TunesArt Themes

 

Download and unzip a theme on your Mac and then double-click on the extracted file to install it. To create your own theme, read the second tab “Documentation”.

Introduction

By default, 5 themes are embedded in TunesArt since version 1.0 released in october 2010. TunesArt also supports external themes, stored in a bundle with a “coverStyle” extension. These themes can be installed easily, just by double-clicking on the file. Here, you’ll learn how to create a theme.

1/ File format

Themes are just a bundle with a special extension.
To create such a bundle, first create a folder with Mac OS X Finder, then add “.coverStyle” at the end of the folder name.

All your themes files will be stored in this bundle. The only required files are “settings.plist” (define all themes settings) and “preview.png” (used to display a theme preview in TunesArt preferences). Other files are typically images.

2/ Settings

You can download an example of a settings.plist file here : SettingsTemplate.zip

Here are some explanations on how themes work. First image explains that all your theme images are always displayed on top of music track artwork. Second image will show you all size/position settings (artwork and theme images).

    

CoverType
Type: integer
Possible values: 0, 1, 2
0 is for a plain artwork, without any other theme image. Only one theme should use this setting (already embedded into TunesArt).
1 is for a theme with an overlay image (see “Background” setting), but no mask.
2 is for a theme with an overlay image and a mask.

Background
Type: string
Example value: overlay.png
This setting defines the overlay image to use in your theme. If your CoverType is equal to 0, please define the Background value to “null”. Note that this overlay will always be placed on top of the track’s artwork, so don’t forget to use alpha transparency in your overlay image, otherwise you’ll not see your artwork! Overlay is typically used to add a shadow around the artwork and some lighting effects on top of artwork.

BackgroundWidth
Type: integer
Example value: 500
This is the width of your overlay image, in pixels.

BackgroundHeight
Type: integer
Example value: 500
This is the height of your overlay image, in pixels.

BackgroundRatio
Type: float
Example value: 1.189
TunesArt doesn’t calculate the ratio of your background image, so please define it (ratio=width/height).

Mask
Type: string
Example value: mask.png
Mask image is only used if CoverType is equal to 2 (in other cases, please define this value to “null”). A mask is useful to get non-square artworks: create a grayscale PNG image (white = opaque, black = transparent). The mask will be applied to the track’s artwork, and then the overlay will be added on top.

PosX
Type: integer
Example value: 15
Artwork X position in pixels, starting from left.

PosY
Type: integer
Example value: 15
Artwork Y position in pixels, starting form bottom.

Width
Type: integer
Example value: 400
Artwork width, in pixels.

Height
Type: integer
Example value: 400
Artwork height, in pixels.

Opacity
Type: float
Example value: 0.6
This defines the opacity value of the artwork (overlay image is not affected by this setting).

TextAlign
Type: string
Possible values: center, left
This setting defines the text alignment of elements under the album cover (track’s title, artist, …)

3/ Preview image

A theme should always include a preview image, used by TunesArt preferences window.

This preview image must absolutely follow these guidelines:
– Size: 128 x 128 px
– Format: 24bits PNG with transparent background
– Filename: “preview.png”

Please also include a Retina version of 256 x 256 px named “preview@2x.png”.

4/ Conclusion

When you’re done, test your theme by double-clicking on the bundle.
Be careful: your theme will be automatically moved (and not just copied) to your user “Library/Application Support/TunesArt” folder.

If everything is OK, you can ZIP your theme and send it.