Thursday, January 20, 2011

Magic Mirror

Video & Screenshots (click to enlarge):

                        




How to:

Download this zip file.  It includes everything you'll need.  Move the folder after expanding to the documents folder in your home folder. Use wallpaper.jpg as your wallpaper. Also included is a PSD file (Frame.psd) for the icons, just paste the image you want framed on the bottom most layer.


Dragthing

For the functional dock-like red banners I used Dragthing with my custom theme.  Get my Dragthing Red Banner theme from the zip file you downloaded above. To install the theme right click on Dragthing's application icon and choose "show package contents" navigate to /contents/resources/themes/ and drop redbanner in there.

A note about my Dragthing theme:  I made it to fit my needs and nothing more. It has no bar to grab, so when placing them use a different theme.  Once they're where you want them switch to my theme. Then use the settings shown on the left and resize the docks by clicking on the edge and dragging. If you want to use different settings you may have to tweak them a bit in order for it to look right.



Geektool

For the mirror with time, date and clock I used Geektool. The scripts (geeklets) are in the zip file you downloaded above.

Open Geektool and make 2 image geeklets, make one display back.gif and one display mirror.png (both found in the zip file).  Back.png will always be the furthest back geeklet and mirror.png will always be the furthest forward, everything else will be sandwiched in between (right click on the geeklet to move them forward and back).  Resize these 2 how you'd like, just be sure they're the same size (window outline).

Keep mirror.png geeklet off to the side for the time being and place the back.gif geeklet (looks like an egg) where you want the center of the mirror to be.  Open time.glet, ampm.glet, day.glet, month.glet and date.glet and move them on top of the hard-boiled egg.  You may need to change the font to your liking (the ones I used aren't free). Now open timekeeper.glet and place anywhere, it will be invisible when we are done. Click on it, then click on the 3 dots (...) next to the command line in the Geektool window.  Change everywhere it says USERNAME to your mac username and save. Now make a new image geeklet and point it to the image called "o.png" inside /Users/USERNAME/Documents/MagicMirror/. Move and resize the clock to desired position. Now move the mirror.png geeklet directly above the egg.

Phhewww....thats it!

This is all optimized for my specific needs and screen size. You may have to tweak things a bit to get it to work for you.  Good luck!

Props

The analogue clock script was written by Flyne and posted on the MacRumors forums here.

The textures used in the making of the wallpaper, banners and mirror came from lostandtaken.com

The original photo of the mirror was taken from creative bleed.

I honestly can't remember where I got the frame image used on the outside of the icons.  It was probably a google image search for "frame".  Regardless, props to to them.

And finally, props to you for figuring this out on your own with no additional help from me (my schedule may not allow me to reply).

More to come...



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