Main > Software Forum
What kind of buttons do you use for skinning?
unclet:
I have a VB6.0 application in which I use a lot of normal VB command buttons. This makes my application look really "Windows-ey". I would like to replace those crappy looking buttons with nice buttons (ie: ovals, circles, box with round corners, etc...), however, I am not sure how most people do this. I have been looking around for some user controls which other people have created but nothing seems worth while (at least with the ones I found).
For those of you with VB experience in using nice buttons, how do you recommend I go about doing this?
1) Do most people simply use Image controls in place of an actual command buttons, thus allowing people to skin each button with their own design?
2) Do people actually allow people to skin each "button" in the application with an image (or color)?
3) How does skinning really work when buttons are involved?
Thanks for any insight you can provided me here. I would really like people to have the ability to skin my application but have no idea how this is done when buttons are involved.
headkaze:
I don't really code in VB6 anymore and if I was to write jukebox software it would be using Direct Draw or prefereably Direct3D. If worse came to worse I would use GDI+, but I would definately try to avoid writing anything graphical like jukebox software in a Windows form. I'm not trying to put down your software, I'm just saying the way I would do it (so in most cases I won't be much help with your app). Having said that I do understand your plight and remember tackling the issue myself back when I was learning VB6.
I just had a look through some old archives and found an old VB6 app I wrote that skinned a normal app to make it look a little like OSX. It's not ideal since you wouldn't want to load the buttons images when you roll over an image like I have done. I would have everything in an ImageList or something. There are some great VB6 forums that I used to visit called Xtreme VB Talk. There are plenty of people that can help you with anything related to VB6 over there.
unclet:
I have never used any of those tools you mentioned before. Too late to start trying right now anyway :>)
I will have a look at your attached project. Also, I will go to the site you recommended as well. Thanks
youki:
I didn't code in VB since a long long time...
But i think what i would do is to use image . In fact as VB 6 Like OCX , i think i would build my own GraphicButton button OCX that would be configurable with properties like "normalImage" , "ClickedImage", "RollOverImage" where you simply define image you want for these state. And may be a property like "TransparentColor".
Then i would use this ocx everywhere i need a graphic button.
I talk about OCX, but it could be a simple Class. But i think the advantage of the OCX in VB is that you will be able to drag and drop the button on your form from the U.I and configure it with the property editor.
But i'm pretty sure that this kind of OCX already exists.
Howard_Casto:
I don't even bother with real 'buttons' in such cases because they aren't needed.
A picturebox or image control can display literally anything, has mouse-over/down ect events and that all important click event. Remember, those fancy looking, "non-windowsy" apps like winamp use such a technique (although at this point I think they have moved on to dx or soemthing hardware accelerated. Like hk said though, anymore when I use vb for something "purdy" I use dx rendering. Vs6 just has too much flickering to implement animation and blend effects, and gdi+ is slow and harder to work with imho.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version