...

NICE WORK

(yes, I still use the fly occasionally  ) (I like to rotate skins)

[AoXoMoXoA]

ElQuia, have you tried the 'Skin Effects' to vary the colors & contrast?

[marko]

Indeed. My eyesight is rubbish, though here, I can read the txt OK.

In the "Seamless" thread, I spoke about this in brief after looking at the screen shots on a PC at work, where they looked simply awful, certainly, the colours were nothing like they appeared on my monitor at home.

I'm hoping to get a new monitor in the very near future, I'll see how that pans out for me, then have a look at the txt colours for this skin and see what possibilities exist for it... update vs separate revision.

[ElQuia]

OK marko, I'll give it a try a few days, see how it "sets in"
I'll be back with new feedback if any
 

[marko]

ElQuia, and anyone else who feels the same, try the attached zip file.

Extract the three files it contains into your existing Arctic Winter folder, over writing the existing files.

I've brightened up the text, lightened the menu background and increased the accentuation of the group headers. It never ceases to amaze me how the most subtle colour changes can have a dramatic effect on the overall look and feel of a skin!

Colours have been updated for text in the list, tree action window and bottom toolbar.

-marko

[ElQuia]

ElQuia, and anyone else who feels the same, try the attached zip file.

Extract the three files it contains into your existing Arctic Winter folder, over writing the existing files.

I've brightened up the text, lightened the menu background and increased the accentuation of the group headers. It never ceases to amaze me how the most subtle colour changes can have a dramatic effect on the overall look and feel of a skin!

Colours have been updated for text in the list, tree action window and bottom toolbar.

-marko

WOW that IS better marko!!!! MUCH better, just let me use it a couple of days. One thing: the "iceberg" below the file pane at the left is a no go, just looks like a "dirty" background (got to have a lot of imagination to see an iceberg haha)... maybe just a gradient or a simple monocrome color....?

[Magic_Randy]

ElQuia, and anyone else who feels the same, try the attached zip file.

Extract the three files it contains into your existing Arctic Winter folder, over writing the existing files.

I've brightened up the text, lightened the menu background and increased the accentuation of the group headers. It never ceases to amaze me how the most subtle colour changes can have a dramatic effect on the overall look and feel of a skin!

Colours have been updated for text in the list, tree action window and bottom toolbar.

-marko

Hi marko,

I like it

[marko]

WOW that IS better marko!!!! MUCH better, just let me use it a couple of days. One thing: the "iceberg" below the file pane at the left is a no go, just looks like a "dirty" background (got to have a lot of imagination to see an iceberg haha)... maybe just a gradient or a simple monocrome color....?

Hi marko,

I like it

Nice one. Thanks for the feedback.

I'll have a look at that iceberg thing... I'd like to keep it as it's what started the project off in the first place....

-marko

[Sauzee]

This is beautiful. Thanks!

[Louis]

Maybe a dumb question, but how should the skin be installed?
A search hasn't turned up anything, including Help under:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/View_Modes_%26_Skins#Skin_Manager

Using the Skin Manager and browsing to the zip file I get this error message:
"Failed to install package.
More Info: INSTALLATION action failed."

Should the file be unzipped and the contents copied manually somewhere?

[ElQuia]

Maybe a dumb question, but how should the skin be installed?
A search hasn't turned up anything, including Help under:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/View_Modes_%26_Skins#Skin_Manager

Using the Skin Manager and browsing to the zip file I get this error message:
"Failed to install package.
More Info: INSTALLATION action failed."

Should the file be unzipped and the contents copied manually somewhere?

Louis:

You decompress the zip file in the following path:

For windows  7 64 bit + MC 16:

C:\Program Files (x86)\J River\Media Center 16\Skins\Standard View

If you are on XP with MC 17 it would be:

C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 17\Skins\Standard View

After that start MC open the skin manager and select the new skin, aka: "Arctic Winter" or "Arctic Winter HC" if you use marko's new variant (which is really cool)

[Louis]

Thanks for the speedy and concise help ELQuia, worked a treat of course.

[marko]

That's this one sorted out with a little spit and polish too. Updated skin and update notes available in the first post.

-marko

[marko]

Build 23.0.95 will have a change to the header heights of the new tag window. This has caused the expanded buttons in my skins to get all squished out of shape.

Whilst in there, I've reworked the graphics for the rating stars as they would disappear if the file was selected and the mouse passed over them.
Another annoyance I found was that the minimise button was too hard to hit, so I've increased the target size to hopefully help with that a bit.

The fixes will (should ) work with earlier versions too. Let me know if I broke anything.
The archive on the server has the updates, just double click your mjp file (attached in first post if you need a new one) to download and apply.

-marko

[LETRA]

*.mjp files can't be opened on Mac. Please, you can you provide a simple zip file with the skin folder inside?

[marko]

Hi LETRA, thanks for your interest.

Just drop the mjp file into a text editor and copy the external link from there.

Hope you enjoy.
-marko

[LETRA]

Very good. Thank you :-)

[marko]

Updated (24/11/2019)
Added suitable colours for the new MC 26 waveform progress bar.

-marko

[marko]

Updated (28/01/2023)
Integrity checked xml vs filenames. Skin should now work correctly on Linux.
Added a Spotlight button.
Set the Spotlight page background colour.

[marko]

Edit (04/02/2023):
Updated mjp file attached in first post, which should now work for Linux and Mac as well as Windows.

[EnglishTiger]

ET TrackInfo Plugins are available for Marko's Arctic Winter Skin and all his other skins.
You can read about them here - https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,134776.0.html
or View and Download them here - http:// [url]https://englishtiger.uk/index.html [/URL}