Image as Start Menu background?

[Elmer BeFuddled]

Well on my "practice" msstyles I've managed to change all the png files to colour the Start menu, many thanks to 3ams' excellent tutorials. My step-daughter thought it was horrid (it's only a practice, lurid lime-green one after all!), but now she's discovered I can do things like this, well, I've nearly hit Demi-God status!!
So, she's using the bog standard aero.msstyles, coloured to her liking, but she now wants me to change the Start Menu white background for an image. Is this possible in VSB? Would I need to use a.n.other software (I have Restorator and ResHack always available)? I understand the principle of "stretch", "tile" etc. (from XP)** so I'm assuming if I can do this then a fixed size Start Menu is going to have to be used.

Now, there's Demi-God status stretching to Mega-God status at threat here!!

TIA

Elmer

** Or should I be forgetting everything I learnt about modifying "themes" when I modified XP now I'm using 7? (I skipped Vista)

[Panda X]

Start Menu > Panels > Aero > Top > Programs List > Programs List

And Extended.

The start menu's programs list is 261px wide and 383px high by default. Height, however is only a minimum value as it can be higher based on how many programs are set to display in the MFU.

[Elmer BeFuddled]

Thanks PandaX, I'll dive in tomorrow. As you can see, doing this with 7 is all new to me!

(And you can teach an old dog new tricks!!)

PandaX
Should I be forgetting what I learnt in XP? Or use it as a memory nudge?

[3am]

Put together this crude little tut. Maybe it'll help you.



I picked a similar sized image off Google Images
I converted this to 32 bit PNG
I resized it to 268x358 pixels
I chose "replace old image"

Manipulate image by ContentMargins:Margins and SizingMargins:Margins.
The values on both are (left, right, top, bottom) so (3, 4, 5, 6) just means like a margin of 3 pixels on the left etc...
Content Margins positions the image. Sizing Margins stretches it.
A good tut on Sizing Margins is here: http://vistastylebuilder.com/forum/index.php?topic=587.0

You can put images in Programs List & Places List ( and extended for both). But not All Programs.
Don't forget ( like Panda said) Start Menu resizes in height according to how much you have in it.

Like I said..this is really crude. You could do a lot better. But it gives you the basic idea.

Hint: Look around for themes that have images in these places. Download and open them with WSB. See what they did. Easy way to learn

[Elmer BeFuddled]

Thanks a lot for that 3am. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Helping me a great deal. Good guess on the type of background image the Step-daughters after as well!!

A good tut on Sizing Margins is here: http://vistastylebuilder.com/forum/index.php?topic=587.0

That (and this now!!) thread's been bookmarked.

Hint: Look around for themes that have images in these places. Download and open them with WSB. See what they did. Easy way to learn

Strangely, that was my first thought. But they must be a bit like taxis on a wet Friday night.

When you're looking for one, you can't bloody find one!!

Elmer

[3am]

Here's a good one. Pictures everywhere:

http://giveupzn.deviantart.com/#/d2iuvlp

The best idea is to have one big picture for the entire start menu and break it into parts.

On the left you can put the parts into Programs List, More Programs, More Programs Tab, & Open Box.

On the right put the parts in Places List, Log Off  & Log Off Split ButtonLeft.

Do the same for the extended ones.

You can put images anywhere an image is referenced. Just import one.

You can even put them in other places. For example look at this:
http://vistastylebuilder.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=c40377a17eb3439ecf37a4f8a099b573&topic=1235.0

It is just a matter of imagination and skill. Both of which I have little. Hopefully you can do more

[Surreality]

I've been having trouble with this. Is there no way to make it wrap around the search box and "all programs" button?

[3am]

I've been having trouble with this. Is there no way to make it wrap around the search box and "all programs" button?

You could but it would be hard. You'd have to cut up the big image so the bottom parts would be the background images for:

Start Menu > Panels > Aero > Top > MorePrograms
Start Menu > Panels > Aero > Top > OpenBox

and align it all so it would look like the original big image.

Easiest way I know is make one big image the size of your start menu, then cut it up into slices for Programs List, More Programs, More Programs Tab and Open Box. Then you resize the slices to the sizes you want and then import the image slices.

I use the Guillotine tool in Gimp to slice the image.

Don't forget the height of the Start Menu ( and your image) changes according to how much stuff you have on it.

(More detail: I create the big image. Then I open it in Gimp, position where I want the slices with the image guides, use Image > Transform > Guillotine tool to make the slices, and save the image slices to my desktop. Then I open each slice, resize it using the Image > Scale Image tool ( make sure you click the anchors to enable free resizing) and save them all. Then I import each image into WSB using the import button and choosing Replace Old Image).

Isn't easy but it's easier than matching up a bunch of images I think.