Classic Shell: Forum

On Windows XP, when the XP style start menu was selected with the classic style taskbar, the start menu looked like Classic Shell's, but with a theme-aware caption on top of it with the user name. Can someone make a skin like it for Classic Shell?

What is classic style taskbar? Do you have a screenshot of which Start Menu you want?

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Here is is. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the top of it is the same colors as the active title bar settings.

Ah adding that "title bar" seems hard to make because I don't think the Start Menu has support for gradients yet depending on system title bar color change.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

But it has support for every other part of the classic theme: 3D object color, selection color, font type and size, etc. It seems like this is the same thing. What say, Ivo? Can this be done?

The Classic skin follows the system colors, and in a single column mode it has a band on the side. It can be modified to have a band at the top instead. However the band will be static and won't change with the system colors. Also the image needs to be wide enough to have enough resolution for a smooth gradient.

I don't want to modify the single-column classic skin, I want to modify the two-column one. Is it possible to add a theme-aware "title bar" to the menu?

I noticed something odd about Classic Start Menu: Pressing the first letter of something on the start menu only selects things on the right or pinned items; it doesn't select frequent programs. Is that purposeful?

Classic Shell's Start Menu supports bitmap elements in skins and flat colors. It does not support gradients between two colors yet as of version 4.1.0. That's why the "title bar" of the menu can't follow window title bar colors. You can include a bitmap with a gradient but it won't follow system title bar colors.

To open Frequent/Recent programs by keyboard accelerator (first letter), go to the Main Menu tab in Start Menu settings and look for the setting called "Shortcuts for the recent programs". Set it to "Normal shortcuts" and click OK.

_________________
Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and did Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

Will this be added in the next version? And when's the next version coming?

No gradient feature is being planned. It won't work anyway, because the area where you want the gradient is only a portion of the background bitmap. As I said, you need to create a bitmap with a built-in gradient.

Thanks for the feedback.

Knowing all this, can someone make a series of skins (preferably sub-skins of a style called "XP Classic" or something) in all the classic colors--desert, eggplant, marine, etc.?

Hello Weboh.
I'm just looking at the xp classic menu right now.
I count 22 stock color schemes, with multiple combinations, in the advanced button.
So lets just say about a hundred different color menus!
I don't know if I can make a look alike menu, let alone with all those options. The file size would be ginormous.
Ivo will probably charge me server fees

Can you narrow it down to say, maximum 5 types? I don't want to make anything more than 1 or 2 MB.
I still may fail, though.
I have an idea how to do it. Seeing if it works, is a different story.

The menu has the same log off and power button placement as Luna menu, which won't work.
To cut down on size it would have to look like the CSM "Classic Skin" but have the gradient bar added.

Do you want me to go ahead, and if so, which are your favorites?

ps This will only be when I have time.
If somebody else wants it, it may give me a push to make faster.

Hi Weboh.
Um. I was playing with a color bar on top of simple menu.

There is a way to have two color gradient, just very complicated to use, and a user will tire of it quickly.
If internal menu has only one color available, at a time, a green gradient mask refered to that color,
and a red gradient mask refered to the one system glass color, then it blends both the colors, kind of.
The only way to pick internal color, is to have long list options in skin settings.
Then for other color, would have to turn on glass overide in CSM, and pick color. Workable, but no good.

Still best to make screen shots of each original XP menu, shrink em to fit classic menu. Would still be long list in skin options.
Allowing about one pixel height for the text part of menu, (it will expand to fit), I can get each menu bitmap to be around 70 KB.
22 times 70 equals 1540KB plus other stuff will probably be 2 MB or less. It can be done, just lots of work. The shutdown arrangement no can do.
I see there are different fonts/sizes for menus as well. Oh boy, more work. This may take awhile.

Know any hobbyist programmers who love to manipulate Windows 7/8 to put two colors back in?

Let me ask a question, before I commit to making this multimenu.
Would you settle for just one menu, that has the horizontal gradient bar on top,
with only the one color derived from system glass color? I am trying it on Win8.
Check out picture.
It is not finished. Lots of work to do under the hood. The gradient also needs to be a little brighter and darker ar ends.

Yeah, you and and the rest of the guys on this forum. :P You might try the people at virtualcustoms, but in my experience, they don't pay attention to any requests. There's also sevenforums, and they're actually helpful; though I'm not sure about how well anyone is at skinning.
I don't use glass myself, so I'm not sure how it'd work for me. Other people might like that, though it'd be limited, since the blue isn't in most of the themes. It seems like more effort than would be worth it--unless both colors were selectable, in which case it'd be awesome. The fonts change with the Windows 7 classic theme, so I wouldn't worry about that either.
If I had to pick 5 themes, I would say Eggplant, Spruce, Marine, Classic, Desert, and Rose. Yes that's 6. :P

Hi Weboh.
Decided doing all 22 plus the glass color, that tracks the taskbar color.
I got to 5 colors so far. 18 more to go.

Summer weather is too good to miss.
Will get back to working on it, off and on in coming weeks.



ps I don't know anything about coding. All I'm doing is rearranging script text from Ivo's program,
and altering a bitmap picure. Anyone can do it. Time and will, only requirements.
Programmers tend to go into all the layers of Windows
and alter them. Extremely smart and knowledgable people.
Just need one who has nostalgic feelings for that menu.

later:)

Update.
It rained. I had time to work on it some more.
Getting closer to the reality of finishing this menu, 6 more to go.
But realizing, I'm further from the truth of having it look like real XP.
Wish there was a way to have alternate font sizes and boldness in same column.
Oh well.
Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)

I put a font size selection in the skin options, like XP.
No idea what the real sizes are.
I left normal as, I guess-9, put large as -11, and Xlarge as -13
Xlarge looks so funny. Might still be undersized compared to real.

Bye.

Weboh
Finally finished with my third attempt.
The first and second versions, although more accurate looking, were half and up to twice the size, and had issues.
Those are now stored safely in the recycle bin:)

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