ICQ Color Picker Help Pages - Features

Contents:

Intro: Not just a Color Picker

Since its first version, ICQ Color Picker has morphed into a complex ICQ Customization Utility, not just a mere 'Color Picker'.
Currently, ICQ Color Picker features some very useful tools, such as Presets, Fonts customization, Chat settings edition and works also as a powerful "ICQ Runner", with capabilities of opening ICQ on the user you wish.

Now that you have ICQ Color Picker installed on your system, you might want to dig all this wonderful features... This Help Pages were writen just for you to do so. So get back to the contents, and start learning!

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Controls Overview:

Click on the control you need help with.

Fonts List Font Size Save Pen Color Save Back Color Save Font Settings Save Font Name Edit Chat Box Settings Save As Preset Presets Editor Current Settings Box Context Menu Font Bold Font Underline Font Italic Font Strikethru Edit Fonts List Invert Color Values Toggle Pen/Back Color Lock Values New Settings Box Presets List Edit Message Box Settings About ICQ Color Picker Always On Top Save Settings Undo Changes User Data Field Color Picker Auto-Load Values

User Data Field:

Here's where you select the ICQ user who's settings you wish to edit.

Color Settings Field:

  • Color Picker - The Color Picker is composed by a simple RGB values editor.
  • Lock Values - It would make each color value dependant from the others. Use this to modify the lightness tone of a color.
  • Toggle Pen/Back Color - This is used to switch the color edit from Back color to Pen color, and vice-versa.
  • Invert Color Values - Use this to exchange Back and Pen colors.

General Options Field:

  • Save Settings - This would save all changed into the registry, so that the next time you send an ICQ message or open an ICQ chat window it displays the settings you've chosen. [Ctrl+S]
  • Undo - This would undo your last changes to the color settings. Undo twice to redo. [Ctrl+Z]
  • Toggle Auto-Load Values - If activated it would set the correct color values into the 'Color Picker' each time you toggle the Pen/Back color edit or switch from Message to Chat edit and vice-versa.
  • Always On Top - Makes the window 'always-visible', by placing it always on top of your desktop.
  • About - Displays the 'About ICQ Color Picker' window.

Preview Field:

  • New Settings Box - Here you'll be shown a preview of how your settings would look on your ICQ message/chat window.
  • Current Settings Box - It displays the current settings for your ICQ message/chat window.

Saving Settings Field:

  • Back Color - Decides wether the Back color setting is saved when you press the 'Save Settings' button or not.
  • Pen Color - Decides wether the Pen color setting is saved when you press the 'Save Settings' button or not.
  • Font Name - Decides wether the Font Name setting is saved when you press the 'Save Settings' button or not.
  • Font Settings - Decides wether the Font Size and Effects(Bold, Italic..) settings are saved when you press the 'Save Settings' button or not.

Edit Field:

  • Message Box - Edits the ICQ Message Box settings.
  • Chat Box - Edits the ICQ Chat window settings.

Font Settings Field:

  • Fonts List - Displays a customizable list of your system fonts, from the ones you can choose one for your message/chat font settings.
  • Font Settings - Allows you to edit the size and special effects for your font settings.
  • Fonts List Edit - Pops up the Fonts List Edit widndow.

Presets Field:

  • Presets List - Displays a list of the presets aviable in the specified presets folder(See structure of file 'cp.ini').
  • Save As Preset - Allows you to save your current settings into a preset, which you can later select easily.
  • Presets Editor - Pops up the Presets Edit window.

Context Menu Structure:

  • About ICQ CP - Displays the 'About ICQ Color Picker' window.
  • PCS On-Line - It opens PCS On-Line using your default browser.
  • Help Pages - It opens the ICQ Color Picker Help pages using your default browser. [F1]
  • Select ICQ Version - It displays the ICQ Version Checker.
  • Run ICQ - It runs ICQ if aviable. [F12 or Shift+F12(Set Last Owner first)]
  • Set Last Owner - It saves the current ICQ Color Picker owner into the registry, so that the next time you open ICQ or ICQ Color Picker itself it would auto-load that user's settings. [F10]
  • Copy Hex Color - It puts the current color settings into the clipboard in hexadecimal format, so that you can eigther repaste into ICQ Color Picker or use anywhere else. [Ctrl+C]
  • Paste Hex Color - It imports text data from the clipboard. If that text data is a hexadecimal color it would set its values into the Color Picker. [Ctrl+V]
  • Close - It exits ICQ Color Picker. [ESC]
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Command Lines:

What the hell are the 'Command Lines'? [Skip explanation]
In case you don't know what Command Lines are, here's a brieth explanation:
The 'Command Lines' in Windows OS language are little lines a of text with which apps are run. Not that apps can't run without them, they just specify a few "Parameters" for the app load.
So, imagine you want an app to open a file at an app's run, you could have a Command Line in the app called something like "/openfile [filename]", the app would read the command("openfile") so that it knows what it should do(open a file), and then open the specified file.

