Custom KryptonPalettes

[mike001]

Hi,

Wonder whether somebody can help. I currently use the following code to load my palettes

a) In a module

Code: Select all

Public Manager As New ComponentFactory.Krypton.Toolkit.KryptonManager()

b) From each form I call it as follows:

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Try
            Manager.GlobalPaletteMode = System.Enum.Parse(GetType(ComponentFactory.Krypton.Toolkit.PaletteModeManager), strTheme, True)
        Catch ex As ArgumentException
        End Try
       

The 'strTheme' is a string value read from the database.

How does one go about it to do the same with a custom designed palette ?

Thanks

[Phil Wright]

You need to assign a KryptonPalette instance to the KryptonManager.GlobalPalette

[Waescher]

I found a few minutes to begin a new palette called "Diamond".
This is not finished yet - but here's a little preview pic.



pre-order now!

[yannick]

go make linuxStyles :p

[biloxibeachboy]

I've started a Purple Palette but could use some feed back on getting it working right. The file is located Here for download. The palette is looking OK but I want it to look great not OK so any feedback would be appriciated.



I'm color blind so there may be a few issues with the color scheme as well.

[biloxibeachboy]

I found a few minutes to begin a new palette called "Diamond".
This is not finished yet - but here's a little preview pic.

pre-order now!

OK Now that is one that I would love to have!

[biloxibeachboy]

You need to assign a KryptonPalette instance to the KryptonManager.GlobalPalette

New guy here. Could you please expand on this since I don't understand what you are saying?

[Chris Porter]

You need to assign a KryptonPalette instance to the KryptonManager.GlobalPalette

New guy here. Could you please expand on this since I don't understand what you are saying?

Drag a KryptonManager and a KryptonPalette onto your form. In the properties of the KryptonManager, set the GlobalPalette property to the name of the KryptonPalette. From that point, any settings you make in the KryptonPalette will be pushed to all Krypton based controls on your form.

[biloxibeachboy]

You need to assign a KryptonPalette instance to the KryptonManager.GlobalPalette

New guy here. Could you please expand on this since I don't understand what you are saying?

Drag a KryptonManager and a KryptonPalette onto your form. In the properties of the KryptonManager, set the GlobalPalette property to the name of the KryptonPalette. From that point, any settings you make in the KryptonPalette will be pushed to all Krypton based controls on your form.

OK now it makes sense. thanks for the post

[Xplosiv]

Hi,

Has anybody done a theme that has the foolloeing colours:-

Main Colours - White, Black, Grey

Secondary Colours (Text etc):- Dark Red, red

I am only asking as it turns out i am rubbish at making themes

Thanks,

Xplosiv

[wachaz]

Hi Waescher,

I really like your Plastic theme, great work! I think I'll use it in my application in the future, is it ok?
Also I'd like to ask you the name of the Colors you've used in the theme - especially the default text color (the dark brown), and the light gray that is used in a lot of places ex. in the buttons (or if there is a way to query the colors), because I'd like to use the colors in other places, inside other components. Thanks in advance.

[Waescher]

Hi wachaz,

sure, just use it. I'm waiting for the day I start a program and it shows up with a palette of mine

Just open the xml-File with a text editor or the PaletteDesigner to see what colors I'm using in this palette. If the color isn't set explicitly, the color of the BasePalette is used.

You can retrieve this color if you use the KryptonManager in your Code:

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KryptonManager.CurrentGlobalPalette.Get...Color()

[wachaz]

Thanks for the help Waescher. If I finish my app (or at least the gui) I'll show you, what your theme can do

By the way, anyone has an idea how use custom themes in designer mode too? I import the xml at runtime, but it'd be nice to see it in action when designing.

[Waescher]

No problem.

Just put a KryptonPalette on your form. It'll land on the ComponentPanel below the form.
Use the little context-arrow to import a xml-file (usually, I reset the palettes before importing some xml - I had a incomplete palette about 2 times after importing without resetting it first).
Now just select your palette as GlobalPalette on your KryptonManager-Instance.
Ready.

[wachaz]

Thanks for tips. My problem is that I create the Manager and the Palette at runtime from Program.cs. Do you have any tips for this situation?

[Waescher]

So you create you KryptonManager at runtime? Hm, you won't be able to use your Manager at DesignTime.
Why don't you use a KryptonManager-Component on your MainForm? This is the way it's ment to be.

[wachaz]

That was the first way I used it. But later I've found out that I have many forms, and I shouldn't create a manager and a palette to every form, rather I can create one of those in program.cs and it will work for all of the program. I'm not sure that this makes my application lighter but seems to be cleaner. What do you think?

[Chris Porter]

I create a KryptonPaletteForm that contains the KryptonManager and the KryptonPalette that I intend to use for the entire application. From there create an instance of this form whenever the application loads a form that is a parent and not a child to other forms. This also helps with load time of the form if I am opening/closing it a lot in VS as it doesn't have to parse all the Palette code on initialization. It does require that I open the KryptonPaletteForm whenever I load VS for the first time but its worth it.

[wachaz]

Chris, thank you very much for the method, I'm trying but I just don't understand it. Could you please tell this a little "slower"? This is the point where I lost the path: "From there create an instance of this form whenever the application loads a form that is a parent and not a child to other forms." Thanks in advance.

[Chris Porter]

In my environment, I could have multiple "base" forms that are launched independently based on user need. As a result, I have multiple forms that need to share a Krypton Manager/Palette. Also, during development I noticed that a modified Krypton Palette caused my designer file to become much larger and it also slowed my form load times. To resolve this I moved both the Manager and the Palette to a form that does nothing other than act as a container.

When in design time, any settings I have changed on the Manager/Palette (such as defaulting it to Office 2007 Silver) do not apply to other base forms until the container form (KryptonPaletteForm) has been opened. The KryptonPaletteForm can be closed and VS will remember your settings.

To make the KryptonPaletteForm function at runtime you need to load the Manager/Palette into memory so your form will use it's settings. I do this by creating an instance of the form in the constructor of main form I am loading. Example:

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Public Sub New()
    Dim kryptonPaletteForm as New KryptonPaletteForm()

    InitializeComponents()
End Sub


Creating the instance is all I've needed to do to make this work. Hopefully this explanation helps you to understand. Let me know if you have any questions.