Classic Shell: Forum

Hi.

In all Classic Start Menu themes the background of search field is always in white. I tried to edit this color with ResHacker but I was not successful, in the same way I tryed to delete the magnifying glass button or insert it into the search box,

unsuccessfully.

Is it possible?

Yes it is: which type of skin are you working with? a .skin7 or a .skin?
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6142
This thread has a huge pile of skins, and should contain something that changes the fields you are looking for. If you want more

Here is specifically a black searchbox:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5220
(halfway down that page)
If you need more direction let us know

Wow, many thanks!

I use Smoked Glass.skin, but I managed to change the color with the .skin7 theme Glyphs. I suppose however that inserting the magnifying glass into the search box will require some more complicated editing with bitmaps. But it was very good without the contrast that distracted the look, better than this only if the background was transparent.

Transparent background is doable, but it can be very distracting, especially if there is a window behind it
and yes to change the magnifying glass you would have to replace the resource with a new one

Looks like you did it already SorryForMyEN.

Well, I'm a little late in the game.
I played around with a Classic 1/2 smoked glass skin.
Here is the modded skin uploaded.


Transparent search box? I never knew that could be done.
Lack of skinning documentation. I've seen it on some of Start9 menus of Splitwirez.

I do know that the search box that is used in Classic 1/2 style menus only uses the built in one of the program.
So the search magnifier is always outside the search box.
Even if a real search background image is installed in skin file, program disregards it.

The text background can be forced to be a different color other than white,
by borrowing some text from the Midnight 7 style skin.

I notice the search box does flash a little when the menu opens when using a system glass color mask.
( I think the flash has to do with the timing of system glass color turning on, and menu animation speed )
Probably due to being forced to do something it was not programmed for.

The search frame is also built into the program, and there is no way to change its grey color.


That's about as much as I know.
Most of the added text is at the bottom of the skin file, if you want to modify further.

EDIT: Now revB
Fix for 2nd column separator not showing on HIDPI

In fact, I do not know if a search box with transparency would look nice. I believe that a very light transparency would make the overview more uniform and readable for SmokedGlass even over a window with high contrasts. But first I need to get this to say.

And no, juniper7, I was not able to change anything even using your model. I inserted the code from [SEARCH_BOX_COLORED] and bitmaps 109 and 105, but I did not get the transparency and I could not delete the magnifying glass. But I really appreciate your sharing and Jcee's, I learned something more about the code and the skin was much more palatable now.

Sorry, I still don't know how to make search box background transparent.
I tried many things.
I did not put a skin option setting for that.

Only Ivo and Jcee must know, and I think Ivo will be shutting down this site soon unless time got extended?

Maybe you should send your requests over on Open-Shell fork:

https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/issues

Meh i know the overall background can be transparent. the search specifically I dont recall. you've got more skins under your belt than me; so most likely not possible . I was just commenting that even if it was possible, anything with detail makes it really hard to read text on a transparent background. unless you can add the blur. and even then its hard to account for the background color (if you got black text, and a black background you cant read it. same with white.

Yes, It would look terrible if it was transparent to behind the start menu.
It only needs to be transparent to show the start menu behind it, like how a selector button normally works.

I'm sure it can be done. We just don't have all the info to do it, and time is running out.

Take a look at the purple menu picture of a modded Smoked Glass 7 style skin. It uses a real search image.
I intentionally made the Search_background image fully transparent on the outside (was already), and inside of the white frame.
I could have erased the frame as well but kept to show that the inside of search box can be transparent,
except for the narrow white bar area, which I think is some kind of internal opaque mask in the program.

If we could figure how to get rid of that, then at least it would work on a 7 style menu.
There has to be some keyword to use in a skin file to disable that opaque mask.

Classic Shell is still up. Time for one more simple skin.

Here is another one of those classic 1/2 style menus with a darker search box option.
No round menu corners, just square.
Mostly flat, less saturated dark glass colour or very dark without colour menu.
Can switch between blur and old transparency.


I don't recall seeing the millisecond glass color flash when opening parts of menu from like a year ago.
It must have something to do with using newer Windows 10 upgrade versions.
They are always messing up something as they shift forward.
Example: The jump lists stop working on the Classic Shell menu. I found out Win 10 update turned off Jump lists.

Anyway, back to the original subject.
Back in the start menu skins pages, there are a few more similar dark search box skins somewhere.
Even Dr. mykou was experimenting with black search box Classic Shell menus for DeviantArt and Youtube in the past.

At some point in time, I will ask over on GitHub if they can add skin text for a transparent search box,
and a way to colour the internal search frame.

EDIT:
Just now I put in a request on GitHub Open-Shell
Will see if anything happens.
My name over there is "CTVCAM8"

https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shel ... issues/129

Another one for the road.
It's just a dark opaque 7 style skin.7

Even though I never figured out a transparent search box,
what bugs me more is the search box flashes for a brief instant.
What I now see happens, is part of the inside of dark-colored search box will show the desktop behind the menu,
( like when using a 24-bit selector bitmap instead of 32-bit on a transparent menu).
Problem is, it's an opaque menu with alpha opacity.
I can duplicate effect almost every time by hovering over submenu entries, then click on the search box.
If I switch to region opacity the flashing goes away, but due to the round menu corners,
extra artifacts there don't look so hot, so it has to be alpha opacity on this menu.

I might bring it up on GitHub, but I see there are only about 4 persons over there who help out when they have time,
and it's not exactly crippling menu operation.



Edit: Added opaque glass color for Windows 10. Now revision H
It does look a bit goofy.

Win7,8 will desaturate/wash out the color. Boost it in Color & Appearance settings,
or can improve slightly by adjusting CSM settings in "Menu Look" tab with:
Menu glass intensity: 50
Menu color blending:0

The iPhone frame looks pleasing to me. I must have iPhone-envy.
Still using my old Nokia flip.

As Classic Shell site is still up and sometimes there are over 400 guests, ( campers?)
I'm in process of gutting much of rev H and making a simpler custom image menu.
See under construction picture below. I'm thinking of putting a bunch of abstract images inside the skin,
like meetHG has done.


Let's see If I can beat the shutdown.

Update:
I'm still working on it after encountering some snafus.
Some are bugs that can't be fixed. Others are my mistakes.
Another one to two days to add everything. Picture menus tend to be big files.
I'm expecting around 3 meg download size by the time I finish.
I'll place it in the Start Menu Skins section