How to set transparency to HUD Window - cocoa

I am using standard HUD window (Drag and drop from IB Library). But I don't see any control to set the transparency of this HUD window.
I also tried to customize NSPanel to create HUD window . But whatever the alpha value I set. It takes default alpha value. One more problem in this approach is I think I need to draw tittle bar.
Any solution or alternate solution is appreciated.

This page has an example that subclasses NSPanel and draws an HUD Window completely from scratch. The background color/alpha can easily be changed from HUDWindow.m.

Related

How do you create NSWindow title bar to be transparent, but not the content of the window itself?

I am in the process of creating a small image editor.
What I aim, is to create a window with transparent titlebar, but not what contains inside the window.
I have check HUD Window, but it's really is a panel, not a window. And I am missing the regular close,maximize and minimize button.
Is there anyway to create such window?
Or can we modify HUD to hold regular close,max and min button?
Thanks so much in advance!
Eko
Use a standard borderless window approach and provide a content view that draws something. Even if the content view's bounds rect is just filled with [NSColor whiteColor].
Update: Re-reading, I see you seem to be asking for just a transparent title bare but still with the window controls. See this StackOverflow question for an approach at customizing a window's title bar. Careful, though - I'm not sure this would be accepted into the App Store. Best to have a backup plan in case it's not.
Here is what I found that match to what I want : window trasparency
The trick is making the main window transparent, but not the content by creating a special view for this.

Background for Mac OS X app and other elements like NSButton, NSTabView

I changed the background color for my app, but other elements keep the same background color.
Looks like I missed some easy configuration, bsc for NSTabViewItems item colors is deprecated by docs, and using current theme...
You can't easily adjust the tint of the standard controls. You're going to have to subclass and override the drawing code for each of the elements.
Also, may I humbly suggest that you leave it the default color?
U may use Core Animation layer in IB. Choose your object (for example button),
open the view effects inspector (⎇⌘8), set checkbox with your object, add "content filters"
color monochrome and set color! That is all!

Is it posible to use free form shapes as windows in OSX?

I want to use a free form shape (e.g. A partially transparent image) as a window backgound without the standard close and maximise buttons. Like the widgets do. Is that possible in OSX? I could not find any info on that or an app that uses this.
Thanks
Yes. You can do this by subclassing NSWindow to make it borderless and transparent. You'll also subclass NSView to draw the visible custom shape, then use an instance of this view as the window's content view. The result will be a window whose only visible parts will be the shape your content view draws.
Here's a good article with an example.

Change color of title bar in cocoa

This must have been asked before, but after Googling I still can't find the answer.
How do you change the color of the title bar (The bar that you can click and drag around with the close, minimize and maximize buttons) to a different color than the default gray in Cocoa?
If you set the background color of a "textured" window (a distinction that isn't really all that visible in Snow Leopard) that color will be applied to the titlebar as well. This is what Firefox does.
I would recommend though not having a real titlebar (i.e. setting your window to have no titlebar) and using +[NSWindow standardWindowButton:forStyleMask:] and putting your own buttons in the "titlebar". This allows you more control and is way way less hacky.
If it's a panel, you can change it to black by instantiating it as a HUD window.
Otherwise, you can't. Ever notice how there aren't any Aqua windows with different-colored title bars roaming around in other apps? This is why.
The only other way to change the appearance of the title bar (without relying on private implementation details such as the existence of a frame view) is to make the window borderless and create its title bar and window buttons from the ground up.
If you go with Colin's approach of making the window textured in interface builder (check box in the attributes of the window), here's the line to change the background color of the window you'd put in this function of the appDelegate.m file
//In this function --->
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
//type this
[_window setBackgroundColor: NSColor.whiteColor];
If you don't mind private API, you could subclass NSThemeFrame.
Setting title bar appears as transparent
self.window.titlebarAppearsTransparent = YES;
And setting window background color as you wish

Making an NSButton resize its image (Cocoa OSX)

I could not find a way in the documentation to tell an NSButton to resize its image to fill up the whole button. Is there a way to do this programatically?
The closest you'll get is -setImageScaling: ... look up the constants to see how the image will be scaled within the button cell, given its bordered state and bezel type.
If you're looking to replace the standard button entirely with your image (ie, the button cell doesn't draw itself at all - your image serves as the entire visual representation), turn off the border (-setBordered:).
All of these options can be configured in IB as well. A tip: in IB, hover the mouse over any setting in the inspector panel - most if not all give you a hint that shows what method controls the behavior affected by the setting's control.

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