Getting to know the paris.dat configuration file
PARIS.dat is one of three text files in the Paris folder which contain potentially (with care) user-customizable information that can change and enhance your user experience.
Besides the lovingly handcrafted (and skinnable) bitmap drawings that Paris' windows are based on, much of the remainder of PARIS' graphic "look" lies in the color scheme laid out PARIS.dat (located in the app's root folder). PARIS.dat can be opened with any text editor and the colors (which are stored as RGB values like 221,85,159 etc) can be easily edited or new values pasted in. The color of many items in PARIS can be freely reassigned: fonts and menus, most of the items in the Editor Window (except for the bitmaps at the top and down the left of the screen), the text colors in the Mixer Window and colors of editor lanes and audio objects are just a few of the potential targets for "re-colorization". We don't yet have a proper index laying out the relationship between the colors in Paris.dat and elements of the user interface; first up will be a "RADAR-like" color scheme for the Editor Window which can be install by either replacing the Paris.dat or by cutting and pasting the relevant sections of text into one's own Paris.dat. Unlike early adventures in skinning, no adverse effects have yet been noticed from this editing (ie PARIS doesn't seem to care what color its interface elements are). You can also edit the text strings displayed in error messages, the text displayed in PARIS' menus, and more. Just be careful to back up your original PARIS.dat before you edit!
EXAMPLE: How to make a quasi-iZ RADAR colour scheme for your audio objects:
1) First, BACK UP your existing PARIS.dat by copying it and pasting it somewhere safe. If you have any problems, you can simply replace your edited PARIS.dat with this backup copy.
2) Go back into your Paris folder and open PARIS.dat with Notepad
3) find the line "audio fill color"; carefully *replace* the entire line with this:
* audio fill color (background colour of audio objects)
(doing this adds a "comment" - note the asterisk, which tells PARIS to ignore the line, since it's just for your own orientation - so you can find the line again easily)
4) below it is entry 1009 followed by three groups of three numbers separated by commas (those are the RGB colour descriptions of the tan backgrounds). Replace this line with:
1009 156,140,99
5) OK - that's the backgrounds. Let's change the "selected object" colour. Find the line "* audio fill selected colors" below it and carefully replace this line with:
* audio fill selected colors (background colour of audio objects once selected)
6) Find the line below it that starts with 1011 and replace the entire line with:
1011 128,8,8
7) Save PARIS.dat; reboot and enjoy your new colour scheme! If you don't like these exact colours, feel free to experiment by using a resource like thisto create the code for the exact colour you want.
