MaLa Background Question

[97thruhiker]

Well I'm slowly figuring my way through MaLa (even with my own problems I think this frontend is great, will probably become the standard for frontends).  Well everything seems to be working for me now except for one thing.  When I start the frontend it starts in the vertical mode and has the text options I set in the layout editor.  The only thing is that my background image is not being displayed.  If I go into the layout editor and click on the background image it shows the link to my selected image.  Whats happening is the color thats being displayed in the box is being brought over my selected image when running the frontend (in the editor mode my selected image is present).  Is there a way to get rid of the color selection or send it behind the image? Is there something I'm missing here?  Thanks.

[loadman]

Can you e-mail me your layout.?

I'm happy to have a look for you

I'm sure it's something simple   

[swindus]

Did you create a folder named like your layout (mll) file which holds the background image?
You can also disable the use of folders for layouts in the options dialog (gui->layout->use layout names for directory names)  if you want to share images within more than one layout.

[loadman]

Hi,
  I got it to work (see attached pic), You may want to change the font colour or background image brightness to your taste so it stands out better.

  I renamed that layout to just 'kong' to keep it simple. I made a directory called the same name 'kong' and the image is kept in that folder (you guessed it) Kong.
I will e-mail it to you.

[97thruhiker]

Thanks for the help  .  I will be looking for your email.  So was the problem in how I was labeling the folders?  Yes, I will either change the font color or lighten the background image (or both) as the yellow is a little difficult to pickup.  I have just been stuck with the image problem and wanted to try to figure it out before I messed around further with the font again.  The layout is about as simple as it gets but will work out great for what I want.  Thanks again for your help.

As I previously mentioned even with the problems I am having I think this frontend is wonderful.  Those responsible for its creation should be appaulded  .

[loadman]

The problem was the image did not seem to be set up properly. I also simplified the folder setup as that is just how I would do it. The folder name needs to match the layout name.
(Unless you change the settings as SWINDUS Indicated)

To get it to work I had to add it as a snap/title.. See pic

And I 'sent it to back' and changed it properties to darken it (so you had some Chance to see the text above it'

[97thruhiker]

Thanks again everybody.  After disabling the folder \ layout option suggested by Swindus everything seems to be working perfectly now.  Also, looking at the example loadman provided I have seen how things are layered within the layout.  I've already made up 3-4 basic layouts that look great.  This frontend seems almost too easy now.  Combine this frontend with even moderate Adobe Photoshop experience and I can see some seriously cool layouts being put out (like gamecreature).  My free 30-day trial of photoshop runs out in about a week so I better get busy (or maybe I'll just buy it).

[loadman]

Cool

Don't forget to 'share your work' and let us see how you did  :-)

After disabling the folder \ layout option suggested by Swindus everything seems to be working perfectly now.

I prefer to have that option on as it keeps my mala directory neat (no big deal either way). If you use that option the folder name (that you put artwork etc in) must match you layout name

[Random24]

My free 30-day trial of photoshop runs out in about a week so I better get busy (or maybe I'll just buy it).

If you are worried about your 30 day trial running out why don't you just download a free alternative?

I have found that GIMP does just about everything I need to do image manupulation.  It even opens Photoshop PSD files!

[97thruhiker]

Thanks for the link.  I will definitly give that a try.  It's not like I'm a professional graphics artist or anything.