Skin Developer

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Breadcrumb -- Wiki Main : Skin Developer : Visual Developer : Plug-in Developer : Articles Page : FAQ : Glossary


File:Skins-logo.png

Skins Overview

To put it as simply as possible, skins change the way your Winamp player looks. If you want to get fancy and say that it changes the "User Interface" then you can, but really all you need to know to get you started is if you download a new skin, Winamp will put on a little mask and pretend to look different.

Tools

Before creating a complete skin, you will need the following tools. There are some suggestions below, but we don't necessarily endorse or require you to use any of them. We leave you to choose one that you're most comfortable with.

Bitmap Editor:

How else will you "paint" your skins? Must be able to recognize the .BMP format.

eg. MS Paint, JASC Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop

Text Editor:

For use in configuring the fonts and colors of the Mini-browser and Playlist editor. Also used if you do any transparency.

eg. MS Notepad, TextPad

Icon Editor:

You will need an Icon editor if you are hardcore and want to edit the cursors and pointers associated with your skin.

eg. NeoSoft Icon Editor, Icon Edit Pro, Impact Microangelo

Zip Compression Tool:

Absolutely necessary to publish your skin. Winamp.com will not accept an unzipped skin.

eg. 7-Zip

Creating Classic Skins

Description of a Classic Skin

Classic skins are skins that adhere to the Winamp 2 style model. Classic skins are easier to create than Modern skins but do not allow the author to change the form or function of the player. Classic authors may only replace a standard set of images that alter the player's visual appearance.

A lot of people get really excited when they find out that they can change the look of Winamp through skinning. The problem is they get turned off once they hit a roadblock, be it what to do next, hit a problem submitting to Winamp.com, or indeed, just figuring out how to get started. So here we have a set of simple steps that holds your hand from initial idea to finished masterpiece. Note: Cool kids still use (and create) classic skins. Good luck!


Individual Components

  1. The Base Skin
  2. Paint the Main Window
  3. Paint the Equalizer Window
  4. Paint the Playlist Window
  5. Paint the Minibrowser Window
  6. Paint the AVS Window
  7. Paint the Winamp 2.9/5.x Windows
  8. Create Custom Cursors
  9. Edit the Configuration Files
  10. Compress to .WSZ format
  11. Submit to Winamp.com


Creating Modern Skins

Description/Overview of Modern Skinning

Modern or Freeform skins were originally designed to work with Winamp3. What separates them from the average skin is the fact that they are not confined to the classic rectangular shape. In fact they can be any shape you want them to be and you can put the Winamp control buttons anywhere you want. Some skinners have even added extra buttons that extend the functionality of Winamp right there on the skin. Sounds too good to be true huh? Well these skins require a bit more coding to make and some of the graphics that go into them are quite large. Consequently, Freeform skins may take a bit longer to download from our site and they may take a few extra seconds to load when you switch from one skin to another. But trust me when I say that Freeform skins are worth the extra time and effort. Skin developers have done some incredible things with these skins. You have to check them out.


Tools Needed to Build a Modern Skin

Winamp Skin Development Pack


Individual Components


Downloadable PDF

You can download the tutorial in PDF format for quick reference anytime


Creating a Classic Skin Pro

Description of a cPro Skin

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Tools Needed to Build a cPro Skin

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Tutorial

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Developer Resources

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