Project template icon

[Mental Pug]

Is there a way of setting the Project Template`s image that shows in Start Screen ? Like the Basic template has that monitor icon or 4-Track template has a mixer image. Can I set a custom image to my custom project template? ...or at least a factory one ?

[gustabo]

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Startgt-New-From-Template-Custom-Icons-m3415439.aspx

[Mental Pug]

Thank you.

[Tree's Studio]

I could not get the method described in gustabo's link to work but stumbled on a method that does.  Current as of Jan 2022, running version 2021.12(build 102, 64 bit).   If you just want to change the icon of an already existing template, this worked for me with the most important message here - don't let windows overwrite a current template file with the same name.  Cakewalk gets confused when it comes to the display icons. 

• Open and modify whatever you desire in any project.  This can be template file with cwt file extension or a project file with a cwp extension. 
• Find the Notes tab in the browse window.  This is likely near the right side of your screen, relatively close to the top unless you've changed it or undocked it.
• Here you'll find a place where you can input your song title, album, artist, copyright, and any other notes you want to keep.  Importantly, this is where you'll see a small square where an icon can be added by clicking the + symbol (you must mouse over to see the +).
• Clicking the + opens up a window.  Go find any photo or icon you want to use.  Try not to use huge file sizes and a square picture/icon works better.  I've only tried JPG and PNG formats and both worked.  Once you find your graphic, click the "open" button at the bottom of the window.
• Your graphic should now be displayed in the square box.  Sometimes this is a bit buggy for the initial viewing and only part of the graphic initially shows up, but leaving and/or saving the file and coming back to it will make it show up correctly from then on.
• Now to have that graphic show up as the template icon.  Go to File>Save As.  A window opens.  If this is a brand new template, type in your desired file name, select "template" in the drop down menu of "Save as type", and select "Template Files (.CWT, .TPL)" in the drop down menu of "Go to Folder".  Once that's all selected click "Save".
• If you've done all that but decide you only want to change the icon, prior to clicking "Save" you can either use a different file name (not recommended for organizational reasons) or just delete the old file that is showing up with the same name before clicking "Save".  THIS WILL NOT WORK IF YOU LET WINDOWS OVERWRITE WITH THE SAME FILE NAME.  So if you get the popup window telling you that the file name already exists; would you like to overwrite, you've done something wrong.
• You should see your changes in the start screen now under the New Project tab.

Best of luck and happy viewing!??

 

[Byron Dickens]

 

This thread is almost three years old!

There's been a lot of changes since then and this might not even be relevant any more.

[Starship Krupa]

10 hours ago, bdickens said:

This thread is almost three years old!

There's been a lot of changes since then and this might not even be relevant any more.

According to the release notes, nothing has been addressed in this regard.

And by golly, we now have yet another "sure fire" way to do it. The thread on the current site (in the Tutorials section) is a wonderful collection of "that didn't work for me but I found a way that does," always referring to someone else's method that works every time for the person who posted it.

It's one of the great mysteries of Cakewalk, up there with "why does Cakewalk create a spurious clip at the end of my takes if the last take is shorter than the previous ones?"

No one knows exactly how Start Screen assigns images to templates (and even regular projects if you don't choose one in the Notes browser), why for some it's critical to overwrite the previous file and for some it's equally critical not to overwrite the previous file, why sometimes the default icon is a nice vinyl record and other times it's a screenshot of the project at some point. Some think it's using certain magic words, others are just as sure that making an offering of the image you wish to use in the correct location is the trick. So far it has resisted some very determined attempts to reverse engineer a 100% effective method, and I'm beginning to admire it for that.

[John Vere]

I often wonder how many users spend more time getting Cakewalk to look wonderful than actually recording music?  

[Byron Dickens]

This forum has got to be the worst I've ever seen for thread necromancy.

[Starship Krupa]

9 hours ago, John Vere said:

I often wonder how many users spend more time getting Cakewalk to look wonderful than actually recording music?  

Seven very detailed themes and counting over here! They each even have custom color presets! Link's in my sig! Enjoy! You'll love my custom buttons and iconography, really! ? (I work on themes while I'm waiting for musical inspiration to return, so that gives you some idea of how much time I spend waiting for musical inspiration to return)

The thing about the Start Screen, for those of us who use it, is that it's the first thing we see when we start the program. So having it look nice and tidy and welcoming and inspiring is important. For much of the music world these days, and this includes me with the electronica I'm currently into, the DAW is the instrument. How much attention do guitarists put into the look of their instruments? And why? An instrument (or any other creative tool) should inspire you to pick it up and use it.

If the first thing we see when we go to start a new project is a screen with our fine-tuned template projects, but with ugly generic icons that we've been unable to change, it's less inspiring. It's like having a cluttered workspace.

Another reason is that it's basically just really fun to customize your stuff. Car, clothes, home, whatever, people love to put our personal stamp on the things we use. It makes them more "ours." Theme Editor is (obviously) one of my favorite features of Cakewalk for this reason.

8 hours ago, bdickens said:

This forum has got to be the worst I've ever seen for thread necromancy.

People aren't good at searching, I guess. I resigned myself to that a long time ago, but bonus: being a black belt in search engines makes me look way more knowledgeable than I really am. And BTW, although I consider myself a Google ninja, I have a lady dog of a time with the search function in this forum.

Raising the dead thread means that at least new forumite Tree did do a search, but instead of finding the more extensive ongoing thread over in Tutorials, they found this one.

[John Vere]

Great explanation of why looks can count. And if you saw my studio you’re sure enough going to see a big mess of wires, old gear and not to pretty instruments.  
I actually just switched over to using the start screen last summer. I always had it shut off but turned it back on for making tutorials. Cakewalk’s default of the screen shot icon sort of works brilliantly for me in narrowing down the search for a project. Like my “16 Track template “ shows 16 uncoloured tracks. That looks entirely different than full projects that are very colourful.  

And I’m grateful to those who make new themes. I would never take the time to figure that out as my DAW time is limited. I just loaded up one made by Mr Cook. A simple one with soft green highlights , perfect.