Installing Reaper Themes

shollystuff · 02-08-2018, 01:57 PM

Please forgive the noob question, but when I unzip some Reaper themes that I found on the Reaper Stash, I end up with a file that DOESN'T have ZIP on the end of it. For example: CRYPTO.ReaperTheme (no ZIP on the end of the filename). These themes don't show up in the Options/Themes menu of Reaper, so I can't select them from the menu. Why does this happen? Why do most themes end in ZIP, but some do not?
Thanks in advance for your help.

vdubreeze · 02-08-2018, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shollystuff

Please forgive the noob question, but when I unzip some Reaper themes that I found on the Reaper Stash, I end up with a file that DOESN'T have ZIP on the end of it. For example: CRYPTO.ReaperTheme (no ZIP on the end of the filename). These themes don't show up in the Options/Themes menu of Reaper, so I can't select them from the menu. Why does this happen? Why do most themes end in ZIP, but some do not?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi shollystuff : ) Don't unzip the files from the stash. They should arrive as .ReaperThemeZip. Put them in the theme folder as is and they should be recognized. (You can unzip them to get at what's inside, and then zip back and change the suffix from .zip to .ReaperThemeZip, but that's another kettle of fish)

solger · 02-08-2018, 02:11 PM

Can you post a link to these Themes?

In general, this can vary depending on the Theme (and the provided download files).
As example, in some cases it might be sufficient to rename the .zip file extension to .ReaperThemeZip (in case the zip file includes only a folder with the Theme image files, etc. and a .ReaperTheme file).
In other cases Themes might be provided in a .zip file because they include additional files besides the .ReaperThemeZip (like install instructions, preview images, multiple Theme color versions, Toolbar Icons, etc.) ...

As a side note: you can install .ReaperThemeZip files also by simply dragging them into the Reaper window

shollystuff · 02-08-2018, 02:23 PM

https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/2045/l...iosnanardo.zip

solger · 02-08-2018, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shollystuff

https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/2045/l...iosnanardo.zip

OK, in this case:

1) Rename the file to lesstudiosnanardo.ReaperThemeZip
2) Then drag the file into Reaper to install this Theme

shollystuff · 02-08-2018, 02:55 PM

Thanks for the advice... That worked! I find a large number of themes in the Reaper Stash that are formatted the same way. I guess I can just rename those in the same way.

solger · 02-08-2018, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shollystuff

I find a large number of themes in the Reaper Stash that are formatted the same way. I guess I can just rename those in the same way.

Yeah, I guess this should work for most of the Themes in the Stash.

And in case it might not be working this way for a specific download file, feel free to ask here again

shollystuff · 02-08-2018, 08:11 PM

Here's another Reaper theme file that doesn't show up in my dropdown menu after I install it in Reaper... Blackboard reapertheme.rar

Any ideas why?

cincikat69 · 02-08-2018, 10:47 PM

There is some misinformation and nonsense here that is just over-complicating things. Simply put, here is what you need to know and do -

Do not rename anything. If it has the extension .ReaperThemeZip it is ready to be loaded into your theme folder, either manually or by dragging it into your REAPER window.

If it has an extension like .zip or .rar or even .7zip, that is a compressed archive file that you will have to extract the content to access the theme file (and occasionally extras provided by the theme maker). Then look for the proper file extension .ReaperThemeZip and follow the instructions I gave you before.

But sometimes after unzipping the archives there will be a .reaperthemefile and a folder with the same title...those must both be manually copied to your theme folder.

solger · 02-09-2018, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shollystuff

Here's another Reaper theme file that doesn't show up in my dropdown menu after I install it in Reaper... Blackboard reapertheme.rar

Any ideas why?

In this case follow these instructions: https://forum.cockos.com/showpost.ph...5&postcount=12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blechi

- unrar 'Blackboard reapertheme.rar'
- open folder 'Blackboard reapertheme'
- move folder 'Blackboard' and file 'Blackboard.ReaperTheme' to your ...\Reaper\ColorThemes folder
- install font 'SqueakyChalkSound.ttf'

should work now

The reason is that the .rar archive contains the following:
- 'Blackboard' folder
- Blackboard.ReaperTheme
- SqueakyChalkSound.zip with an additional font

In comparison, a .ReaperThemeZip file would only include the first two:
- 'Blackboard' folder
- Blackboard.ReaperTheme

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincikat69

But sometimes after unzipping the archives there will be a .reaperthemefile and a folder with the same title...those must both be manually copied to your theme folder.

Copying/moving both manually into the ColorThemes folder is probably one of the easier ways.

But it should also be possible to either compress both (.ReaperTheme file & folder with the same title) into a single .ReaperThemeZip.
Or renaming the archive extension (from .zip, etc.) to .ReaperThemeZip (in case the archive only includes a .ReaperTheme file & folder with the same title).
At least it's working here ...

Or are there any noticeable performance benefits (or other advantages) from leaving the folder and .ReaperTheme file uncompressed?

cincikat69 · 02-09-2018, 04:48 AM

@ solger -

No, there is no advantage, unless perhaps the user intends to modify the theme at some point, in which case it's easier to just leave it unpacked. The only reason I didn't go into compressing it into the single file format is that I'm trying to keep it simple for the OP, who is an admitted beginner asking basic questions.

solger · 02-09-2018, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cincikat69

@ solger -

No, there is no advantage, unless perhaps the user intends to modify the theme at some point, in which case it's easier to just leave it unpacked. The only reason I didn't go into compressing it into the single file format is that I'm trying to keep it simple for the OP, who is an admitted beginner asking basic questions.

OK. Thanks for the info.