There isn't actually a default size, just remember that the smaller the better (as long as it's not too small). Mostly the size depends on the design.

There is an article about optimizing skins for speed that goes into a little bit of detail about what sizes would be good. I don't remember where it was though. Anybody got as link to it still?

This has always been my biggest problem when skinning window blinds. There is no documentation stating the optimum size for any particular graphical component in WB. The only thing you can do is open a skin that has the component you need to make, and see what size that author used. The nearest thing you will find is that tutorial by Aleksyander, which is linked in that thread at the top of the main message board. He gives some sizes in that tutorial, but because it was made a while ago, it doesn't include a lot of the newer stuff.

Also, I think one of the reasons for the lack of documentation on this is that there is no set size for many of the components, and it depends whether you are going to tile or stretch the image.

Well, that's how it looks to me....but I'm no expert. I'm just an artist dammit! [tm].

If you're using a pattern make it big and use stretch, if it's plain make it small and use tile.

Hey! I was right! there's a first. If Mike agrees with me, it must be right, 'cos he is an expert!

Woo Hoo

doh! eveyone beat me to it!

I got that sitting next to me Wolf

I wasn't talking about a list of optimum sizes. It was more of a guideline. I forget who wrote it, I think it might have been the same guy who made the SkinBench program, but I don't remember.

I lost all my old bookmarks so I'll have to go digging for it again. The whole thing was actually about making the skins faster, but there was a little bit of info on image sizes too.

This is a cut and paste from part of Aleksyandr's tutorial:

The first image we'll go over is the one for the taskbar, toolbar and system buttons. The bitmap for these buttons in the Tutorial folder is: buttons_system.bmp

Hopefully from the preview it is clear where in Windows you'd find each set of buttons. The toolbar buttons (circled in red) are located on the quicklaunch bar (on Windows 9x/2000, not XP) and on some windows, such as Windows Explorer and My Computer (the file, edit, help, etc. buttons). The taskbar buttons (blue) are the ones located across the taskbar (on Windows 9x/2000, not XP). And the system buttons (green) are most everywhere else, in dialog boxes (such as the one asking if you'd like to save your file before closing the program) and other miscellaneous windows, such as Display Properties or File Options.

The bitmap for these elements uses all five button states, as described in Part One.

In some of my skins, I use the same design for these three elements, but it is possible to use different designs for the taskbar, toolbar and system buttons. It just depends on what your particular design calls for. If you wanted a different design for all three elements, then you would have three different bitmaps, but they must all contain the five image states.

Suggested Bitmap Size: 375 (width) x 23 (height) (five states of 75 x 23 each), if the part being stretched or tiled has some detail on it (such as gradients). The buttons used in this exercise are only a solid color in the center, however, which is why the bitmap for them is so small.

You will se he has a suggested bitmap size. He does this for most sections, but as I said previously, the newer stuff isn't covered.

Wow, thanks guys. A lot of good suggestions there.
I had seen the tutorial when I first started but it was kinda confusing but now that I'm more familiar with skinning I'll have to go back and read it again.
Checking out the bits added by other skinners is good too. I'm sure I've got some that have the Start Panel Item Background.

You guys are great

I don't know if I'm ready to go that far (resource editor) but thanks for the suggestion anyway, moshi

a link would probably help: http://www.tgtsoft.com/download.php