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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Software Issues and Discussion => Topic started by: LP on May 09, 2003, 01:17:34 PM

Title: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: LP on May 09, 2003, 01:17:34 PM
I've been wondering for some time now...
If I download a WBscreenshot from eg. Aminet, I allways see flashy windows w/textures and millions of colors... But I haven't been able to get my GUI to like that... The closest I've come is textures inside the window... Can I get a program that can actually texture map the window borders too?

Example WBscreenshot from Aminet... (http://www.aminet.net/pix/wb/Alecos-WB-07.jpg)
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: Thomas on May 09, 2003, 01:28:22 PM

VisualPrefs allows to change the system gadgets (close, size, depth) and Birdie allows to render textures into the window borders.

http://uk.aminet.net/aminetbin/find?visualprefs.lha
http://vgr.com/birdie1/

Read the docs carefully because these two interfere with each other.

Bye,
Thomas
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: LP on May 09, 2003, 01:33:45 PM
Thanks... I've heard about birdie before, does it work with P96 or only CGFX?
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: jd997uk on May 09, 2003, 01:35:52 PM
@LP

Easy.
1.MagicMenu to get the see thru menus
2. Birdie to get the patterned window borders.
3. VisualPrefs for the glyphs(buttons, and many other changes to the border drawing.

All of the above work with both P96 and CGFX.

BTW, I've got a Mediator/Voodoo with my 1200 and they all work well.

-john
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: LP on May 09, 2003, 01:40:03 PM
Thanks alot guys!...

It might slow my system down a bit, am I right? :-?
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: kadi on May 09, 2003, 02:21:56 PM
It slows down a tiny little bit, but on a 1260/50 with a PCI-GFX board you will hardly notice that.
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: LP on May 09, 2003, 02:25:45 PM
cheers! :pint:
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: SlimJim on May 09, 2003, 02:48:36 PM
Don't forget that half the fun is to change the icons to
better-looking ones (I have a wide selection of Icons from
Aminet that I put on programs I start often). Goes a long way
towards that "custom feel". :-)
.
SlimJim
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: xeron on May 09, 2003, 04:55:30 PM
Don't forget to try out TitleShadow (http://www.petergordon.org.uk/)!
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: LP on May 13, 2003, 03:01:32 PM
Thanks guys I'm using Birdie with great pleasure... Looks nice...

Cheers to all of you :-)
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: bloodline on May 13, 2003, 04:46:08 PM
Quote
Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?


Get glasses?  :-D  (sorry couldn't resist)
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: Mason on May 13, 2003, 05:33:51 PM
Maybe this will help: www.masonicons.de (http://www.masonicons.de)
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: marcfrick2112 on May 14, 2003, 06:38:23 PM
Hello, One other idea is to use BootChange, or similar program (e.g. from Aminet) that will change your WB background and window background pics, randomly on Boot-Up. On My '060 1200 Sys. (No Graphics card  :-? it slows booting by a second, and uses a bit more of precious CHIP RAM, but I think the effect is worth it.
   Since I run an AGA Ami with a 64 color WB, I load my pics into an image processing program to reduce the Cols.
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: N0wee on May 14, 2003, 10:41:56 PM
For a change I'll make a bit of advertisment, not to
let my good friend mason alone

www.nowee.org/overshaker the amiga themes website.
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: Kurt on May 15, 2003, 04:06:42 AM
WARNING WARNING!!!
Birdie makes your amiga unstable and has been known to cause strange and unusual problems with certain combo's of software.
if you like to reboot your amiga several times a day go right ahead and install birdie.


kurt

some people don't notice this effect because they have so many patches installed. Thier machine already crashes more than a PC.
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: Kent on May 15, 2003, 06:28:50 AM
The minor instability with Birdie isn't horrid at all.  There are some programs that will attempt similar hacks to the window gadgetry or modification of the handling that could potentially crash birdie.  Some programs use custom written windows that can be ignored by birdie with the right settings.  For example, the latest AWeb on its own public screen can not do birdie but loaded to an existing public screen is just fine.  Find the programs that you use that will cause the problems and figure out a way to work around it.  Longest running Amiga system that was up with Birdie running used for image processing on a daily basis was damn near close to a month only thanks to power failure... either that or fragmented memory from all the graphics.  If you can reproduce the crash with birdie running, don't do it or shut off birdie before you do.

Hacks I run without problems: Birdie, MCP, TitleShadow, VisualPrefs, MagicMenu, and my own arexx utilities.  The programs that crash are ImageFX, PPaint, TVPaint, YAM, AWeb, Voyager, MUI and programs that use MUI.  Birdie on the other hand has had no problems at all running.

An old grab of my system can be found here: Screenshot (http://home.swbell.net/stronic/screengrab.jpg)

It's plain, but it works for my needs.

:pint:
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: Tesral on May 15, 2003, 06:57:23 AM
Quote

Kent wrote:

An old grab of my system can be found here: Screenshot (http://home.swbell.net/stronic/screengrab.jpg)

It's plain, but it works for my needs.


How do you grab you workbench screens?  ImageFX 4 comes up with a blank gray screen,.  Workbench in 3.5 and higher must be mapped differently than ImageFX is looking for.  I would love ot show off my Workbench.
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: jd997uk on May 15, 2003, 07:04:49 AM
@Tesral

SGrab (http://www.stephan-rupprecht.de/downloads/sgrab.lha).
Simply brilliant piece of software.

-john
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: Tesral on May 15, 2003, 07:46:12 AM
Quote

jd997uk wrote:
@Tesral

SGrab
Simply brilliant piece of software.

-john


Thank you, I'll give it a try.
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: T_Bone on May 15, 2003, 10:16:42 AM
@kent
> An old grab of my system can be found here: Screenshot

Nice!
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: PPC on May 15, 2003, 03:15:28 PM
and let's not forget to install reqattack for nice requesters  with animation's sounds etc..  :-D
Title: Re: How can I make my OS3.9 GUI look nicer?
Post by: LP on May 15, 2003, 03:33:43 PM
@bloodline
ha ha... :-P


Well seems there's more workbench decorations than till a x-mas tree... :-)

And I must admit that Birdie is running smoothly... Testing a wooden look right now... looks good :-)

Icons look good mason!!!