• SONAR
  • Theme Editor is Live in the Command Center (p.8)
2016/07/22 09:50:58
panup
> I was hoping you could just click on an element and choose a different color.
 
That's not possible when working with multi-color PNG graphics (which are used in the SONAR GUI). You can change hue of the image but it may not always look good for all colors in the image.
 
Drawing a new theme takes plenty of time - for example, I've spent more than 100 hours to draw some of my SONAR themes and they're not even complete. It's better to leave graphics works for graphics designers and create good music meanwhile. :)
2016/07/22 09:53:20
John T
I suppose there's a trade off here. On the one hand a super-whizzy UI tweaker thing within Sonar itself would be really cool. On the other hand, nobody really wants the developers of an audio app to be spending their time making an in depth graphics editor.
2016/07/22 10:07:04
Mack
I can see that I will not be using the The Theme Editor. (Over my head). But that's okay. I like Tungston and perhaps at some point others will share the themes that they develop.
Thanks🤓
2016/07/22 10:23:46
BobF
Lord Tim
Here's a quick mod I did - Tungsten with the gold replaced by blue, and the compact record button on the transport with visual indicators like is on the full module:
 
http://bit.ly/bluemod
 
A bit rough around the edges in places but it does the job. 
 






Good job, Tim!  I'll be using that one for a while.  Thanks
2016/07/22 10:26:00
KPerry
Anderton
I would say it's simple, but daunting. IOW the actual ways to change the colors is easy, but actually deciding which elements to change, how they change, and how deep you want to go, gets you into the weeds pretty fast.
 
Some things are easy to change, like background colors. Others require working with an image editor. Creating a new theme from scratch is not for the faint of heart, but making a few tweaks isn't hard if you know how to use an image editing program.




Yes, but...it's "little" things like colour matching and font sizes and gradients if you want to edit an existing item or build from scratch.
 
For example, I really like the dark of Tungsten, but the 3D of Mercury; I'd like to use a hybrid of the two (much like Lord Tim's done, but with "real" buttons), by using the Mercury icons where I can in (which is really easy to do via the Theme Editor, but the way, as you can "remove" a custom change and revert to the Mercury element) - sadly, that makes the borders of the icons and shading not match the Tungsten background, so the replaced icons look out of place when mixed in (I spent about an hour editing *just* the Track Inspector buttons to get them to work and I'm bored!).
 
Even just changing a background colour on an existing icon isn't easy as they often have gradients.
 
That said, the end results if you are prepared to spend the time, can be good and what you want.  I will see about sharing my theme later when I'm happy(ish) with it.
2016/07/22 10:33:21
bluzdog
Lord Tim
Here's a quick mod I did - Tungsten with the gold replaced by blue, and the compact record button on the transport with visual indicators like is on the full module:
 
http://bit.ly/bluemod
 
A bit rough around the edges in places but it does the job. 
 





Well done!! Thanks Tim
 
Rocky
2016/07/22 11:51:49
Lord Tim
Glad you're digging the theme, guys! 
 
And yes, that took a couple of hours to do. It was a hell of a lot of tedious work and I'm pretty damn fast with a graphics editor. I think there's still a few spots that need to be refined on this to help people really get the most out of it (batch editing being high on my list) but like John said, I'd prefer the Bakers to make killer audio tools first and if they can throw a bit of love towards the Theme Editor's way too when they have the chance, great!
 
I really appreciate this tool though. When I get a chance, I'd like to add a bit more 3D into Tungsten (or my Blue one - whatever) if I can. I do prefer Mercury when it comes to the look but I'm big on dark themes. That said, I'd love to see someone do an amazing light theme too. I'm sure we have some really talented graphics people floating around the forum!
2016/07/22 12:20:16
jbraner
I prefer Mercury when it comes to the look but I'm big on dark themes.

I feel the same way. I'm working on bringing most of the light blue things from Mercury through to Tungsten. (Which is straightforward as you just "remove" the Tungsten elements)
2016/07/22 12:33:40
outland144k
Lord Tim
Here's a quick mod I did - Tungsten with the gold replaced by blue, and the compact record button on the transport with visual indicators like is on the full module:
 
http://bit.ly/bluemod
 
A bit rough around the edges in places but it does the job. 
 



Thanks, Tim. Maybe I won't have to finish my Tungsten/Mercury hybrid. It looks nice!
What are the "rough around the edges" parts?
2016/07/22 12:33:49
KPerry
jbraner
I prefer Mercury when it comes to the look but I'm big on dark themes.

I feel the same way. I'm working on bringing most of the light blue things from Mercury through to Tungsten. (Which is straightforward as you just "remove" the Tungsten elements)



Which is what I've been doing, but you do end up with some slightly unsightly graphics in places if you're not careful (ie. spend time fixing them in an image editor).
© 2026 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1

Use My Existing Forum Account

Use My Social Media Account