I've developed a iOS application for a customer and now it's time to make it nicer by implementing/importing the graphic design provided by the graphic designer.
Here is the problem:
the graphic designer gave me just some PNG pictures which show how the application should look like.
I was thus wondering:
What's the best way to implement the graphic design or import it into XCode?
Is there a way for the graphic designer to provide some material I can directly use to implement the graphic design?
Is there any tool (either free or professional) for helping iOS designers and developers to cooperate?
Thanks.
You can use a UIImageView and place it on the background of a uiview so you can layout native buttons and objects to best imitate the graphics they sent you using native controls or you can use other helpers online such as these.
Honestly, IMO it's generally better to use their graphics as a template then recreate what they are wanting to achieve using native controls to adhere to the HIG Apple provides. Giving the user a nice at home feeling while also giving the client the look they are wanting to achieve is the general idea to a successful app. Each OS has it's own "look and feel" that the users come to expect.
http://designthencode.com
http://www.jumpstartyourcode.com
Related
I'm in the process of developing an iPad-only survey-app using MonoTouch. With monotouch.dialog (mt.d) I found that building these interfaces can come quickly, which is awesome.
However... I also found that mt.d only does about 80% of what I want. Makes me wonder: should I invest in extending mt.d to my needs or should I choose something differently over mt.d?
Some of my requirements:
Radiogroups without transitions: I like the options to be
presented right away (there's more than enough space on the iPad
screen)
A rating UI control, such as
http://www.cocoacontrols.com/platforms/ios/controls/dyrateview
Mixed radiogroups: like 3 predefined elements and a fourth which
allows for manually added content
What are your thoughts on this? Can this be done easily (I'm a trained programmer, but quite new to both C# and iOS development)? Do you guys know of any online repositories of custom UI components with C#/MonoTouch bindings?
Thanks a lot!
This is of course a subjective opinion, but my take on it is that if you believe you can do your UI in UITableView (which MonoTouch.Dialog is based on), then you should go for MonoTouch.Dialog. If UITableView will not fit your needs, you should look for a different approach. MonoTouch.Dialog is quite flexible, and open-source, so if you need anything to be different you can just use the source code and modify it at will.
I am not an expert in Objective C and have never submitted an iPhone app. I just want to check if this idea would pass Apple for App Store. Basically, I want to create custom UI controls that look like standard controls such as button, list, etc... The reason is based on business decision and these custom controls would have different behavior. No way to go around that. If I do so, would this be a red flag from Apple for copying their UI controls or not using their standard ones?
Thoughts?
The Human Interface guide (HIG) for iOS apps provides a good overview of what is expected interns of functionality and interface design.
Custom control interface are allowed just as long as they don't meet a users expectations as to what the result of using the control is. You can copy apples controls and UIs but just don't change the expected behaviour of said controls.
Simple question. Does anyone know why Interface Builder doesn't allow for applying custom styles on UI elements? Why is it only possible to do this programmatically?
I can see how this might be difficult for custom UIView subclasses but the default controls definitely only have a tiny subset of the style options available through IB, such as background color or changing font colors. Why is this the case? Is there any way to approach a concept like application themes through IB?
My personal feeling is that Apple does this right. They provide the elements and styles that fit the HIG. If they start adding other elements/styles then where do the start, and where do they draw the line?
Also, it isn't like Apple actively prevents using custom elements/styles, they just don't include it in the tool set.
The last thing we need is a tool set full of bloat.
You'd really have to ask Apple as to the why. I'd guess that it's some combination of promoting consistent use of standard interface elements and limited development resources.
You can, of course, build interfaces using your own custom subclasses of the standard interface elements in IB. It's a little more work, since you have to change the type of each object you add from UIButton to MyGreenButton or whatever, but it's not difficult.
It's also not hard to imagine coming up with a controller-type class that could connect to all your controls and whatnot to customize their appearance in some consistent, theme-like manner. Add an instance of that to each nib, connect all the controls, and let it do it's thing. You wouldn't see the effect until you actually run the app, of course, but it sounds like you're talking about customizing colors and fonts rather than size.
Unfortunately you are at the mercy of the Almighty Apple Deity..... Bow at their feet and give thanks that you have what they give you..... lol...
Seriously tho. Apple puts in what apple wants and you can request additions, but the IB is fairly minimal in the way of features.
I think this may be by design. Somehow an Elegant Simplicity ?
The ability to customize the controls is given to the programmer however I think they want the controls standardized. I just dont know why they didnt give a little more variety in the controls that are available. Like a few more button styles for the ios devices...
If you find out otherwise I would definitely be all ears.
I think that apple should let you to customize more the controls, for games it takes too much time to make the custom control ( you can make it faster in android as you can configure it in xml)
Btw PaintCode is another option to make your own style for components, it will generate the code but its more like interface builder
http://www.paintcodeapp.com/
I'd like to develop an app to visualize galleries and I really like the Flickr official app or Instabam app style.
Basically, something like this (instabam app)
my idea was to use a scrollview with buttons to easily handle touch event.
Is this a good approach?
Are there better approaches?
Have you considered using an open source library such as AQGridView?
We are developing a software that will automate many crucial activities in Photoshop.
This application is targeted for newbies.
In this application I want to embed Photoshop's window in my applications window. Currently Photoshop runs separately in its own window.
How can I get it to run in a particular location in given space in my application window?
How about this: find Photoshop's window handle using FindWindow, and after that use SetParent to embed it into your form/panel. You might also need to maximize and remove borders from Photoshop's window, see Windows API for more details on how to do this.
I don't know of any API to let you embed Photoshop into another application, and I don't think that API exists. However, why can't you accomplish what you want using ActionScript or a native plug-in inside Photoshop? This is accomplishing almost the same thing, just from a different direction.