User guide

Creating and changing theme projects
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You can create your new theme project using the selected layout type as your starting point. You can change from
one layout type to another at any time, however, if you customize the Home screen, the customizations do not apply
in the new theme layout. Other changes that you make in the theme project apply.
You must create your theme project for the specific screen dimensions of a BlackBerry® device. The BlackBerry Theme
Builder scales the screen elements to fit the specified screen dimensions.
When you export a theme, you choose the specific device to export the theme for. You cannot create a theme and
export it for use on BlackBerry devices that have different screen dimensions.
For example, if you design a theme for a BlackBerry® Tour™ Series smartphone (with screen dimensions of 480 x 360
pixels), users cannot download that theme to a BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300 Series smartphone (with screen dimensions
of 320 x 240 pixels). Users can, however, download the theme to a BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphone, that has
the same screen dimensions (480 x 360 pixels) as the BlackBerry® Tour™ Series smartphone.
You can save a theme project at any time and reopen it later to continue designing your theme.
Create a theme
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the Create New Theme dialog box, in the Name field, type a name for your new theme project.
3. In the BlackBerry drop-down list, click the BlackBerry® device that you are creating the theme for.
If you are creating a theme for the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330 smartphone, click Curve 8330 Series. If you are
creating a theme for the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8350i smartphone, click Curve 8350 Series. If you are creating a
theme for the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8300, BlackBerry® Curve™ 8310, or BlackBerry® Curve™ 8320, click Curve
8300 Series.
4. In the Layout Type drop-down list, click the layout that you want to use as the basis for your new theme.
5. Click Create.
Best practice: Naming a theme project
You should give your theme projects names that are unique, and avoid using special characters. When you export
your theme project and create the .cod file, the BlackBerry® Theme Builder changes a special character in the file
name (for example, - , +, and &) to an underscore (_). If two file names are differentiated only by special characters,
after they are exported to the .cod file, the files will have identical names.
If you choose the Overwrite Existing Files option when you export your theme project, the BlackBerry Theme Builder
does not warn you when it overwrites an existing file with the same name in the same directory.
Reader is a reserved name. You cannot use it as a theme name.
User Guide
Creating and changing theme projects
25