Best skin for viewing movies?

[loninappleton]

All the skins with dark borders like simple skin are for version 9.

What's up with version 9 anyway-- any easier to install skins? See below.

I'd like to use a skin that doesn't have white borders. Which is a good selection?

then...

Getting the skin installed.


I read this:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=43803

There was the last time I asked about installing skins. I just reread it. I can't do it.

Drilling down 3 layers under settings to find General anything is difficult.

I haven't had to do this in a couple years but now I've had to reinstall vlc.

Please give a detail path to change vlc to allow skins.

Please put a big red button on version 9 to simplify this always necessary procedure.

[Arite]

I just tried out "MySimpleSkin" with 0.8.6f and it appears to function correctly.

To use the skin just go to "Settings >> Switch interface >> Skins 2". That will then go to the default Skins 2 skin. Right click on the title bar of the skin and go to "Select skin >> Open skin..." and select the desired skin's *.vlt file and VLC should switch to that skin. Next time you open VLC and change the interface to Skins 2 it should select the skin last used.

If you want to have the skin listed in the "Select skin" menu (alongside "default" etc.) place the *.vlt file in the "skins" VLC directory (for Windows default location is "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\skins").

If you want VLC to always start with the Skins 2 interface go to (in the Preferences):
Interface >> Main interfaces

And select "Skinnable Interface" from the "Interface module" drop-down box. Then press "Save" and when VLC it restarted it should open with the Skins 2 interface.

Cheers, Arite.

[loninappleton]

It all seems too cryptic to do a simple task.

I've seen the skins 2 slide out on preferences and it doesn't do anything, righ click left click or in between.

Also there may be a language problem where things get described not as they look.

I'm not switching skins all the time. I'm having a hard time following how to
do the procedure (sometimes with years in between depending on how my system holds up.)

I'm going to do the last part first and I'll tell you what I see on the so called General window:
Well no wonder. There is no General Window here. But that was the instruction that I looked up from the last time I went through this.


OK, this time better when looking under the Interface tab. Enable skinned playlist is set.
Does that mean media viewer as well? This skinned playlist has always been set that way. So why am I having all the problem loading what's installed in the skins folder?

I will try this again tomorrow. It's way more complicated than necessary. Why is Firefox easy for stuff like this and VLC requires all this instruction? It's not a rhetorical question. I really want to know. If the default Foobar2000-like interface wasn't so bright, I'd use that and avoid the headaches.

I'm not understanding the skins 2 business. I know here the skins 2 slide out box is and that's all. It doesn't fdo anything. And as mentiuoned, the default enable skinned playlist is set.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

You are right. skins are way to complex to change. We will work on it for 0.9.0.

[loninappleton]

Glad you agree. So lets just try to get through this.

I have selected a skin and put it in the skins folder. We've established that skinnable interface is set.

With the skin in the folder, It does not auto load.

Please give again in single steps what is left to do and I will report any difficulties.

The skin selected goes way back to version 8.1. It's called Vplayer. How do I get Vplayer
to load?

I'll be back on tomorrow but I wanted to a least get the skin downloaded and
moved to vlc skins folder.

thanks and see you tomorrow.

[Arite]

So is the default skin loading instead of the one you wish to use? If that is the case right click on the top title bar and go to "Select skin >> ..." etc. Then next time you open VLC that should be the skin that loads.

Arite.

[loninappleton]

Well, I downloaded the My Simple Skin

And it did load after selecting it from skins 2 or whatever. That bit is the most needlessly complicated way to set a skin I have ever seen. It's real easy to skip through or past without
right clicking to open up the options.

What I'm struggling with now is getting the right skin to open after it is
in there. It looks like I'm going to have to set the skin every time I load it.

Any tips on that?

[Arite]

If you go to in the Preferences:
Interface >> Main interfaces >> Skins

And tick "Advanced options" the skin file path can be entered in the "Skin to use" field. Then press "Save" and restart VLC etc.

Arite.

[loninappleton]

Jeez. Ok.

Keep working on that big red button.

[loninappleton]

If you go to in the Preferences:
Interface >> Main interfaces >> Skins

And tick "Advanced option" the skin file path can be entered in the "Skin to use" field. Then press "Save" and restart VLC etc.

Arite.

Can you go through that bit about the path. There's some shorthand here I'm missing.
The path to vlc > skins > MySimpleSkin and then save and close? What does that look like?
A regular Windows box that opens and reopens until I am at MySimpleSkin?

Will look for answer tomorrow.

Props to the MySimpleSkin code writer. It works very well and is easy on the eyes.

[loninappleton]

To save a bit of time, I did manage to do the procedure above: go through the tree until I got to advanced, edited the path from default to MySimpleSkin.vlt.

I have to reset VLC as the default player again. When I install or reinstall some other things, they take over even if I am not giving any prompts to do so. When that happens the only thing to do is reinstall VLC last to get the cones on everything.

There is a prompt to make VLC the default player for file types.

Can you make a big red button for that was well?

[Arite]

Can you go through that bit about the path. There's some shorthand here I'm missing.
The path to vlc > skins > MySimpleSkin and then save and close? What does that look like?
A regular Windows box that opens and reopens until I am at MySimpleSkin?

