changing look and feel of an app

  • Thread starter Thread starter shahbazc
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shahbazc

I would like to know if there are any examples, tutorial on how to
completely change an application's look and feel. By that I mean the
colors, the way menus are drawn, the way tool bar items are spaced in a
tool bar, the way tab identifiers are shaped, etc., etc.

There are a few interesting 'LAFs' such as MS Money 2005, MSN Messenger
6.2, Office 2003...just to name a few basic ones. I would like to have
one of my graphic designer friends do a mock up in photoshop then
produce an application that looks like it (I'm assuming it all has to
be done programatically so designers would have to resort to something
like photoshop).

I also understand that part of the reason the aforementioned
applications look the way they do is because of controls which are not
available publicly...despite that, if designer can create websites
(with primitive components) that can draw powerful and diverse
emotional reactions, I don't understand why rich client GUIs have to
look so ugly and gray (obviously 'consistency' has its place too).

Any way, it will be even better if someone can point me to publicly
available LAFs, the way we are starting to see them for the Java/SWING
community.

Thanks!
 
Hello,

Getting your applications to look good starts first with design. Those that
have poor looking applications haven't spent much time on the design or are
simply not qualified for it. I don't mean that in a bad way, I would say
most coders are not designers and vice versa. So, if you are a coder
without a budget and under time constraints your application probably isn't
going to look the best. Yes, this should be easier and Microsoft is making
steps forward with UI design in Visual Studio 2005 code named Whidbey. Here
are some resources showing that:

Video: http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=21658
Sample Apps: http://www.windowsforms.net/Default.aspx?tabindex=4&tabid=49
Click "Whidbey Beta 1"

So what about now. My suggestion to you is to study up on System.Drawing.
Learn about drawing shapes, brushes, colors, etc, etc. Get very familiar
with the OnPaint event and owner draw. There are some examples of how to
modify menus, tabs, and buttons at http://dotnetrix.co.uk/tips.html

In your search, when you find more good resource please add them back so
everyone can learn.

Best of luck,

--
Tom Krueger

Smart Client DevCenter - http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient/
Mobile DevCenter - http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility

This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
 
Here are some comments I recieved from others.
1. Read Programming Windows with C# from front-to-back, then read it again.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/102-6006673-0206553?v=glance&s=books

2. Read
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnanchor/html/anch_uidesigndev.asp

3. Really look at the office UI.

4. Remove your mouse and use your applications for a week via keyboard only.

5. Read through the Framework Windows and Drawing namespace a few time.

6. Code, code, code.

7. Use this news group as a resource for WinForm questions.

8. More code, code, code.


--
Tom Krueger

Smart Client DevCenter - http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient/
Mobile DevCenter - http://msdn.microsoft.com/mobility

This posting is provided "as is" with no warranties and confers no rights.
 
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