I tried to change/edit the "Frame_ThumbnailBorder.png" but after re-starting MC17 I still have those borders around my thumbs. From the look of the file it should be the right image to change/edit and I cannot find another that looks like it. (I renamed the original file first). How about every new install: should you first copy the (saved!) edited file again to get rid of the border every time?
That file was only used for beta testing and is now obsolete.
To refresh, here are the three changes in build 171 that we need to pay attention to...
4. NEW: All thumbnail borders are drawn with skin items (that can be customized per skin).
5. Changed: Added 'Skip' cell drawing mode to skinning engine so a cell with no data (like the inside of a thumbnail frame) has no overhead (see Default Skin Items > main.xml > Border section for exmaples).
6. Changed: If thumbnail frames for images are disabled in Options, a drop shadow effect will be used in its place instead of the default thumbnail treatment.
#6 is the solution to a problem that was causing the most concern, namely that MC was applying post processing to the edges and corners of our image thumbnails when frames were turned off in options. My first post above addresses this, and only this. All other thumbs will use the default shadows.
The "Default Skin Items" folder mentioned in #5 can be found in the "Data" folder inside the Media Center installation directory. (
if this makes you nervous, be sure to read the tips at the end of this post)
The three files we are interested in here are:
1. Border_DropShadow.png -
Used around image files if the "Draw frames around image thumbnails" option is turned off2. Border_Frame.png -
Used around image files if the "Draw frames around image thumbnails" option is turned on3. Border_GlowShadow.png -
Used as the shadow effect for all thumbnails after the setting for "Draw frames around image thumbnails" has been taken into consideration.4BYE, assuming that you would like the old drop shadow back for
all your thumbnails, the easiest solution is to add some more code to your skin xml file that instructs the skin to use the drop shadow file for the 'glow shadow' effect too. The "Border" section of the xml would now look so:
<BORDER>
<Entry Name="GlowShadow" Bitmap="Border_DropShadow.png" Rows="1,?-Flex,9" Columns="1,?-Flex,9" Cells="B2-Skip">
<Data InternalMarginLeft="1" InternalMarginTop="1" InternalMarginRight="9" InternalMarginBottom="9"></Data>
</Entry>
<Entry Name="DropShadow" Bitmap="Border_DropShadow.png" Rows="1,?-Flex,9" Columns="1,?-Flex,9" Cells="B2-Skip">
<Data InternalMarginLeft="1" InternalMarginTop="1" InternalMarginRight="9" InternalMarginBottom="9"></Data>
</Entry>
</BORDER>If you add that, save it, reload your skin, that should take care of it?
Quick explanation of the border code above I'll give a quick outline here of what the lines of code actually do in case anyone would like to produce their own shadow images.
The first line of entry for each of the three shadow files specifies the file to use (
Bitmap="<name of file to use>"), and tells MC how to draw that file using "Rows" and "Columns" information.
The rows and columns info is given like so:
Rows="1,?-Flex,9" Columns="1,?-Flex,9"Let's look at "Rows" first. This is telling MC to start at the top of the file and draw the first row of pixels, and the last 9 rows of pixels, as they are in the file, and to stretch everything in-between to achieve the height required by the view. The exact same logic is then applied from the left of the file to the right, to draw columns.
If you imagine the rows and column markers were overlaid on the image, you would have a lopsided 'tic-tac-toe' grid defining nine areas. The columns are A, B, and C while the rows are 1, 2, and 3. The final instruction here is
Cells="B2-Skip" which is telling MC to ignore this cell. We know that this is where MC will place the actual thumb image, so it is a waste of resource to have MC process this cell, only to replace it with the thumbnail later.
The next line is the "Data" line. Here we detail the "internal margins". Imagine defining an internal border using these four values, this is the area that MC will use to display the actual thumbnail.
Understanding the "Default Skin Items" Directory.#5 in the release notes says "
(see Default Skin Items > main.xml > Border section for exmaples)."
Assuming that MC is installed in the default location, if you navigate to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\J River\Media Center 17\Data\Default Skin Items\Standard View\ you will find a few image files and a file called main.xml. Note that if not using a 64 bit version of windows, the path will be:
C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 17\Data\Default Skin Items\Standard View\.
These are skin items that are required by all skins, and by including them here, the system ensures that older skins remain compatible with the current skinning features. These files will be used by every skin that does not have them detailed in their own specific xml files.
If these default files are edited, they will be replaced by the default images each time you update or reinstall the program. Bearing this in mind, if you want to produce your own shadow files but are worried about breaking something, then it would be a good idea to edit these files, along with the xml file found here. If you make a mess, simply reinstall to fix it. Once you are happy, remember to copy your edited files to your chosen skin folder and to also edit the Main.xml file for that skin to make your changes specific to that skin.
Hopefully that helps if you are not enamoured with the new look thumbnails and would like to do something about it.
-marko.
Author
Topic: Skinnable frames & borders introduced in build 171 (Read 9048 times)