And, how do I open an app with a Command Line?
There are 2 ways of doing this from Windows itself:

  1. Specify the Command Line in the "Run.." option from the "Start" menu - Write something like: [app] /commandline [parameters]
  2. Create a link to an app, containing a Command Line - In the link properties page, on the target field, write something like: "[app]"(between brackets) /commandline [parameters]

To complicated? :P ... Well, I did my best.. why don't you check Windows Help or the Internet?

So.. what can ICQ Color Picker do with Command Lines?
ICQ Color Picker can do many things with Command Lines, it can even do things you cannot do with the running program itself, such as loading a random preset, or run ICQ using a specified user, etc.. So pay attention!

Finally, here are the Command Lines for ICQ Color Picker!

  • Run ICQ
    Command Line: /runicq [ICQ Number - Optional]
    Details: Runs ICQ if aviable, using the default last owner or the owner specified within the command line.
    Examples: "/runicq", "/runicq 00000000"
  • Set Last Owner
    Command Line: /setowner [ICQ Number - Required]
    Details: Sets the default last owner to the one specified within the command line.
    Examples: "/setowner 00000000"
  • Set Preset
    Command Line: /setpreset [Preset Path + File Name - Required]
    Details: Sets the current color/font scheme using the file specified within the command line.
    Examples: "/setpreset C:\ICQPresets\MyPreset.ini", "/setpreset :MyPreset.ini"
    Comments: Using the colons(":") instead of a full path sets the path to the default Presets Folder.
  • Random Preset
    Command Line: /rndpreset
    Details: Sets the current color/font scheme using a random preset file from the presets list.
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Tips:

Here are some Tips for you to become an expert user of ICQ Color Picker.

Creating color tones schemes

With this tip you will be able to easily generate a color scheme based on different tones of a single color. Just follow the instructions.

  1. Run ICQ Color Picker(doh! :P).
  2. Set the Auto-Load Values option to 'True'(Activated).
  3. Set the Back color edit.
  4. Select any color of your choice.
  5. Set the Auto-Load Values option to 'False'.
  6. Set the Pen color edit.
  7. Set the Lock Values option to 'True'.
  8. Move any scroller, the preview box should show you a Pen color based on a different color tone of the Back color.

Pick colors from your desktop

This tip will enable you to pick colors directly from your deskmod, so that you can match your scheme colors with your desktop settings.

Note: This tip requires of a color picker app with a color dropper tool. If you don't have one, we reccomend you to use 'ColorPad'.
Download ColorPad from: http://www.entic.net/~vmoya/index.html

Here are the instructions:

  1. Run ColorPad, or whatever eyedropper software you're using
  2. Using the eyedropper tool, select a color from your desktop.
  3. Copy the selected color to the clipboard. Must be in hexadecimal format(e.x.: FFFFFF - No "#" before).
    If you're using ColorPad, just press Ctrl+C, that will do.
  4. Run ICQ Color Picker
  5. Go to the context menu and press 'Paste Hex Color' [Ctrl+V]
  6. Enjoy your colors!

Create links to *your* ICQ

With this tip you'll be able to load ICQ directly to *your* user. If you share your computer, and therefore, your ICQ with someone else, you know what i'm talking about.
It is sometimes upseting that ICQ loads the last user who used it, and no matter which technique you use to open *your* ICQ, it is never comfortable enough.

But don't worry, ICQ Color Picker is here to give you the solution! Just go through the instructions!

  1. Create a link to ICQ Color Picker and place it on your desktop(or wherever you want it to be).
  2. Right-Click on the New Icon and press on "Properties". A window will apear showing the properties of the link.
  3. Notice a button at the bottom with caption "Change Icon", click on it if you with to change the link icon.
  4. Now go back to the properties window and notice a text field called "Target", almost at the top of the window.
  5. Edit the text field placing the following line right after the last character(should be a bracket):
    /runicq Your-ICQ-Number
    Where You'll have to replace "Your-ICQ-Number" with your actual ICQ Number(UIN).
  6. Now press 'OK', and just double click on the link, ICQ would run on the specified ICQ Number(if exists).
  7. Repeat this process for each ICQ user that is shearing the computer.
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