Posted: 09-05-12 7:11 pm
Starting with the r1957 preview of the 8.4 release, official support has been added for color themes and unofficial support for manipulating the UI directly. The following is a quick guide on how to get started.
Synthesia contains two new files: ui.xml and colors.xml which contain all of the editable portions of the user interface and color themes, respectively. Though, to make it a little easier on you guys, Synthesia will check its data directory for a ui.xml and colors.xml file first before going to the built-in copies.
Navigating to the Synthesia Data Directory
Windows: Open a "Run..." dialog and type "shell:appdata\Synthesia".
Mac: Navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/Synthesia
Alternatively (for both), click the "Open Data Directory" button in the advanced section of the Synthesia Configuration tool.
Custom data files
Now that you're looking at the folder, download colors.xml and drop it in there. (If you're interested in riskier, unsupported UI modding, download ui.xml too.)
These files are updated automatically whenever a new preview is released. You must integrate the changes included with each preview in order to avoid errors (missing colors, renamed/new user interface). You may be interested in using a nice differencing tool to help merge changes.
Reloading in Real-Time
It would be inconvenient to have to fully restart Synthesia whenever you make a change to either file, so there are a pair of special entries near the bottom of the Shortcuts section of the Settings screen that are only show up in the list in development previews. Map the "Reload UI Description" and "UI Resize Test" entries to something.
Now, pressing the Reload button will re-read both files while Synthesia is running. (You'll be notified of any parsing/reading errors immediately.) But, the changes won't take effect until the next screen is loaded. Loads happen when entering a screen for the first time. (Returning to a screen after dismissing a popup or similar situation doesn't cause a reload.) Still, it's usually enough to back up one screen and re-enter it to see your changes.
The Resize shortcut can be used to test anchoring and alignment mods in ui.xml. You can hold the shortcut down to let your keyboard repeat rate do the work of appearing like a smooth resize. The minimum allowed resize is 1024x600.
Go Mod Something!
Maybe add some color themes? Or venture into the wild west of messing around with the UI.
And eventually, stop by the wishlist and tell me what you'd like to see.
Synthesia contains two new files: ui.xml and colors.xml which contain all of the editable portions of the user interface and color themes, respectively. Though, to make it a little easier on you guys, Synthesia will check its data directory for a ui.xml and colors.xml file first before going to the built-in copies.
Navigating to the Synthesia Data Directory
Windows: Open a "Run..." dialog and type "shell:appdata\Synthesia".
Mac: Navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/Synthesia
Alternatively (for both), click the "Open Data Directory" button in the advanced section of the Synthesia Configuration tool.
Custom data files
Now that you're looking at the folder, download colors.xml and drop it in there. (If you're interested in riskier, unsupported UI modding, download ui.xml too.)
These files are updated automatically whenever a new preview is released. You must integrate the changes included with each preview in order to avoid errors (missing colors, renamed/new user interface). You may be interested in using a nice differencing tool to help merge changes.
Reloading in Real-Time
It would be inconvenient to have to fully restart Synthesia whenever you make a change to either file, so there are a pair of special entries near the bottom of the Shortcuts section of the Settings screen that are only show up in the list in development previews. Map the "Reload UI Description" and "UI Resize Test" entries to something.
Now, pressing the Reload button will re-read both files while Synthesia is running. (You'll be notified of any parsing/reading errors immediately.) But, the changes won't take effect until the next screen is loaded. Loads happen when entering a screen for the first time. (Returning to a screen after dismissing a popup or similar situation doesn't cause a reload.) Still, it's usually enough to back up one screen and re-enter it to see your changes.
The Resize shortcut can be used to test anchoring and alignment mods in ui.xml. You can hold the shortcut down to let your keyboard repeat rate do the work of appearing like a smooth resize. The minimum allowed resize is 1024x600.
Go Mod Something!
Maybe add some color themes? Or venture into the wild west of messing around with the UI.
And eventually, stop by the wishlist and tell me what you'd like to see.