About skins

One of the most interesting features of publications made with HTML Executable is their skin support. The entire look and feel of the application (its windows and controls) may be changed through a simple click thanks to skins.

The skin feature is similar to the Windows themes, except that HTML Executable applications use their own skin engine.

Just select the skin you want in the list and that's all!

  A small preview of the selected skin is automatically displayed but you can get an extended preview by clicking "Skin Full-Preview". Note that previews do not take into account other properties.

  HTML Executable has a skin editor (which is a separate component that you can get from your registered user account page because it is not shipped with the original distribution). You can customize existing skins or create new ones from scratch using this editor. Just click "Open Skin Editor" to launch it.

Note: you do not need to distribute the skin file: it is automatically compiled into your ebook's or publication's data.

Enable Dark Mode

The "Enable Dark Mode" option is a feature that allows users to switch to a darker color palette in their application's user interface. Dark mode, as it's known in Windows, changes the default bright theme to darker colors, which can be easier on the eyes in low-light environments or at night. It can also provide a different aesthetic appeal to users who prefer darker themes.

HTML Executable can simulate the dark mode by allowing you to select a dedicated skin that will be displayed when the end user's dark mode is enabled. Our ebook compiler comes with many ready-to-use skins that can be applied for dark mode.

Skin-related options

Create a window with no title bar

Enable this option to remove the title bar of the window. Be sure to inform your end users that they must press ALT+F4 in order to close the application.

Hide caption buttons

If you would like to remove all system buttons from the title bar (system menu, minimize, maximize, close, etc...) and keep a title bar, then turn on this option. Important: please give your users a way to properly close the application (although they can still press ALT+F4).

No skinnable window

This option disables the skin feature for the window itself; thus, you get a normal window (interesting option for Vista or Windows 7). Other controls are still rendered by the skin engine.

Do not use skins for system dialogs

Enable or not skins for standard Windows dialog boxes such as Open File or Print Options.