Old 01-25-2017, 11:11 AM   #1
airon
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Default Can a theme change only a few elements ?

I provide details below.

Is this possible yet, or do we need to ask Cockos for some functionality ?

What
I'd like to change a few elements of the default theme, or any other theme perhaps.

I will presume I have to unpack the original theme, take away the elements I want to change and put back the changed versions.

However I would prefer to reference the original theme, the default 5.0 theme in this case, and have my theme just contain the elements I want to change.

Use Default 5.0 and use whatever is in the new .ReaperThemeZip instead of the original reference theme.
Why
When the original theme changes, I don't want to have to unpack that again and reintegrate any changes it made in to my modified version. I'd simply like to have my stuff modify whatever is in the original.

I realize this may not be practical on for RTCONFIG.txt stuff, such as changing existing standard layouts in some detail.

I would however like to add a layout, new versions of buttons and so on.
For example
  • Some buttons are changed. I often do this to automation buttons, which constantly annoy me in their attempt to fit in. I want them to be visible.

  • A new layout that simply rearranges some elements on the TCP for example, or gives me a sidecar layout a very narrow fader/button element.
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Old 01-25-2017, 11:55 AM   #2
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Just make a copy of the original theme, change the name, and then modify it. Then it's a just a matter of:

- Change out the images you want to change.
- If you changed any of their dimensions, find where those elements are referenced in the rtconfig.txt and modify the sizes used in the layout accordingly. You may have to manually adjust the position of other elements as well; not everything is positioned relative to its neighbours.

- For simple rearranging you can make a new layout from scratch, or create a layout within another one that only contains the changes you want to make. There are a few examples of this in the default theme - the MCP's "Small" layout has a bunch of element code, and then a tiny sublayout for "Small Sidebar" that only contains two lines of code itself.

- Layouts can also specify their own image folder, so if necessary you can make your own variant with a different image but leave the original as is.

The only downside is that, if the default theme is ever updated (it's happened two or three times for v5), those updates won't automatically migrate to your version.
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Old 01-25-2017, 11:34 PM   #3
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The goal is to avoid having to copy the whole reference theme.

I'd like to make a modification that's like an overlay to an existing theme. If that is not yet possible, perhaps it's worth the effort for the devs if enough of us ask for it. It would save me some time.
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Old 01-26-2017, 12:11 AM   #4
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@ Lokasenna
Do you think it's possible to add a modified layout to a theme using a script or batch file to:
- open/unpack the target theme
- copy the image subfolder for the modified layout to target image folder
- copy the new layout code to the RTCONFIG.TXT
- repack the theme with a new name.
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Old 01-26-2017, 05:54 AM   #5
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It would be a huge pain in the ass trying to parse the rtconfig.txt, but it's certainly possible. I have a script for all of my, er, scripts with a GUI that opens them up, looks for where they ask for the external GUI library, and pastes the entire GUI library into the file.

Not sure about unpacking/repacking the .ReaperThemeZip though.

Sexan was asking about something similar a while back; no idea what, if anything, he was up to.
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Old 01-26-2017, 06:08 AM   #6
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Nothing stopping you from making all the mcp related .png stuff Except, the mcp_bg blank (transparent, but might wanna keep the pink lines), and make the mcp_bg humongous photo-wow or what ever, if you add the command front for the mcp_bg (if possible) then in theory you can't click the buttons, I think, so, make all the stuff transparent instead.
You could in split your graphical mockup of the MCP into 16 peaces (pixel planned) and utilize the multiple layouts in REAPER, if, all the 16 is like different to add realism.
I mean, if all the 16 is identical, then no point doing it.
Just saying and excuse moi if I am on another planet as usual and feel free to correct me, in a loving way.

Ps, yes, the button states needs to be something..
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Old 01-26-2017, 06:51 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airon View Post
Is this possible yet
Automatically? Sorry, no.
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Old 01-26-2017, 08:19 AM   #8
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Thanks. Until that is possible, I'll keep hacking up the theme.
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Old 01-26-2017, 08:32 AM   #9
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You are welcome, no problem.
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Old 01-26-2017, 08:48 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airon View Post
The goal is to avoid having to copy the whole reference theme.
I'm not sure if that is exactly what you want, but you can drag/drop pngs from one theme to another without unpacking everything.

First copy/rename like Lokasenna mentioned.

A quick way to do small changes:
Open the theme with 7zip, WinRAR or whatever, double-click the "*unpacked" folder to open it (still inside the packer) drag/drop the png you want to modify to your desktop. Modify it, save it to the desktop again and drag it back to the packer where you first got it from.

You then can open each theme in a separate instance of e.g. 7zip and drag your modified png from one to the other without renaming anything or unpacking anything. As long as you don't make major changes to the size of the buttons, this works flawlessly.

This way you can just drag and drop all your modified buttons from one theme to the other in one step. (Presumed you copy from your v5 mod to the default v5, of course)

I hope that helps for the moment...
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Old 01-26-2017, 11:53 AM   #11
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I have a similar tip. I make extensive use of "Total Commander" , which is a double-panel filemanager that can enter archives like they're directories. That makes theme hacking a little easier.
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Old 01-26-2017, 03:55 PM   #12
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Ah, yes, I know TotalCommander. With this the drag and drop is much easier than my solution, that's right.
A PC without TC and Notepad++ is useless. No, not really...

Did you know that you can add "custom" toolbar buttons in TotalCommander? You can than drag a file from the window over that toolbar button and it opens immediately in that program.

I'm sure you do, just wanted to spread my unasked knowledge to the world...
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