Old 02-03-2018, 02:42 PM   #1
Frank B
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Default What am I doing wrong?

Open theme
1. change file to .zip
2. unzip contents
3. event accomplished I successfully opened the theme

Closing theme
1. compress folder (using Mac)
2. change name of zipped file by adding mod etc. to it
3. change the name to .ReaperThemeZip by removing the decimal
4. drag new theme to color themes folder

Results are a blank basic looking theme missing all elements.
This happens even if I don't change anything and just close the theme back up
I have been failing at this for years now and as a result I just give up on it

can some one direct me to the exact way to close a theme that may be different then the way I believe it to be as above?

Thanks
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Old 02-03-2018, 03:11 PM   #2
solger
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Make sure to select the 'unpacked'-Folder and '.ReaperTheme'-file and compress those two into a zip file.

As example the folder structure of the Default_5.0.ReaperThemeZip looks like this:

Default_5.0.ReaperThemeZip:
- Folder: Default_5.0_unpacked
- File: Default_5.0_unpacked.ReaperTheme


You can find some additional hints here (see post #5): https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=133169

Last edited by solger; 02-03-2018 at 03:42 PM.
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Old 02-03-2018, 04:44 PM   #3
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Yep. One of the basic problems many seem to have with the themes is that they are usually able to open (unzip) the contents, but they are packing (zipping) the contents back together wrong. ReaperThemeZip itself is the the zipped container, nothing inside it should be compressed separately.

The often suggested renaming of the theme to ReaperTheme.Zip is done only to get the file managing programs to understand that this is a zip package, so they can handle it when you want to access the things inside. Some programs will be able to do this without renaming too. Then when the edits/mods have been done to the files that were inside, they must not be compressed separately back in. Again, the ReaperTheme.Zip itself is the compressed container, what goes inside must stay as is, otherwise you'll have compressed files inside a compressed container. In that case Reaper will not find/use those files inside.

Finally, if the theme file was renamed in the beginning to have the .Zip extension, it must be renamed back so that Reaper recognizes it as a theme file.

All the unpacked theme files and folders can also be compressed together into a new zip package, like solger said above. In that case you would select all the unpacked files/folders and choose a proper theme name for your new package, eg. My_default_5.ReaperThemeZip. Worth noticing is that the package archivers usually add the package extension to the name, so you'll have to make sure your final theme package doesn't have a Zip.zip ending before you try to use it in Reaper.
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Old 02-03-2018, 06:13 PM   #4
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everyone is saying it right... here is step by step:

select both the theme file AND the folder of png files

that is what you make the new zip file with

name it whatever you want, but then eventually
rename so it this ending xxxxx.ReaperThemeZip

the xxxxx part can be whatever name you want
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Old 02-03-2018, 06:42 PM   #5
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I always see this issue of the renaming not working properly. I have never done it that way. Use 7-zip and when you are ready to make the theme zip, just select both the file and folder then right-click and select "add to archive", then type in the name of your theme followed by .ReaperThemeZip and compress...done. No renaming and always works every time.

Also, a common mistake is when someone changes the name of the theme and doesn't resave it in the tweaker, so that the file doesn't direct to the proper folder. Always make sure to do that before repackaging the theme zip.
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Old 02-04-2018, 08:56 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cincikat69 View Post
Use 7-zip and when you are ready to make the theme zip, just select both the file and folder then right-click and select "add to archive", then type in the name of your theme followed by .ReaperThemeZip and compress...done. No renaming and always works every time.
Our 7-zip versions might work a bit differently? Here if I add all the files to an archive and name it eg. My theme.ReaperThemeZip, that's the archive I will get, but it won't work in Reaper. Now, if I name my new archive My theme.ReaperThemeZip and select zip as the archive format, I will get a file My theme.ReaperThemeZip.zip. That file will require renaming, removing the last .zip, but it will work in Reaper after that.

I do all my file managing with Total Commander. There handling the theme files is a simple matter of adding or removing period in front of the Zip in the theme name. If I have added the period, Total Commander sees it as a zip package and I can cut, copy, paste, delete, drag and drop files back and forth all I want. Then when I decide to try the theme, I'll remove the period from the theme name and it's back to a regular Reaper theme. Very simple and no danger of double packing or making archives in formats which won't work.

Not to say that this would be any better than other methods, but to remind that regardless of those, checking the file type and renaming might still be needed in the end. This may very well be a bigger problem for the people who don't see the file extensions in whatever file managers they are using.
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Old 02-04-2018, 09:59 AM   #7
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In addition to the hints above about checking file extensions:

Under macOs, it's a good strategy to check the whole file name (name.extension) in Finder via File > Get Info (especially if file extensions are hidden).
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Old 02-04-2018, 10:23 AM   #8
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@xpander -

I should clarify..."add to archive (zip)". Then just select the whole text and type in as I said before. It doesn't add the extra .zip extension at the end...at least it never has for me. I've been doing it this way for years with no issues loading themes.
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Old 02-04-2018, 10:45 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cincikat69 View Post
I should clarify..."add to archive (zip)". Then just select the whole text and type in as I said before. It doesn't add the extra .zip extension at the end...at least it never has for me. I've been doing it this way for years with no issues loading themes.
Ah, thanks for the clarification, that works. So once the archive format has been selected (or pre-selected) and the theme name then typed as you said, it indeed doesn't add the zip extension to the name anymore and it will work in Reaper straight away.
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Old 02-04-2018, 02:21 PM   #10
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What about just leaving it unzipped? That's what I do. ;-)
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Old 02-04-2018, 03:06 PM   #11
Frank B
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Thanks for all the responses.
my issue was trying to compress the main folder instead of both the folder and the file inside it.
works now thanks
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