[Touch HD Themes and Apps] Chris Cross:
Basic introduction to editing a skin file

To add a button to the keyboard, you have to edit the txt skin file of the language you want to edit.

You need a basic understanding of what the different values mean. And if you add a button, it might mean that you have to change the location of all other keys in that row in order to accommodate the new button. Here is basic info on what the

main values

mean:

Key 329 39 33 31 1,1,4,1 key0 Key1 .,TEXTcomma,.,TEXTcomma SS:2. ,SS:2, ,SS:2. ,SS:2,

Key 329 = a key starting at horizontal pixel position 329 (the left most margin of the screen is 0). To determine where the next key would start, you have to keep in mind the width of the key and the fact that you leave between 3 and 6 pixels in between keys, so that they are not all bunched up next to each other. You also don't start at 0, but at 2 or so, so that you have a little bit of space between the edge of the screen and the key. It just looks nicer.

39 = starting vertical position for that row of keys (top end of keyboard is position 0)

33 = width of the key in pixels

31 = height of the key in pixels

key0 = determines what .bmp picture will be used for the unpressed key. The "...types.txt" for each mode (landscape and portrait) defines what file will be used.

key1 = determines what .bmp picture to use for the pop-up key when a key is pressed.

x,y,X,Y = this determine what letters will show on the key itself. The values are separated by a comma.

Positions 1 and 2 are in normal (non-shift) mode

Position 1 would be for a simple press

Position 2 for a press+hold

Positions 3 and 4 are for SHIFT mode

Position 3 for simple press

Position 4 for press+hold

To tell it to type a comma, you can't just use a "," because that is used to separate the values. That is why for commas, there is a preset TEXTcomma command. As in .,TEXTcomma,.,TEXTcomma for the period/comma button.

SS:2. ,SS:2, ,SS:2. ,SS:2, = these correspond to the 4 positions I mentioned earlier. In the previous ones, you define what the key will display, and here you define what they will type. Here you ARE allowed to use a "," and NOT the TEXTcomma command.

SC: = tells it to type a Single Character

SS: = tells is to type a string of characters. The number of characters in the string is defined by the number immediately after the ":". So, SS:5 means that it would type a string of 5 characters.

SS:5hello would type hello when you press the key.

SS:6.co.uk would type .co.uk

SS:2. , places a period with a space after it. The comma here is to separate it from the next entry.

Action.xxxxx = tells the key to carry out a predefined action. Actions are predefined in the actions.txt file.

If you make your own skin, make sure you give it a name at the top of that skin file, under:

LayoutBegin XXXX

DisplayName XXXXX

This shows the name over the bottom that switches from one layout to the next, and it will also appear in your settings in the list of skins you have.

If you work with different resolutions, you have to keep that in mind at the top of many of the txt files (such as type and skin files etc...)

There, now you know the basics to editing the skin.

:)