GeekShadow
You mis-spell Songbird for your extension name.
The extension icon is fuzzy
Personas for Songbird NeoAlchemy
Themes, skins, feathers and more.
Description
Personas for Songbird is an extension which enables you to change the look of Songbird
The extension is not a total port from Personas for Firefox. But is based off similar functionality found in Firefox.
The following are elements that are available to change and their impact
- Outside Edge - this is used in rubberducky based themes more, recommend setting this to the same setting as control pane for.
- Top Bar - this is the bar that contains the menu options
- Bottom Service Pane Top Bar - this is the top bar over the bottom service pane
- Bottom Content Pane Top Bar - this is the top bar over the content pane
- Navigation Bar - this is where you have the navigation elements and the url bar will appear here too
- Control Pane - this is the main player with control buttons and faceplate
- Service Pane - this is where your bookmarks are
- Service Pane's Status Bar - this is the bottom bar on the service pane
- Status Bar - this is located at the bottom of your viewport
- Text for Top Bar - this is to color the text of Songbird and menu's to a different color
Functionality includes
- Default persona to switch through
- Create and Edit Personas
- Save newly created Personas in a Personal folder
- Ability to export persona settings for others
- Ability to import persona settings from others
Release Notes
released on Dec-14-09
- updated version to 1.5.*
Images
(3)Comments
(45)Subscribe
NeoAlchemy
Doh, thanks for the info GeekShadow.
deOmega
@NeoAlchemy,
Thanks for the work. Are you planning on offering custom colors rather than just the basic colors you have now?
NeoAlchemy
@deomega,
Ideally I do think that adding a more advanced color picker would be more useful. I wanted to leave a textbox there to give people a chance to play around with those till I have one offered. I the textbox it will take hex code or rgb(#, #, #) format. The Firefox extension ColorZilla with it's ColorPicker 'picker tab' seems to be a good idea to borrow off of. Let me know if you have a preference for another type of 'picker' to model after.
roblord
Really cool NeoA.
The feature I find most engaging wrt Firefox Personas is the ability to explore and switch between personas (without a restart). Is your intention is have different personas hosted on a server for a user to explore?
roblord
Bug/feature enhancement. Make feather edits to a new feather.
I had to go clear out my changes to revert to default. =)
NeoAlchemy
Rob,
Ideally I would like to have a web space for "personas for songbird" where I can have different personas hosted and users can submit personas to be added. I would have to look into hosting and what kinda bandwidth I need. I'd like to make a few more modifications to the custom screen where different personas can have different color text. I'd also like to catch a few more elements as well. I One thing I did not like about Personas for Firefox is that it updates the persona every 30 seconds. Sometimes the personas there and other times it is not. I think it's much easier if done at startup only.
Ryan
deOmega
@NeoAlchemy,
No, what you are planning sounds good to me.
Thank you.
atreiu
Love your add-on!
Please add support to color Album-Art-Background!
And your status-bar icon has a white "border", which looks really ugly on a colored task-bar. Can you please make it transparent?
PS: I'm currently working on a feathers to work with personas. I use transparent buttons, icons, background-images, etc. This way, elements like tabs or player-buttons would work with every color.
atreiu
Ups, forget the screenshot for the ugly statusbar-icon:
http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sshot200809112ue9.png
Olivia_Lovag
This is one of the greatest FF ideas to ever hit SB ground!! Love it!!
:-) Thank you!
randlieb
I open Personas and the page doesn't scroll! I can't save any new colors. I am using Songbird 1.0 on Ubuntu 8.10.
NeoAlchemy
randlieb,
I'll look into it.
tsellers
Confirming randlieb's issue. The Personas page doesn't scroll at all (not even with a mouse wheel). Running Ubuntu 8.10 and Songbird 1.0. The color picking seems to work fine for the boxes that are visible, but without access to the "apply" button the add-on is unusable at this time.
I'm not on my ubuntu computer at the moment, but I seem to remember the contents of the personas window being much larger than your screenshots show. Maybe its not a scrolling issue but a scale issue? I will post a screenshot from my ubuntu machine as soon as I can.
archanjil
I also have the same problem about scrolling with Songbird 1.0. I am running Ubuntu 8.04. Thanks!
Enjabain
same problem on OSX
randlieb
I was able to see enough of the fields and calculated how many tab strokes to use before hitting enter and got it to load that way! I REALLY wanted to see how it works, and it is way cool! Certainly don't want to do that every time though!!
NeoAlchemy
Thanks for looking into it.
Rolle
Logo is great. Other than that: not so great.
GeekShadow
Please update it for 1.1 !
Background add-on is useless now, why do you update it ?
