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Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2441		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:20 am ]
Post subject:  Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Hi,

I've been delving into how to make the "Windows 7 Style" menu look fully transparent (no color) but I can't seem to get it to work. I'm using Windows 7 x64.

First I tried all the options in Settings but that wouldn't work. So then I started editing the Windows Aero.skin7 file via ResHacker. So far, I've tried different settings in the SKIN section, and I've edited the Bitmap #2 file to make a fully red border (also did that for #9 and #14).

Nothing I am doing seems to affect the blackish color of the Windows 7 Style skin. Most of the Windows 7 visual styles I use are fully transparent, so it looks off to have the start menu look transparent black/grey.

How can I make the border of that menu completely transparent? I've also tried using 'magic pink' for #1 bitmap but that won't work. I've about exhausted every method I know to do, so before I waste any more time I thought I'd better as the experts :)

Thanks...
Author:  Ivo [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
You need to edit the main bitmap to have zero alpha. You will need an image editor that supports transparency, like Photoshop or Gimp.
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Thanks for the reply, Ivo. I edited the main bitmaps again in Photoshop but this time saved them as 32-bit and that worked better but still it has a gray overlay of sorts. When I did 24-bit it didn't seem to work at all (got mangled). I'm not using Indexed mode, though, should/can I? I am using "Alpha" btw.

I noticed in the SKIN section of the .skin7 file it mentions red and green:
Quote:
; Main_bitmap_mask - a bitmap or a solid color in #RRGGBB format that is used to blend Main_bitmap with the glass color and the menu background color.
; The red channel is the weight of the glass color and the green channel is the weight of the background color
Main_bitmap_mask=2
Main_bitmap_search_mask=9
Main_bitmap_jump_mask=14

Is this something I need to mess around with, or not? I did give the bitmask bitmaps a solid red color (rather than the red/black gradient they have originally) but I wasn't sure what this was doing, if anything.
Author:  Ivo [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
You don't need a mask if you want full transparency. It will only change the color, which doesn't matter when alpha is zero.
Try also setting the opacity to fullalpha instead of fullglass.
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Thanks, Ivo. Well I tried everything, and any combination I can find, but it won't look right. It always has a greyish overlay (regardless of Windows settings and/or themes/vs's) no matter what I try. When I tried the fullalpha setting in SKIN section it was the closets, but still greyish color. The other thing with fullalpha is that there is no more blur. But I haven't been able to get it to be like proper glass. So I'm not sure it's possible to achieve what I want with this skin/method.

Question: if I don't need the bitmap masks, what do I do with them? Just leave them in unaltered, or should I remove them/disable them somehow? I couldn't find how to disable them.

I really like the Windows 7 Style menu option because you can set it to go straight to Programs (without having to hover or wait). I set the hover settings back to 80,000 so even if you accidentally hover over the Programs/Back button it won't activate right away. What I would love is for the Network on the side panel to expand into a menu, but I don't think that's possible with this skin.
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Has anyone ever successfully accomplished what I am trying to do? Because I looked around the net for answers to this but couldn't find any. I found some recommendations but I'm not sure if anyone actually successfully achieved this. I can see the logic behind some of the suggestions but does it actually work when you try it?
Author:  Ivo [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
You can't have blur if you have 100% transparent skin. To me "transparent" means "don't change the background". The blur does change the background.

Maybe I misunderstand what you are trying to do. Can you provide screenshot of what it looks like right now and (approximately) what you want it to look like? BTW, the glass itself has some tint to it. Even if you manage to make the bitmap fully transparent, the glass will still add its own shade.
Author:  Gaurav [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
I think what trala wants is something like what the Full Glass skin does with the "More transparent" option but in the Windows 7 style/right column only.
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
This is how the default start menu looks with one of the VS's I use. It has pretty much a glass border with very little tint to it, if any:



This is how Classich Shell start menu with the Windows 7 Style menu option makes it look (using the same VS):



What I'm trying to do is maintain the same glass like transparency as in the upper image but without the blackish tint to it. I can't seem to achieve it. When I edit the bitmaps it just becomes washed out light grey at best. I'd like the menu to match the windows and taskbar border colors.

Sorry if I'm not using the right terminology, it's entirely possible :)
Author:  Ivo [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Attach your main bitmap here (the bitmap for the Main_bitmap, usually resource #1)
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
OK, I included the original .skin7 file (unaltered), the original bitmap 1, and the bitmap 1 edit I did as well. Thanks!

Attachments:
w7style-bitmap.7z [44.41 KiB]
Downloaded 1049 times
Author:  Ivo [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu  Topic is solved
Your alpha channel is still unchanged. You need to make it much darker where you want the transparency, almost or completely black.
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
OK, I think you got me in the right direction now. I thought I was pretty good at Photoshop but I completely overlooked the alpha channels under 'Channels'. Duh... So you are right, alpha channel remained unchanged. The other thing I was doing wrong was I was doing the opposite thing: I was deleting content rather than making it black.

When I did completely black (which becomes red in alpha channel) the menu was too light/transparent. So it does need some tint in it to not look overexposed. I see I will also have to edit the edges of the border too because they are too pronounced/dark.

Thanks for the tips, I'll play with this for a while and see how far I can get.
Author:  trala [ Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Ah yes, it does work, it was the VS I was using that had a color setting in the .theme file that would case the overexposed look. So this is what it looks like now, great:



If anyone is interested, I attached the .skin7 file with the changes already applied.

Attachments:
Windows Aero.skin7 [399.5 KiB]
Downloaded 2264 times
Author:  Gaurav [ Tue Apr 08, 2014 10:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
Thanks for sharing your transparent skin, trala.
Author:  trala [ Tue Apr 08, 2014 1:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Full transparency for "Windows 7 Style" menu
You're welcome, Gaurav :)

I thought the user account picture frame for the Win7 start menu was a bit thick (or maybe I was just bored with it) so I made a finer/sleeker frame and included it in the 'Windows 7 Style' skin file. I have attached the .skin7 file to this post. It looks like this:



Attachments:
Windows Aero.skin7 [399.5 KiB]
Downloaded 1383 times
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