BetterCalc supports special appearance module files called “Skins”. Skin files are placed into the Skins folder inside the BetterCalc folder. All skins in that folder are read into BetterCalc at application startup.
BetterCalc reads all files in that folder (except for the invisible file named “Icon” which is the Skins folder’s icon) into its memory, so it is not recommended to place any files other than Skin files into this folder.
The anatomy of a Skin
Skin files are basically resource files that contain image and text data. Skin files can be created in any resource editor (such as ResEdit or Resorcerer).
The Skin appearance is contained in a PICT resource whose ID number is 128. The skin’s name is contained in a TEXT resource whose ID numer is also 128. The Skin file only contaisn the window’s background, not the controls (the text fields).
A Skin should be created so that the areas reserved for the close and collapse boxes are clearly visible. Here’s a sample of a skin background:
This Skin, ColorMetallix, is supposed to have a one pixel wide border. The window where the skin will be placed already has a border, so there’s no need to draw it into the skin.
The Close and Zoom boxes are always at the locations shown above. Also, the window’s Content region is always where it is in this sample. However, the Content region doesn’t need to have a border.
The best way to create a Skin is to make a copy of an existing Skin, copy the PICT#128 resource, paste it into an image editor, create a new Skin based on the existing Skin, copy that new Skin back into the resource file and save the resource file. Ta-dah! A new BetterCalc Skin! ;-)
