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This Page Last Updated October 21st, 2006.
How to create WinRAR theme file
1. Introduction
Theme file is RAR archive containing an alternative set of graphics
and winrar_theme_description.txt file.
2. Name format
Theme file must have .theme.rar extension, so its name format is:
basename.anytext.theme.rar
WinRAR creates a folder for theme graphics using 'basename' name part,
so you need to select something sensible and unique as basename
to avoid overwriting already installed themes. 'Anytext' part is optional
and ignored by WinRAR. You may use it, for example, to include the version
information. Here are a couple of possible theme file names:
Snow.ver21.theme.rar - it will be installed to 'Themes\Snow' folder
Marine.theme.rar - it will be installed to 'Themes\Marine' folder
3. winrar_theme_description.txt file
Theme file must contain winrar_theme_description.txt file in
the root folder. It is a plain text ASCII file containing
the following commands:
a) 'title' command
Format:
title=
where is a text string displayed as a theme name
in the "Options/Themes" menu. If you provide several themes
with different toolbar sizes, it may be a good idea to include
the toolbar size into the title text.
Examples:
title=Snow 32x32
title=Snow 48x48
title=Marine
b) 'about' command
Format:
about=
where is information to display in WinRAR "About"
dialog. For example, it can be a copyright string or theme author name.
You can use '\n' characters to split the theme description to two lines
in the desired position. Do not use more than one '\n', because "About"
dialog has enough space only for two description strings. Also do not use
too long string, otherwise it will not fit into the dialog.
Examples:
about=Marine by Peter
about=© 2004 AlexDesignStudio.\nwww.AlexDesignStudio.com.
4. Graphics files
Theme file should contain the following graphics files.
In the root archive folder:
AboutLogo.bmp - 261x49 logo in "About" dialog
DiskOff.ico - 16x16 "inactive disk" icon in the status bar
DiskOn.ico - 16x16 "active disk" icon in the status bar
DragCopy.cur - 32x32 "copy files" cursor for drag and drop
DragMove.cur - 32x32 "move files" cursor for drag and drop
DragNo.cur - 32x32 "drop prohibited" cursor for drag and drop
Estimate.bmp - 48x48 "estimate compression" image for file "Info" dialog
File.ico - 16x16 "unknown file type" icon
FolderUp.bmp - 16x16 "go one folder up" toolbar button
PasswordOff.ico - 16x16 "inactive password" icon in the status bar
PasswordOn.ico - 16x16 "active password" icon in the status bar
RAR.ico - 16x16,32x32,48x48 general RAR icon
RarSmall.bmp - 13x13 image of RAR icon for shell extension menu
REV.ico - 16x16,32x32 recovery volumes icon
Setup.ico - 16x16 setup icon for "Add and remove programs" list
SFX.ico - 16x16,32x32 or larger SFX module icon (see notes below)
SFXLogo.bmp - 93x302 SFX module logo
SortDown.bmp - 13x13 "sort down" file list column header image
SortUp.bmp - 13x13 "sort up" file list column header image
Tray.ico - 16x16 "WinRAR in the background" tray icon (16 colors only)
WizardLogo.bmp - 64x64 logo for Wizard dialogs
In the 'Toolbar' folder:
Add.bmp - "Add" toolbar button
Benchmark.bmp - "Benchmark" toolbar button
Comment.bmp - "Comment" toolbar button
Convert.bmp - "Convert" toolbar button
Delete.bmp - "Delete" toolbar button
Exit.bmp - "Exit" toolbar button
Extract.bmp - "Extract" toolbar button
ExtractTo.bmp - "Extract To" toolbar button
Find.bmp - "Find" toolbar button
Info.bmp - "Info" toolbar button
Lock.bmp - "Lock" toolbar button
Print.bmp - "Print" toolbar button
Protect.bmp - "Protect" toolbar button
Repair.bmp - "Repair" toolbar button
Report.bmp - "Report" toolbar button
SFX.bmp - "SFX" toolbar button
Test.bmp - "Test" toolbar button
View.bmp - "View" toolbar button
VirusScan.bmp - "VirusScan" toolbar button
Wizard.bmp - "Wizard" toolbar button
Notes:
a) Though it is better to keep original sizes, the size of many bitmaps
can be slightly changed without hurting WinRAR look. You can check
the outcome of such change experimentally if necessary.
b) You can use any reasonable size for toolbar buttons. WinRAR will detect
it automatically.
c) You can use both 24-bit and 32-bit bitmaps with alpha channel for toolbar
buttons and for FolderUp button. In case of 24-bit bitmaps use
the black color to define transparent areas.
d) One theme file can include only one set of toolbar buttons. If you wish
to provide themes with buttons of different size, create several
theme files.
e) Use gray RGB(192,192,192) color in SortUp.bmp and SortDown.bmp
to define transparent areas.
f) Color depth is not limited for most icons except Tray.ico, which must be
16 colors. WinRAR uses Tray.ico only for those Windows versions,
where a usual 256 color icon is not displayed well.
If you wish to create Win9x compatible SFX.ico, it must be 16x16,32x32,
16 or 256 color only. Other sizes and color depths are allowed if you
do not care about Win9x and need only Win NT/2000/XP/2003 compatibility.
In the latter case SFX.ico will be ignored under Win9x.
g) It is allowed to omit most of graphics files. In this case WinRAR
will use the default graphics instead. The only exception is Add.bmp
file. WinRAR uses it to detect toolbar button dimensions, so it must be
present.
5. Contacts
Please send your questions and theme files to us.
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