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Any EASY Windows Forms Skin Kits for C#?

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worstje:
Just my two cents: skin kits are overrated and the bane of the normal user.

It means you have to relearn an interface. That it looks different from the rest of your OS. That it acts different. If you are colorblind, maybe the new colours make the interface unusable. If you're fully blind, there's a good chance your screenreader ceases working. And if you are a poweruser, there's a good chance you'll get really piffed with all the extra memory and sluggishness the skin brings along, as it is never going to be as good as what the OS offers by default.

I think that as long you make sure to use the Visual Themes support Windows offers (as opposed to the old Windows Classic look) you have made it look more than pretty enough.

f0dder:
Renegade, please don't fall for the "skins" lure. It pisses us power users off. Either you go for native look-and-feel, or you go way overboard and do a Really Fancy(TM) in WPF.

But skins? It's so damn tacky.

Renegade:
@Ath -- thanks for those! The Code Project one looks interesting from a glance (working on something else right now -- didn't expect fast responses). I'll be checking them out very soon.

Just my two cents: skin kits are overrated and the bane of the normal user.

It means you have to relearn an interface. That it looks different from the rest of your OS. That it acts different. If you are colorblind, maybe the new colours make the interface unusable. If you're fully blind, there's a good chance your screenreader ceases working. And if you are a poweruser, there's a good chance you'll get really piffed with all the extra memory and sluggishness the skin brings along, as it is never going to be as good as what the OS offers by default.

I think that as long you make sure to use the Visual Themes support Windows offers (as opposed to the old Windows Classic look) you have made it look more than pretty enough.
-worstje (December 31, 2010, 05:47 AM)
--- End quote ---


Yes and no.

If you look at all high-end audio editors, they all mimic hardware because that's the standard. MP3 players do the same -- they mimic stereo systems.

So it really depends on what you're doing. You need to judge things carefully and go with what makes the most sense for the software and the target audience.

e.g. It wouldn't make much sense to do a line of business data entry form in a skinned way, unless it suited the industry.

I just want something to help expand my capabilities and the type of software I can produce quickly.

Renegade:
Renegade, please don't fall for the "skins" lure. It pisses us power users off. Either you go for native look-and-feel, or you go way overboard and do a Really Fancy(TM) in WPF.

But skins? It's so damn tacky.
-f0dder (December 31, 2010, 05:52 AM)
--- End quote ---

Don't worry. I've got a level head enough to not use a skin for the sake of using a skin. :)

f0dder:
Renegade: if what you want to do is creating one of those "unique" applications, you're more in the realm of custom controls than just "skinning". And this can be justified, Reason wouldn't work very well with the standard windows controls. And if this is what you're doing, it's a pity if you're stuck with WinForms and can't move to WPF's much better design/layout stuff.

MP3 players are a good example of software that shouldn't be skinned, though - even if 99% of them are.

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