How to make you VG area have 16-bit color Backgrounds

by Cameron Bulock

I have discovered a way to give your Virtual Graffiti area an impressive look. One of the things I wish VG skins could do is display 16-bit color images, instead of the 8-bit, 256 color images. Well, now you can.

NOTE: The skins will not always be in 16-bit color mode. It depends on which app is currently open. For instance, when you are at the main launcher screen of the default launcher, the skins will be in 8-bit color. But if you open an app like the Flash player, the skins will display correctly. But, launchers like ZLauncher for instance, will display the skins correctly. It just depends from app to app.

NOTE: Please be aware that this is just I just learned how to do this, and am still in the learning stages. If you get stuck, just e-mail me and I will try to help you out.

The instructions that are in black and bold are the main instructions to follow. The rest of the information is still important and you might want to read it, but if you're like me and just want to get it done and have a good idea what your doing, just follow the highlighted stuff.

What you need to do:

First, you will need to download a few programs and install them on your NX.

TnSilkChange- This app will let you change the silk skins.

CodeDiver- This app is used to generate the silk skins. This is a shareware app.

Once you have these downloaded, install the file TnSilkChangerEng.prc from the first ZIP file and WPDiverEng.prc and CodeDiverEng.prc from the second ZIP. The CodeDiverEng.prc might not need to be installed, but I think it does.

This app doesn't let you use any existing Silkskins for it, but it is much easier to make skins for this anywhere. Also be aware that the skins are static backgrounds, so when you press a button, like the home button, you won't see any effect.

Now you will need to make a .JPG file. The .JPG file must be 320x450. But the actual VG image will only be 320x130. This will be in the bottom part of the .JPG like so:

Then this will need to be copied to your Clie using MSImport. The image must go in the /DCIM/101MSDCF or /Palm/Images folder on your Memory Stick.

Now open the app WPDriver and choose the correct folder from the menu in the upper-right corner of the screen. Select your image, then hit convert. You will see it now, but your not done. Hit the Pref button. Here you can change some settings. For conversion, choose Silk. The app can also do some backgrounds for your apps, but I haven't tried that out yet. Colormode, you can choose 16-bit. I haven't messed with the ImagePos or Compress, so those can be left alone. For frame, this will allow you to avoid having to add your own silk buttons and dividers if you want to use the built in ones. You can try out the different kinds to see what you want, but if you want your silk to look exactly like the .JPG file, just choose none. You can also change some more stuff if you hit the Efct button, but I haven't yet messed with that either.

Next, hit OK, then choose Start. A prompt will come up, then hit Change. You now have a new skin. Note that the skin won't always be 16-bit. Once you exit the program it should be. And it won't always stay 16-bit for every app. See the note at the top of the page.

Now that you have that done, you can open up TnSilkChanger, and you change change skins, rename them, and move them to and from the card.

That's all I have for now, hope you enjoy!

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