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Q1 2009 where are the skins ????

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CSurieux
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CSurieux asked on 03 Apr 2009, 05:37 PM
Hello,

Trying to get a new skin for treeview I just discovered that skins are no more presented in demo app.

And I found no explication for this.
I am very disapointed as I have telerik skins everywhere in my app.

Were to go from this point: will skin be definitivelly out of scope fo next version and what is the new concept, how to migrate ???


Some urgent clarification is needed.

CS

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CSurieux
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answered on 03 Apr 2009, 06:03 PM
Ok found the 'skin pb' thread.

My opinion is thta you should have adpoted new names for new skins.
We have build colors, fonts based on 'old' skin and keeping the skin name with a color change was not a good choice.
On my part I have serious rework based caused by this.
And the old skins finally found in a zip bring to a more intensive work as they are no more in resources...

This one was a bad choice.

CS
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Ivo
Telerik team
answered on 06 Apr 2009, 03:01 PM
Hello CS,

This forum thread gives a couple of suggestions how to use the skins from Q3 2008 with Q1 2009 release.

All the changes we have made on the skins are based on customer feedback and we strive to always improve the look and feel of RadControls. We have done all the latest changes for several reasons: consistency for all skin elements’ sizes, colors and fonts, streamline naming conventions, seamless nesting of various controls, prepare the framework for the Visual Style Builder (a tool that aims to make skinning the Telerik components a breeze -- ultimately, we are trying to provide a way to fully customize the look of the RadControls components through a visual interface, without the need to know the front-end structure of the components).  

All the new skins are well accepted from customers and we have already received a lot of positive feedback on the changes we have made.

Nevertheless, change (even for the better) as we all know introduces more work for existing projects. We have done our best to make the transition as smooth as possible and we have provided a tool to convert skins from Q3 2008 to Q1 2009. We have also converted all previous embedded skins to the new conventions. Details on how to use previous skins with the new release are the forum post I have provided above (you might save some work by using ASP.NET Themes instead of going through all pages to update the skin registration).

All this being said we are available to help you in this transition as best as we can. We would help you upgrade your skins and projects if you send us all the details in a support ticket.

Best wishes,
Ivo
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CSurieux
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answered on 06 Apr 2009, 09:48 PM
Hi Ivo,

I appreciate your efforts clarifying all this.
Some bad choice have no permanents effects....time is fusing...
Concerning old skins, we have no interest to keep them in our code as they became old without any alert: the fly of butterfly certainly.

Concerning the option of having the skin selector in demo replacing the old appearence menu item, I would say it don't bring very good effects, especially when backgroup for the sample is a fixed color or image....

I will wait the new skin tool.

Thanks
CS
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Ivo
Telerik team
answered on 07 Apr 2009, 07:24 AM
Hello CS,

The first functional preview of the Visual Style builder is expected in about a month.
I have attached a prototype on how the tool will look like.


Kind regards,
Ivo
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CSurieux
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answered on 07 Apr 2009, 02:07 PM
Looks good but it seems to be a web tool ?
A Visual studio extension would be a must ...is it planned ?

And what about extensions in resources ?
I remember the first radControls with their thousand skins which were killing installers on each change...do we go back to this schema ?

CS
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Ivo
Telerik team
answered on 08 Apr 2009, 08:04 AM
Hello CS,

The first version of the Visual Style Builder will be only web-based and from then on we will get feedback from customers how to extend it. One of our goals is to facilitate the collaboration of Telerik community members and that is why we have decided to go with an online tool. We want to provide people with a tool to easily create and share custom skins. Currently, there are many customers who have created excellent custom skins but there is not an easy way for them to share with other people who are looking for additional skins (besides the 11 default ones we are shipping in the assembly)

Only the default skins coming from Telerik will be included as resources in the assembly. All custom skins will need to be added as external with EnableEmbeddedSkins=false and registering the skins manually.

Kind regards,
Ivo
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CSurieux
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answered on 08 Apr 2009, 11:15 AM
Ok I understand all this.
My concerns are related to my product wich is package in a setup.
And being in the necessity to package hundred of files is a difficulty, so I am actually limited to skins in resource and I use MS themes to bring them together, it works good.
The must would be that your your skin toll cold provide an automated process to pack new skins in a resource file....


Thanks for all
CS
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-DJ-
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answered on 08 Apr 2009, 03:52 PM
Hi guys,

The VSB preview looks good.
One quick question: I see an image option for the background image, as well as colour, repeat and opacity. But no background-position option?

The VSB will surely support sprites?

Regards,
-DJ-
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Alex Gyoshev
Telerik team
answered on 09 Apr 2009, 11:44 AM
Hello guys,

@Christian: we started thinking about such functionality, but I guess our current skinning model does not support such scenario yet. You are talking about exporting the skins in an external assembly and using it without much hassle, or am I wrong?

@Daniel: I think that calling this a mere "attention to detail" would be offending! The attached screenshot is one of the designs that were made along with the prototypes. Since then, we've added the background-position property editing. I'm attaching a more recent screenshot - hope you like it.

As a teaser: working with colors is so addictive! I catch myself changing borders and colors without testing in mind...

Kind regards,
Alex
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-DJ-
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answered on 09 Apr 2009, 12:06 PM
Yes, pink borders are famous for their addictive nature :)

I would be extremely interested in beta testing VSB if you plan some open tests before launch.

Regards,
-DJ-
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Alex Gyoshev
Telerik team
answered on 09 Apr 2009, 12:49 PM
Hi Daniel,

Thank you for the enthusiasm! We're currently working towards integrating a few controls (other than the PanelBar) to work with the VSB, and once we're done (in a few weeks), we'll release a CTP - your feedback on it will be highly appreciated.

Regards,
Alex
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CSurieux
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Ivo
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-DJ-
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Alex Gyoshev
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