NeoAlchemy
I updated the background add-on without looking to see if there was any rubberducky feather. But yea without a rubberducky feather it is useless. My current efforts will be on Personas for Songbird.
atreiu
I want to share an idea:
One of my wishes for Songbird always was a semi-transparent feather, that would work with this add-on. I mean, where every image and Button would be just semi-transparent shades of black or white, so that you can switch the colors, but the complete UI is still looking consistent. Every button, every background-shade, every image. That would be so cool...
Because imho this is the biggest problem with "personas": Elements like Player Control-Buttons, Toolbar Buttons, Column/Pane-Headers are looking "out of place" with the most colors. A transparent feather, which uses the overlay-effect, would solve this issue.
Unfortunately I don't have enough time to work on this, but maybe someone else wants to do this?
Here is a simple sketch to illustrate what I mean:
(default Play Button vs. a Play Button with transparency effect)
Jerome
Thanks!!!
It would be nice if it was posible to save the configuration for make an template. Saving all on an XPI extension for songbird!
tdmurphy
Thanks so much NeoAlchemy! This is a great way to make a feather if you don't know how to do it manually. Would it be possible to let people change the colors of the media view from the standard white and gray to make them match the rest of persona they are working on? And is there a way to save a persona that you make as a feather? Sometimes I make one that I like and want to keep it or send it to somebody, and it would be great if you could just export it to as an actual feather.
Your idea to have a site to upload them to would be great. Maybe the Songbird team could help out and host it on the official site, since Personas for Firefox is hosted by Mozilla. Maybe we could make a GetSatisfaction suggestion that they officially support the add-on.
NeoAlchemy
Thanks for the recent comments and suggestions,
I have had a new fire in me to revitalize my efforts with Personas for Songbird. I hope to be coming out with a new version soon. That version will contain a fix for the non scrolling issue that randlieb and others mentioned about 5 months ago (finished task). Also you will have the ability to save and name custom personas. This will then appear on the menu (currently developing). Lastly I will have some default personas added to the menu (not yet started).
There are other ideas and wishes that I'd like to put in to the Personas for Songbird extension. Some of these would be to put a transparent feather out there like atreiu has mentioned, also adding more songbird elements that can be controlled.
The ability to export the persona is a great idea. After I release the newer version I'll try to put out some documentation on how to share the Personas while ya'll wait for a more elegant solution. But for now I'd like to push that feature out quick.
If anyone has a great persona through their custom effort I'd love to see it and possibly use it as a default persona to add. You can email me a screen shot similar to the second image at NeoAlchemy at gmail dot com.
annavee
Hi everyone, I just thought I would share a persona that I made. The pieces all came from this wallpaper: http://windows7news.com/windows-7-wallpapers/?album=11&gallery=29&pid=576 . I think it is very peaceful :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YPLIoPUSVc6KbgpJmEhUrg?feat=directlink
and
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NWyaLFMOAtCKy-kmIFs5HA?feat=directlink
annavee
Lately I've been really excited about this whole thing, so I've made a few more from existing wallpapers :)
Orange:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PctwCfpCiOSndJxb5WylLQ?feat=directlink
Link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uIGdPnVwoQybAcY5Jhpbvg?feat=directlink
I'm using a feather called Gonzo Sketch, because it allows you to alter the title bar of the window and looks neater overall with Personas. If anybody wants the pieces to make these, I uploaded the files here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=48b4d563d0f4fc54af924764f9977b1d5fa80fab77695666c95965eaa7bc68bc
tdmurphy
NeoAlchemy, this is a great update. The default personas are excellent, and I bet this will take off like the Firefox personas add-on and a lot of people will use it.
kjetisve
Why is there no default personas included? Id like to try out the Link version
tdmurphy
To get to the default ones, just click on the personas icon in the status bar and select one in the pop up menus. The Link one is under Other and called "Link".
NeoAlchemy
kjetisve,
I just uploaded a newer version that should fixed that bug.
tdmurphy
I spent today trying to make this persona:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2m-TVLK5FurcfGV3ppo9-Q?feat=directlink
I made it from a wallpaper called Cold Cold Night, which you can see here:
http://chicho21net.deviantart.com/art/cold-cold-night-56585669
I always really liked the atmosphere of it and it is very pleasant in Songbird. It was also an experiment in getting the status bars to line up with the control bar and the service pane.
NeoAlchemy, I noticed a few things while making it. If you have a certain image selected in the Persona editor, then edit and resave the image to the same filename, and select it again in the Persona editor, the image is not updated upon clicking preview. I just noticed because I end up having to change an image many times, and currently you have to save it to a different name every time to make the add-on refresh it, causing many image files to accumulate. My desktop is some mess right now :D. You currently cannot change the top bar of the Gonzo feather, but you can on some other feathers like Gonzo sketch and YABS. Also, I was having some strange problems with the "Bottom Service Pane Top Bar" piece where sometimes the image you selected would show up, and other times nothing showed up and you could see right through to the service pane image.
