Creating your own skins
Whether you are a total beginner wanting to know how to make your first skin, or you are a master skinner from the old MSN days, this page is the best place to start to make a Messenger Plus! Skin. