Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Judge_Fire · Apr 30, 2005, 05:38 PM

While waiting for ShapeShifter, is there some simple way replace brushed metal with the new, clean-enough-for-me non-texturized look?

J

Kerrigan · Apr 30, 2005, 06:34 PM

I, too, would like to see "plastic" replace brushed metal. Someone must be working on a solution as we speak.

ZXspectrum · Apr 30, 2005, 10:10 PM

Add me to the list

Hi I'm Mike · May 1, 2005, 01:08 AM

go into the files like we did before we had shapeshifter and edit the rsrc files to make them no stripes. you can still theme your system without themepark and shapeshifter, it just takes 9 months longer and 30000 times the stress. believe me I as well as most of the beginning themers have themed like that way before any app was out.

BurpetheadX · May 1, 2005, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

I, too, would like to see "plastic" replace brushed metal. Someone must be working on a solution as we speak.

yea, i love the unified toolbar / plastic look. I wan't every app to have it.

Hi I'm Mike · May 1, 2005, 01:18 AM

or just wait, what did jason say middle of this week? shut your computer off and go for a walk! enjoy life cause it's almost over.. dum dum dum.

goMac · May 1, 2005, 02:26 AM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

I, too, would like to see "plastic" replace brushed metal. Someone must be working on a solution as we speak.

This isn't very easy. It would be easy to force all apps to go to Aqua, but forcing it to go to unified toolbar would be harder.

FYI (I've noted this before) the Plastic theme does not exist. Plastic is just Aqua with a different toolbar. I'm not saying you implied Plastic was it's own thing, it's just a lot of people refer to Plastic as its own appearance now, but Plastic and Aqua are really one in the same.

I think eventually all toolbars in Aqua programs will become unified, so in that respect, all Aqua apps will become "plastic".

Stelex · May 2, 2005, 03:51 AM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

I, too, would like to see "plastic" replace brushed metal. Someone must be working on a solution as we speak.

Try this www.vk4dx.net/mac/

mdc · May 2, 2005, 07:35 AM

i've been busy converting all my aqua apps to use the unified toolbar.
it is not difficult. show the app's contents then find the .nib file that is the window you want unified, check a box, save, reopen the app.

there is another post in the gui forum which has a list of apps and their .nib file you need to edit.

willrob · May 5, 2005, 05:37 PM

Whiteout still works in Tiger. It won't change iTunes, but then it never did, even in Panther.

neo_2510 · May 5, 2005, 07:43 PM

Sorry, but Whiteout isn't really working in Tiger. Tiger is screwed after you applied it. Mail got screwed and it won't handle the spotlight icon in the menu bar.
And the most important part is, the uninstaller isn't working at all.

willrob · May 5, 2005, 08:17 PM

I've had no problems with it, although I was hoping it would be updated for Tiger.

neo_2510 · May 5, 2005, 08:38 PM

Did you try to uninstall it?

willrob · May 7, 2005, 12:00 PM

No I didn't. But I just did and discovered the uninstaller claims there is a newer version in use and won't run. But I've only noticed one problem using it�the over printing of the text at the top of my Mail and System Prefs windows.

But I am also using Unsanity's "Disunity," which seems to prevent the problem. Disunity adds the window bar back to Mail and the problem goes away. Same for System Prefs. I can live with it until whiteout is (maybe) updated. Seems to be no way to contact the developer.

mugget · May 9, 2005, 07:09 AM

so if i want to edit the .nib file to remove the brushed texture from the Finder (just like you can do in Safari) where exactly is the .nib file that i'd be looking for? i did go and have a look in /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/ but i couldn't see anything about 'FinderWindow'? any ideas? or is what i'm looking for in /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder/Contents/Resources/Finder.rsrc? i've never seen any instructions on how to edit that file to remove the brushed metal... so if anyone could help out...

MacDog · May 9, 2005, 10:40 AM

Yeah... I wouldn't mind giving plain-old Aqua a shot, if I could just get rid of the brushed metal!

OAW · May 9, 2005, 03:39 PM

From the info I've been able to gather, a window won't gain the new "plastic" look unless it specifically has a toolbar. So even if you specify it to have the "Unified Titlebar/Toolbar" look .... if it doesn't have a toolbar it will end up looking like a regular Aqua window.

OAW

Mediaman_12 · May 9, 2005, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by mugget

so if i want to edit the .nib file to remove the brushed texture from the Finder (just like you can do in Safari) where exactly is the .nib file that i'd be looking for? i did go and have a look in /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/ but i couldn't see anything about 'FinderWindow'? any ideas? or is what i'm looking for in /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder/Contents/Resources/Finder.rsrc? i've never seen any instructions on how to edit that file to remove the brushed metal... so if anyone could help out...

Unfortunately the Finder is one of the handful of Apps that can't be changed like this, mores the pity.

BlueIce · May 9, 2005, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by Mediaman_12

Unfortunately the Finder is one of the handful of Apps that can't be changed like this, mores the pity.

Doesn't this have something to do with the fact that the Finder isn't a Cocoa app, but a Carbon app? I read an article somewhere once about why the Finder isn't a Cocoa app and while at first blush that seems silly, the reasons pointed out in the article were actually some pretty valid reasons from a developer's viewpoint. I don't remember for certain though so I could be talking from the lower half of my body.

booboo · May 9, 2005, 05:36 PM

I really like the improvements in Tiger, but the GUI is a considerable mess.

Is there any way of running a theme that doesn't require APE Haxies?

mugget · May 9, 2005, 06:58 PM

oh well... no un-brushed Finder windows then?

well at least there's still ShapeShifter.

booboo - you could use a .dlta theme i think? but i don't know if there's any .dlta theme changers out there for Tiger...

cuidado · May 9, 2005, 08:34 PM

Do i need to have xcode installed to view the interface developer or what its called? because atm my browser.nib is a folder with three .nib-files inside, and i have no prog to open them in...?

mugget · May 9, 2005, 08:56 PM

yep you'll need to install XCode to get the Interface app.

chris v · May 9, 2005, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by Stelex

Try this www.vk4dx.net/mac/

Handy tip! I just fixed Safari. The grey of brushed is too dark for my tastes.

RevEvs · May 10, 2005, 05:08 AM

Im pretty happy with Aqua in 10.4, but if i were a themer id have sunken widgets, and replace brushed metal with unified toolbars/or a unified toolbar look for iTunes/Finder... hint hint themers

mugget · May 10, 2005, 06:08 AM

i thought that iTunes and Finder did have the unified title/toolbar?

unified is without the titlebar at the top, right? the Finder and iTunes have never had that.. they've always been unified...

RevEvs · May 10, 2005, 08:48 AM

Unified as in Unified Aqua, not Metal. i.e. how Mail and Sys prefs look in 10.4

the_plan · May 10, 2005, 04:44 PM

I don't know about anyone else, but I did the .nib alteration via Developer Tools as shown on this site http://www.vk4dx.net/mac/ and everything looks great except for a large grey block approx. 80 pixels wide to the right of the scroll bar in every Safari page that opens.

What's this all about?

the_plan · May 10, 2005, 04:49 PM

okay... I just reverted back to a brushed Safari and I still have the block on the right... it's a brushed metal block, but a block nonetheless. What the hell did I do wrong?

the_plan · May 10, 2005, 04:55 PM

Ignore the last 2 posts... Problem solved.

mugget · May 10, 2005, 06:54 PM

couldn't just have waited to see if we could solve the problem, or edit the first post could we?

the_plan · May 10, 2005, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by mugget

couldn't just have waited to see if we could solve the problem, or edit the first post could we?

I had been trying to solve the problem for about an hour before I posted the message, then realized I could just get an unmodified browser.nib file from my room mate and start over. I'm not big on message boards, so I didn't know I could delete my initial post.

mugget · May 10, 2005, 09:39 PM

don't worry about it. i'm just having a go at you.

no need to delete your initial post... but you can always edit it to add to it, just so you know for the future.

RevEvs · May 11, 2005, 03:59 AM

Originally Posted by mugget

don't worry about it. i'm just having a go at you.

no need to delete your initial post... but you can always edit it to add to it, just so you know for the future.

hows one to get a huuuge post count if they keep editing their posts though

the_plan · May 11, 2005, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by RevEvs

hows one to get a huuuge post count if they keep editing their posts though

Yeah... now that's something to be really proud of.

King Bob On The Cob · May 11, 2005, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by mugget

i thought that iTunes and Finder did have the unified title/toolbar?

unified is without the titlebar at the top, right? the Finder and iTunes have never had that.. they've always been unified...

Brushed finder came around in 10.3 I think. So before that it was a normal aqua window.