Vanger
Hi everyone,
I've just created a little persona, feel free to use:
The Persona is called "BlackBird", feather "More native" is recommended. Try the following settings and scale the service pane suitable.
- Outside Edge: #232323
- Top Bar: http://other.phrozenbyte.de/songbirdPersonaBlackBird/top.png
- Bottom Service Pane Top Bar: #232323
- Bottom Content Pane Top Bar: #232323
- Right Sidebar Top Bar: #232323
- Navigation Bar: http://other.phrozenbyte.de/songbirdPersonaBlackBird/navigation.png
- Control Pane: http://other.phrozenbyte.de/songbirdPersonaBlackBird/control.png
- Service Pane: http://other.phrozenbyte.de/songbirdPersonaBlackBird/service.png
- Service Pane's Status Bar: http://other.phrozenbyte.de/songbirdPersonaBlackBird/serviceStatus.png
- Status Bar: http://other.phrozenbyte.de/songbirdPersonaBlackBird/status.png
- Text for Top Bar: #CCCCCC
Have fun!
Greetings, Vanger
chuffypipkin
I m not sure I understand, does any kind of jpeg work? Whenever I select a picture from my hard drive, nothing happens
can anyone help?
NeoAlchemy
What kind of behavior do you exhibit when trying the jpeg?
Does the jpeg work if from a different location on your hard drive?
What type of OS do you have?
chuffypipkin
i m using the windows 7 rc1. whatever jpeg i select doesn't do anything, i just see the standard songbird gui. does resolution of the jpeg matter?
the inbuilt themes like "link" do work though
NeoAlchemy
Chuffypipkin,
The values work when treated like a url. If you could get the image to show up through a browser then it should work with the inputs. Hopefully that is the issue that it just needs the file:/// in front of the value. Also instead of spaces use %20. The best way should be to just grab the image through the browse buttons.
chuffypipkin
yea, i do select it using the browse buttons, I get an address like "file:///C:/Users/Chase/Desktop/Abstract%20Wallpapers%20(52).jpg" and if I hit preview or save it, nothing changes.
thank you for the help by the way
chuffypipkin
really really strange by the way, if i change the photos filename from "(44)" to "44" it starts working! it seems brackets stop it from working and when I remove them, everything is perfect.
great program
NeoAlchemy
I am glad to see that everything is working.
deOmega
@NeoAlchemy,
Is it possible to port this tool over to instantbird? If you look into it, please try the beta nightlies, they are much much further along.
Advance thanks.
blackholesun
Hi, i've done this feather and i think its very cool, so if anybody wants tu use it im glad.
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/5766/pantallazo3l.png
So, for do this feather go to create edit and make this.
Outside Edge: #336666
Top Bar: http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7707/topi.png
Bottom Service Pane Top Bar: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7760/shiwhoa.png
Bottom Content Pane Top Bar: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7760/shiwhoa.png
Right Sidebar Top Bar: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7760/shiwhoa.png
Navigation Bar: http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3443/navigation5.png
Control Pane: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/282/control2.png
Service Pane: http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/9559/service.png
Service Pane's Status Bar: http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2949/servicestatus.png
Status Bar: http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/5190/statusbar.png
Text For Top Bar: #336666
Enjoy!!
blackholesun
Another skin, 4 ur joy :D
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/2779/pantallazo1h.png
Outside Edge: #C0C0C0
Top Bar: http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6092/top3.png
Bottom Service Pane Top Bar: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1839/shiwa.png
Bottom Content Pane Top Bar: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1839/shiwa.png
Right Sidebar Top Bar: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1839/shiwa.png
Navigation Bar: http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/3443/navigation5.png
Control Pane:http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/282/control2.png
Service Pane: http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2528/service2o.png
Service Pane's Status Bar: http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2949/servicestatus.png
Status Bar: http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/9957/status5.png
Text For Top Bar: #C0C0C0
Desibeatnik
I just downloaded personas and I like it but what is the little black box in the lower right corner? Is that from another add-on?
I opted for wood for now and I like it, but the text is in light grey and I can hardly see it. How do I pick a darker text?
NeoAlchemy
Desibeatnik,
I am unsure of the little black box, if you don't see "wing" icon then that must be mine. Send me your desktop os and snapshot if you can.
One of the things you can do after selecting a persona you can modify the text color, but if your referring to the text from the left nav I haven't figured that part out yet. I need to look again with the latest songbird and see if I can do more.
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Downloads: 17,948
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based on 13 ratings
based on 13 ratingsImages: 3
Comments: 45
Last Updated: 3 months ago
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Name: Personas for Songbird
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Version: 0.8.4 version history
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NeoAlchemy
This is an initial preview of the personas for songbird. There are more features that I would like to add. There are also more elements that I want to put control over. I thought I'd release it so that people have a chance to play around with it. I'd love to see what people have done with it. If you have a good screenshot please do share.