Helium skins - Updated 2010-05-30

[Eyal]

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About: Helium Music Manager 2009 look ported to MediaMonkey 3.0.
Description: My attempt to make MM look like Helium, for the most part with skinning limitations.

Original Helium:


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• Includes InfoPopup box, resizeable MiniPlayer, horizontal MicroPlayer, matching themes for MonkeyRok 5.1 and LyricsViewer plugins.
• MicroPlayer prime features: Album Art, Direct rating of playing song. MUTE, PlayingList, EQ and FileOpen buttons.

Screenshots: (Click on images for hi-resolution view)

Helium BL:





Helium MD:



Helium gDark:




gDark-G for MonkeyRok 5:



----History----
2009.07.31 = Release of Helium skin v1.0 (BL and MD) for MediaMonkey 3.x.
2009-09-13 = v1.1 for MonkeyRok - Fixed duplicated external panels headers.
2009-10-03 = Release of Helium gDark v1.0.
2010-05-03 = v1.2 for MediaMonkey and MonkeyRok 5.1.
2010-05-06 = gDark-G alternate color for MonkeyRok 5.
2010-06-29 = gDark-G alternate color for SongInfoPanel.
2010-06-30 = gDark v1.2.1 - Fixed non-overrided Tree background color. (See here for samples)
2010-12-12 = gDark for CueReader. *NEW*


Download Via MediaFire:
Helium BL for MediaMonkey | for MonkeyRok 5.1 | for LyricsViewer
Helium MD for MediaMonkey | for MonkeyRok 5.1 | for LyricsViewer
Helium gDark for MediaMonkey | for MonkeyRok 5.1 | gDark-G for MonkeyRok 5.1 | for LyricsViewer | for SongInfoPanel | gDark-G for SongInfoPanel | for CueReader

Via FileFactory:
Helium BL for MediaMonkey | for MonkeyRok 5.1 | for LyricsViewer
Helium MD for MediaMonkey | for MonkeyRok 5.1 | for LyricsViewer
Helium gDark for MediaMonkey | for MonkeyRok 5.1 | gDark-G for MonkeyRok 5.1 | for LyricsViewer | for SongInfoPanel | gDark-G for SongInfoPanel | for CueReader



Eyal :~)

[nynaevelan]

E:

I have been waiting for this one, she is a beauty to behold!! Now I am off to download and install.

Nyn

[rovingcowboy]

its kind of reminding me of dreadm's new skin only in the more matched brightness tone. between the skin backgrounds and the player skin, nice to see same style of dark skins with different tones for the brightness
give us more of a choice, which is what i been wanting all along more of a choice for skins.

keep going on making skins.

[Benn]

Thank you Eyal

[KorkyKat]

Very nice.

Dumb question but how do you access the mini player please?

[rovingcowboy]

Very nice.

Dumb question but how do you access the mini player please?

well if eyal left that button off the top bar. then go in to the options and tell monkey
to go to the mini player when you click on minumize or on close.

[Eyal]

Very nice.

Dumb question but how do you access the mini player please?

well if eyal left that button off the top bar. then go in to the options and tell monkey
to go to the mini player when you click on minumize or on close.

Sorry, I forgot to to specifiy. This is the Minimize settings I use:

So first minimize = Miniplayer, second minimize = Microplayer.

You can bypass it: Click on the System icon (yellow MM logo at left on titlebar) or right-click the titlebar to access the Rollup function.

If it's too cumbersome, I can add a Rollup button in next version. Just let me know.

[KorkyKat]

Thank You both. I have now clicked the monkey on the left and it works.

At the moment we are so very lucky to have so many nice skins to choose from. Many thanks to you all.

Eyal, I don't normally say this about a skin but yours is really quite beautiful. I absolutely love the pale blue and the black. Likewise the player is wonderful and most of all the text colours. Because I use monkey as a CD database - offline and not on the p.c. - as well as on line mp3's it is great to see the different tracks so clearly. No longer a mushy grey with a few in black.

If I have but one minor observation it is that some of the buttons are in pink. I think they would be perfect in the same royal blue as the four buttons for: Show album art/Show Details etc.

Forgive me for being picky because I am sure you have spent many hours in crafting this skin. Now I am spoiled for choice with your work and the work of the excellent Dread M and others.

My goodness. I bet no other media player has such a group of dedicated skin designers like monkey as.

Thanks. I couldn't design myself out of a cardboard box but I know what looks great.

[rovingcowboy]

thanks KorkyKat for the kind words for all of us skinners and you could be one you just don't realize it yet. but you will if you really want to make one of your own.

i don't see pink in his skin korkykat.? i think you mean the lavender as pink will show as transparent in the skins.

but i see the different color is being used on buttons and icons that need to be seen more so the lavender works for fast spotting of them. where blue would make you look for them more, and that is one grip my sister has with lots of stuff, she spends 8 to 12 hours a day at work on the computers and she don't want to waste time looking for a button to click on in any program if she can't just glance at it and click she does not use the program.

make for a tougher design job but makes for a speedy GUI for the programs. she's made that grip about lots of my skins. since i use un common buttons in some of my skins.

[Eyal]

If I have but one minor observation it is that some of the buttons are in pink. I think they would be perfect in the same royal blue as the four buttons for: Show album art/Show Details etc.

Thanks KorkyKat, I'm happy you like the skin.
You're right about the icons color, but in a hurry I forgot to mention that my idea in this first version was made to replicate Helium's look. (I've edit the first post). I tried to replicate most of original Helium's icons and colors, and made/modify others to fit MM's functions.

Screenshot of Helium Music Manager 2009:


Look at other screenshots: http://www.softpedia.com/progScreenshot ... -4322.html


That said, have no doubt I'll make other versions with more well-laid-out icons colors.


Eyal :~)

[rovingcowboy]

ah man eyal you ported another app's skin? i thought you designed the buttons and layout.

[nynaevelan]

ah man eyal you ported another app's skin? i thought you designed the buttons and layout.

How is that different than the Songbird, iTunes, WMP, Zune or Winamp skins etc....????

[KorkyKat]

Feedback:

Here's what I mean.

Remove most of the icons from the task bar and leave only the search and the four show buttons. Then add now playing/album/artist nodes.

You will see that the now playing node is a nice blue arrow with a lined background. The other two buttons are in ladies bedroom pink. Okay if you want them to stare out at you while you are listening to Kylie Minogue(who? ) but if you are listening to Pink Floyd or Tangerine Dream more subtlety is called for. I think the various shades of blue make it look very professional.

I also like the Media Monkey symbol offset to the left.

I wouldn't have made any connection with Eyal's wonderful skin and that of Heliums. Theirs is more like something from Sesame Street.

Such fussy people. Such hard task masters but also very appreciative

[rovingcowboy]

ah man eyal you ported another app's skin? i thought you designed the buttons and layout.

How is that different than the Songbird, iTunes, WMP, Zune or Winamp skins etc....????

i had thought he did the design work on them i did not know it was another player, in general i don't do ports i like to make new ones which i think makes monkey stand out. and i had thought he was doing the same with this skin.

it does not detrack from the skin its just an ah shucks kind of thing.

[Benn]

Helium actually looks like a decent program. I had never heard of it before.