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iPox Remix
I’m retiring from Firefox theming.
It’s been a fun journey over the past 5 years creating Firefox themes. I created nearly a dozen themes, stating with iPox, and I’ve got over 5 million downloads! However, I just can’t keep up.
With Firefox 4 just around the corner, my themes would probably need to be revamped from the ground up and I just don’t have the time. Heck, some of theme aren’t even updated for Firefox 3.6!
It’s a hard decision to make though as I loved creating them. I loved making the fans happy and I wish I could keep up with them.
Re-Package Your Theme For Firefox 3.6
With the release of Firefox 3.6, developers that used the iPox Remix tutorials to create their theme will have to create a new install file and folder structure. Don’t worry, it’s not to hard.
Firefox 3.6 Theme Compatibly
Good news and bad news.
The bad news is that my themes are currently NOT compatiblewith Firefox 3.6. I tested it out the other day and nothing happened. No error, no theme, no luck.
The good news is I was able to find out why and fix it. I had to re-do the theme structure and install files but I did get it to work. If you are using iPox Remix as the basis of your theme, you’ll need to make the updates as well. I hope to have a how-to on that soon.
iAqua and extero Themes Need Your Help
Two of my themes that have not yet made the Firefox 3 jump are iAqua and extero. Both themes are very nice and ones that I wish I had time to update but it’s just not happening. With a baby due in weeks, I just don’t see these two Firefox themes getting any sort of attention.
So, if you’d like to take the files, update them, and release them, you are free to. If you’d like to take the files and create your own theme, you can do that as well.
Showcase: Indianapolis Colts Firefox Theme
I know that my Firefox Theme tutorials get a lot of attention, but I don’t always get to see the outcome. One that I know of though is the Indianapolis Colts Firefox theme.
Theme designer, madBOX20, went though my tutorials and created this football theme. Sure, he started with one of my themes, but he designed all the buttons and made a well polished, great looking theme.
Myself, I’m not a Colts fan, but I do love to see what has been created buy you, the visitors!
iPox Remix Theme Tutorials for Firefox 3
iPox Remix has been updated for Firefox 3.
iPox Remix is a set of tutorials on creating your own Firefox theme. You are provided with a starter theme that contains all the necessary files and images to get you going. It also contains a set of tutorials to help you customize the files and create your own theme.
Unfortunately I don’t have a tutorial for converting themes from Firefox 2 to 3. I did it manually and re-coded everything. It’s what worked best for me.
Why I would quit theming today.
I love to create Firefox themes, make addons and lots of freebees that others often enjoy. I do this on my free time and love to see people enjoy them. But some days, I’m ready to throw in the towel.
I’ve recently got a few comments from a visitor saying “hurry up and release the f**king theme” and “do your f**king job.”
Now I know that there is bound to be one jerk out of hundreds of users, but it’s comments like these that make me wonder why I continue to spend my time on themes. It’s not my job and, the more negative comments I get, the slower my progress will be. These things take hours to build and there is a lot to take into consideration.
iPox Remix – General Theme Answers
iPox Remix has generated a lot of interest in themes, but there are many unanswered questions out there. Here are a few that have come across my email.
1. How do I use a different image/skin for the menu bar and the bar with the address box?
The main menu bar with File, Edit, View ect. can be themed with this code:
#toolbar-menubar {
background:red;
}
#main-menubar {
background:none;
}
The URL bar can be themed with this code:
#nav-bar{
background:red;
}
Changing Fonts & Colors in Firefox Themes
Today’s question comes off the iPox Remix request line:
How do I make the font on the bookmark toolbar change color when I hover over it?
Since Firefox runs mainly on CSS, this is a pretty easy edit. Just go into /browser/browser.css and look for the following chunk of code:
toolbarbutton.bookmark-item:hover,
toolbarbutton.bookmark-item:hover:active,
toolbarbutton.bookmark-item[open="true"] {
background: url(chrome://browser/skin/bookmarks/bookmark-highlight.png) !important;
color: #fff;
padding: 2px 4px;
}
Where you see color: #fff this states that it’s using white as the rollover (aka hover) color. Change that to another color and you’re good to go. Colors can be in HEX format or you can type in an actual color like red or blue.
