Intelligent button image resizing

[m_ski]

I would like to request the ability to have skin images (mainly buttons) resize a bit more intelligently. The reason for this is that if you have an xlobby button and resize it to anything other than the original aspect ratio it always looks stretched and rather unprofessional.
A much better way would be to only stretch the middle part of the image so that the edges remain exactly the same no matter how big the button is.
The Google Android SDK describes a way that they use button images called a NinePatch and only stretch specific parts of the image...
http://code.google.com/android/reference/available-resources.html#ninepatch

[samsonlov]

Hi m_ski,

I agree that when resizing, "aspect ratio" changes can make buttons look a bit funky.

I am under the impression that most installers, and "casual skinners" don't have the resources to make (or have made) buttons, and mostly just need to make buttons a bit larger or smaller without "ruining" the look of the buttons. Maybe (IMO) a "Preserve Aspect Ratio Resize" and/or a "Preserve Aspect Ratio" option box in "Properties/General" would be easier to implement, and would still solve the problem you (and I'm sure others) are having.

The work-around I use is as follows:

I re-created almost all the buttons in a "square" format (I used 100x100, 200x200, 300x300, and 400x400).
For "square" buttons I maintain "width=height" and resize at will.

Where I need rectangles, I use a pre-defined "width:height" ratio. (Anywhere between 4:1 and 7:1 works well for my skin since my most popular button sizes are 175x35 and 210x35)

Where I needed a "special" size, I just made it or had it made. If you're interested, email me, and I'll send you some examples.
Hope that helps.