Well it seems you worked it out however for the path either enter in the full path to the *.vlf file - e.g. "C:\Files\MySimpleSkin.vlt". If the skin is in the default Skin 2 directory it should be e.g. "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\skins\MySimpleSkin.vlt".

I have to reset VLC as the default player again. When I install or reinstall some other things, they take over even if I am not giving any prompts to do so. When that happens the only thing to do is reinstall VLC last to get the cones on everything.

There is a prompt to make VLC the default player for file types.

Currently the only way to re-associate files (properly with icons etc.) with VLC is to reinstall it since the Windows file association code is all located in the NSIS installer script. Some programs associate files with themselves by default - if there is e.g. a "Custom" or "Advanced" installation option more details should be shown potentially including associated file types.

Arite.

[loninappleton]

Well I have done all that you set including a cold restart and the default interface rather than the
skin location specified still pops up.

The only workaround I have is:

vlc > settings > skins2 > right click on the upper white boder > skin change > MySimpleSkin
and *then* drag the file to view into it at which time it thank god finally plays.

Honest. Everything was done as you say including a cold boot. I'm loading files marked as cone
icon with vlc so they are properly associated.

This job is worth it to get the MySimpleSkin but it is not, as you say, automatic.

[Arite]

Well if you go to:
Settings >> Preferences... >> Interface >> Main interfaces >> Skins

And tick "Advanced options". Enter "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\skins\MySimpleSkin.vlt" as the "Skin to use", and (if there is anything there) delete the contents of the "Config of last used skin". Press "Save" and close VLC.

Then open VLC again and go to "Settings >> Switch interface >> Skins 2". The Skins interface will probably not come up. Right-click on VLC in the taskbar and close VLC. Then open VLC again and go to "Settings >> Switch interface >> Skins 2". That time MySimpleSkin should load. MySimpleSkin should continue to load each time after that too.

Arite.

[loninappleton]

I'll do it the hard way for now. Less aggravation.

Doesn't it strike you odd that such a convoluted instruction is necessary?

[Arite]

The instructions in my previous post are a complete set for setting MySimpleSkin as the default skin. After that to change to the skin just switch to the Skins 2 interface (or start VLC with Skins 2 interface - doable using the Start Menu settings - requiring no additional steps). As j-b said switching skins is more complicated than it could be however it is still not too difficult to do.

Arite.

[loninappleton]

Well, I can't go on about this.

So the last thing I'll say is that I've learned to switch skins. I have not learned how to have them stay that way and I've heard this problem in other threads.

VLC is a media player. There's no reason to have to do all this coding stuff.

[CloudStalker]

CloudStalker knows how to get the skins2 to stay, and it's easy to do. Press the Start button in Windows -> go to All Programs -> VideoLAN -> Quick Settings -> Interface -> Set Main Interface to Skinnable. It'll quickly flash the "Default" [black and white] skin onscreen. If you've already put the MySimpleSkin.vlt file in the Skins folder of the VideoLAN directory then you should be able to select it by right-click somewhere within that skin.

Works for CloudStalker.

[loninappleton]

This points up the communication problems in doing these things.

When you mentioned the start menu I was looking for something inside VLC.

It really helps to give detailed explanations like the one today. Saves time and saves aggravation and frustration.

[loninappleton]

CloudStalker knows how to get the skins2 to stay, and it's easy to do. Press the Start button in Windows -> go to All Programs -> VideoLAN -> Quick Settings -> Interface -> Set Main Interface to Skinnable. It'll quickly flash the "Default" [black and white] skin onscreen. If you've already put the MySimpleSkin.vlt file in the Skins folder of the VideoLAN directory then you should be able to select it by right-click somewhere within that skin.

Works for CloudStalker.

After reading this through again, I believe I have done that-- set everything skinnable.

What I want is to have the selected skin in the path describes above load when some media
is selected. As stated earlier, right now I am manually loading the skin from the
black and white and *then* dragging the media file into it.

[loninappleton]

Just a quick note on Start menu stuff.

VLC does not show in the Start menu. This is a new install and for many of the
programs, I dragged them from one Program Files on a drive to another Program Files
on another drive and made shortcuts to the desktop.

Is a reinstall necessary? Even so, doing these things through start menu is a duplicate process.

Either that or the vlc code does not cross check something.

VLC has a lot of options and codecs to make media play. But a simple thing like skins is
over-the-top complicated.

[Arite]

If you are interested the commandline that the "Set Main Interface to Skinnable" runs is:

Code: Select all

"C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" -I skins --save-config vlc:quit

If you go to "Start >> Run..." and enter the above, replacing the "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" with the locatoing of your vlc.exe it should set VLC to skinnable mode. I have already said in previous posts how to do this via VLC's Preferences - running the commandline is quicker though.

If you instead want to reinstall VLC in a different location such as a different drive just for the "Choose Install Location" section in the VLC installer replace the Destination Folder "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\" with your desired location and then the shortcuts in the Start Menu should point to the correct location.

Cheers, Arite.

[loninappleton]

I'm going through a different reinstall headache so on the way I may try this.

To review: with this path set and using Win2k, the MySimpleSkin will autoload--
no screwing around with menues, preferences, skin2 and whatnot?

Set and forget?

If not I'll continue to do it by dragging and dropping.

[loninappleton]

I am revisiting this thread for any new procedure to install a sking for movies and save it as a default.

please advise.


Also the original question about best skin for movies replies appreciated.