Any TB and Composer templates yet?

[flightrisk]

I really started in themes recently and looked at TB5, but didn't really do anything since I was waiting for 6. Now that I have it, I realize I can find only 1 theme template, the default, and not enough examples to see how to do what I want.

1. Weather slot
2. Hidden Tray (formerly dock)
3. custom hot keys based on slot number

Thanks!

[russnash]

Check out the tutorials section over at Blackberry Theme Lab | Be The Scientist, they have some excellent tutorials for the weather slot and how to make a hidden / sliding dock.

If, for 3, you mean launching an app with a keyboard key then you will need to create a 'hotkey action' in composer (under the 'interactivity' menu) and link it to either a specific application or slot1, slot2 etc.

[flightrisk]

I guess I should have been more specific. I wasn't wondering HOW your can do it, I know that, I am wondering IF you can do it in OS6. All I've been reading says that all the fancy themes we have been used to are pretty much dead because we are stuck with the new interface that has a large, clickable banner at the top and another scrolling one at the bottom. So I was wondering if we are limited to changing backgrounds and icons, or if we can still change the bottom banner/dock and add weather slots, etc.

[BBThemes]

Originally Posted by flightrisk

I guess I should have been more specific. I wasn't wondering HOW your can do it, I know that, I am wondering IF you can do it in OS6. All I've been reading says that all the fancy themes we have been used to are pretty much dead because we are stuck with the new interface that has a large, clickable banner at the top and another scrolling one at the bottom. So I was wondering if we are limited to changing backgrounds and icons, or if we can still change the bottom banner/dock and add weather slots, etc.

dont know where youve been reading, but whoever said that is wrong. custom themes can still be made.

example of custom svg in a new theme

to be clear i have no affiliation with the post i linked to, but made sure its a free theme so im not trying to advertise anything

[MrWheelMan]

Originally Posted by flightrisk

I guess I should have been more specific. I wasn't wondering HOW your can do it, I know that, I am wondering IF you can do it in OS6. All I've been reading says that all the fancy themes we have been used to are pretty much dead because we are stuck with the new interface that has a large, clickable banner at the top and another scrolling one at the bottom. So I was wondering if we are limited to changing backgrounds and icons, or if we can still change the bottom banner/dock and add weather slots, etc.

Those posts were in reference to when OS6 first came out, before the new themebuilder was released. Prior to its release, that was very true for all BlackBerry users. But they had nothing to do with the actual act of theme building itself, and now themes for OS6 are being made every day.

[flightrisk]

I know a theme is an individual thing, but other than aesthetics, a lot of us also want a quicker, more productive interface. Navigation is what I'm after. I'm not sure if people just don't take the time to look at more advanced BB features or don't bother to look for themes, but I like everything about OS except for the main screen.

Why would anyone want or even need a confusing scroll of information when you can turn off dialing from the home screen and use hotkeys? Pretty much all I want to do is create a theme for myself with some custom hotkeys and a weather slot. I might even see if I can make the home screen more wallpaper friendly.

Initially, I liked the big banner at the top because it was clickable, but it is nothing that couldn't be done with a hotkey or a custom home screen. Why scroll over to the magnifyer and click on it when you can just hit 'S' and not take up space on your screen? I guess some people like scrolling around and clicking. If it doesn't present some important visual cues, like a weather icon does, then it is useless when I have a quicker way to pop it up.

I similarly don't see the need for quicklaunch, or the new free "one touch launcher" unless you run out of keys or main screen icons. But maybe I'm missing something.

So I can completely override the bottom menus if I want and get rid of the scrolling items? I might not even need to remove them, but get rid of the dark banner behind them and allow the today list to pop up when I scroll over the calendar and email icons that I'll put on the home screen. I find separate today lists better for me than one large one that lists only 3 things in each section.

How do I change the transparency of a banner background in 6.0 using TB or Composer? Thanks!

[BBThemes]

you dont need hotkeys on OS6, just start typing and bam, universal search is working. kinda makes hotkeys defunct

[wu-wei]

In my experience, you can map hotkeys in a custom6 theme, but not in a BlackBerry6 theme.

I was also unable to place a weather slot icon on the home screen in a BlackBerry6 theme.

Hope that's helpful (though probably disappointing).