Delphi skin libraries

Question

I would like to know what is the best skinning library for a Delphi application for you. I am looking for compatibility with WinXP / Windows Vista / Windows 7, so the application does not crash or works due to skins. I tried Theme Engine, but it works fine on Windows Vista.

I am currently using Delphi 2006.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I used the VCLSkin component for a long period of time with excellent results in Win xp, vista and 7. It is extremely easy to use (you just drag and drop the component into the main form for the whole application), it is fast, reliable and has many skins.,

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Answer 2

DevExpress has an excellent skin library. You can use your default skins or create your own. Supports all versions of Windows AFAIK. Check out their website for more information.

Answer 3

I used AlphaControls for a while, it is quite smooth and worked well for me under everything from Win2000 to Win7. It is still under active development, so if you click on an error, they will try to fix it. :)

Answer 4

I just highlighted several skin components.

• Suiskin.

  • Very easy to install (just run .exe)
  • Very easy to use.
  • It combines standard components well.
  • Does the whole application contain (an additional line of code is required for any forms that are not automatically generated).
  • Good demo and a good selection of skins.
    

• Alpha control

  • Great library of attractive skins
  • Brilliant demo program.
  • Installation: you need to compile 2 packages, and then install one of them. Do-able, but not as a profession, like Suiskin.
  • Skinning components work well. Well supports the entire application. Skin standards also have their own set of components, which gives more opportunities.
  • Help is translated and only average. Help using the skin editor is complex and a bit incomplete.
  • Can set the offset and saturation of the shades. The hue is brilliant .. basically rotates all the painted colors onto the color wheel by a predetermined amount. therefore .. blue ==> pink, while yellow ==> green, etc. This basically means that one skin suddenly comes with 4 to 6 decent color schemes.
  • The skin editor appeared with an error (I use XP) Failed to install the directory for storing skins. This was the first (and main) step. Found that by placing the executable in a folder with skins, he can find them. After that, the editor seemed very effective.

  • Do not believe the website, which says that the main license is only 1 year. This is a lifetime license with one year of updates included.

    Feeling that the Alpha skinning application was made by someone who gave it excellent power and efficiency, but did not bother with exact points (for example, help and search for professionals and some minor bug fixes). I really went with this set of components.

• KSDEV

  • Professional installation
  • The skin editing program went smoothly and professionally. I felt that it was not as effective at editing skins as alpha skins. This was one of the reasons why I did not go with KSDEV.
  • Professional site with a good demo program.
  • A good range of skins, but he did not feel as excited as alpha skins. That was another reason I went alpha. I believe that this set of components also had a hue shift option. (It was or suiskin, I do not remember)
    

• Vclskin

  • very few sample skins to view on the website (that I could find).
  • Could not find a demo program, if any.
  • a downloaded set of vcl components, but in the zip file he said it was netskin. At the moment, I gave up.

Answer 5

I worked with Theme Engine and Skin Engine from KSDev with great success, although, unlike what you wrote, it worked in search for me.

I personally found that the skin editor was a pest for work, it was full of mistakes, at best unstable, knew little about documentation, but even more stable than the skin editor from Skincrafter.

As an alternative, I know a skin component called Alpha Controls , however I have not tried it myself, Skin Crafter , whose editor I briefly mentioned above, also has a skinning library, my personal experience with this, however, is not the best.

I did not try the VCL skin that PRUZ mentioned about itself, so I can not compare these engines with it, we briefly looked at its specifications when we were looking for skin libraries for our application, but its lack of transparency was too much of a burden designers * sigh *. In any case, I just wanted to give you additional alternatives if you need to.

Answer 6

There is also a TMS skin factory