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Themester User Guide Welcome Requirements Installation • Additional Files Upgrading Getting Started Making Your Own Theme
Welcome Themester supports any color Palm® OS device with SD or Memory Stick and 300K of free memory. And, of course, you need SilverScreen to show off your creations! The Themester application can be downloaded from the internet in either .zip or .sit compressed format. If the file doesn't automatically de-compress onto your PC, please refer to your Web browser's instructions to obtain the necessary plug-in. Once you have the Themester folder on your desktop computer you will find a file within called themester.prc as well as three folders. The themester.prc may be installed onto your Palm-powered handheld with a HotSync operation. Additional files: Use the GIF files from the folder listed in the chart below that correspond with your device type. You may hotsync the heavyduty.gif file immediately to your memory card to get started on the demo theme. The blueprint.gif file needs to be filled-in with your own theme before you hotsync it.
NOTE: It is possible to make both Hires Pre_OS5 and Color (160x160) themes with an OS5 device and it is possible to make Color (160x160) themes with a hires pre-OS5 device. Upgrading to the latest Themester is as easy as installing the latest demo version over your previously registered copy. Your registration information will be retained and the new full version automatically enabled.
Getting Started Find the application "Themester" listed under the All category in the Applications Launcher. Tap the icon to begin work on the demo theme. When launched Themester displays a splash screen featuring a bulldozer with its wheels in motion. Tap Ready to proceed to the first step in creating a new theme. Step One: Once you have a bluprint GIF on your memory card you will need to locate it for Themester to use. Be sure the blueprint type matches your handheld specs.
Step Two: Once the file has been located you may select from a number of options for the theme you are building.
Square - Rounded - Curvy - Angled Standard - Mulholland - Sunset -Vine - Wilshire Step Three: After you give your theme a name tap Next and Themester will start scanning the theme blueprint (this may take several minutes depending on the speed of your device). Don't be alarmed if you handheld goes into sleep mode during this process. Simply press the power button again to re-activate the screen.
Exit from Themester and launch SilverScreen if it is not active. Your newly constructed theme will be listed in the Theme pick list of the Theme dialog. (To access the Theme dialog first select Options from the menu bar, then choose Silver Prefs > Theme.) Deleting: To delete a theme from your device change to the List view and tap the list-expander button to display databases. In the expanded list SilverScreen themes are indented under the entry "Silver Data" in the All category. Drag the theme file you want to remove onto the Trash tool on the Tools sheet. Tap the Trash tool and choose Empty to permanently remove the items in the bin.
Making Your Own Theme Themester uses a "blueprint" to provide the instructions for building your theme. The blueprint may be completed using any desktop graphics appliction that has the ability to save in the GIF format. Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter and Jasc Paint Shop Pro are just a few of many excellent candidates for the job. Choosing Colors: Themester version 1.0 supports 8-bit color themes only (16-bit support is in the works). This means you should use the standard 8-bit Palm palette when designing the graphics. This color set is the same as the Web Safe Colors (plus 16 gray levels) that almost all desktop graphics apps have the ability to present in a palette. Optionally you may opt to design your graphics with whatever colors you please and then choose to re-map the colors to the Web palette when saving the completed theme blueprint GIF. After completing any of the necessary graphics elements for a theme you simply paste them onto the corresponding space on the blueprint. The dimensions of each graphic element are indicated on the blueprint itself. Note: The graphics must always fall within the double-width blue boundary lines indicated by the blueprint. To get started you need to select the appropriate theme blueprint to use with your device (see Installation). Use the file "blueprint.gif" from the folder corresponding with your handheld in the Themester download. Transparent Color: In the top-left corner of the blueprint you will find a square filled with a lime-green color. Whatever color is defined in this square will be used by Themester to determine the transparent areas of the tools, Hot Spots and ROM application icons.
Battery Levels (Optional): Along the left edge of the blueprint you will find a section for the battery levels graphics. There are ten positions representing the battery from fully-powered to empty and one position illustrating the charging battery (shown when your handheld is charging in its cradle). Use white (not the Transparent Color) to fill around the battery graphics. You may opt to leave this portion of the blueprint blank and instruct Themester to use the standard SilverScreen style battery for your theme.
Tools & Hot Spots: Make sure to use the Transparent Color around the tools and the Hot Spots where you want the Pop-Up Sheet Background to show through. The tools are 31x32 pixels in lo-res and 62x64 in hi-res. The Hot Spots are 16x16 in lo-res and 32x32 in hi-res.
Tools & Hot Spots Selected: Same as the above definitions except these are the graphics for the way the tools will appear when selected.
Pop-up Sheet Background: This is what will appear behind the tools on the Tool sheet and behind the tabs on the Tabs sheet The triangular corner button is automatically added by Themester so you should not include it in your graphic. The dashed areas indicate the exact placement of the tools and Hot Spots on the pop-up sheet background.
Scroll Bar (Optional): The scroll bar definition actually consists of nine small graphics. The top and bottom arrows appear both unselected and selected. The "scroll car" is somewhat more complex. It has a small top and bottom part and a larger middle that is repeated to "stretch" the scroll car within SilverScreen. The graphic to the right of the car is called the "thumb" and is the little grip that appears in the middle of the scroll car. If you don't want a thumb to appear simply use the same definition as the middle part of the scroll car. Lastly there is the "scroll track" which appears on the blueprint tucked between the scroll car and the bottom arrow. This graphic is used to construct the track that the scroll car rides up and down. You may opt to leave this portion of the blueprint blank and instruct Themester to use any of the standard SilverScreen-style scroll bars for your theme instead.
ROM Application Icons (Optional): These icons replace the standard ROM application icons within SilverScreen when your theme is active. You may opt to leave this portion of the blueprint blank and instruct Themester to use the standard SilverScreen-style ROM app icons for your theme instead.
After you have finished pasting your graphics on the blueprint, save the image in GIF format and then hotsync the file to your handheld's memory stick. To produce your new theme follow the directions for Building the Demo Theme, locating your GIF file rather than the demo gif in Step One. Sharing: To share your new theme with others you will need to extract or beam the theme.pdb file from your handheld. Change to the List view and tap the list-expander button to display databases. In the expanded list SilverScreen themes are indented under the entry "Silver Data" in the All category. Drag the theme file you want to share to the Beam tool on the Tools sheet or the Category tool to transfer it to your memory card (for accessing with your PC). You may also find the theme.pdb file in the Palm backup folder on your desktop after a hotsync operation. You may send your completed themes to the PocketSensei webmaster for posting and inclusion in our forthcoming contest.
Frequently Asked Questions Customer: I have a grayscale device. Can I use Themester to create a b/w theme? Sensei: Themester requires a color device with SD or MS card. It is likely in a future version that we will add the ability to create grayscale themes using a color device. Customer: My new theme isn't showing the scroll bar I created for it. Sensei: Make sure that in the Theme prefs in SilverScreen you have "Theme" selected from the Scroll Bar pick list. Customer: All my ROM apps icons are appearing in SilverScreen with two pylons and DEMO written above them. What do I need to do to see the icons I designed? Sensei: Once you have purchased and registered Themester then the icons from the blueprint will be recognized. |
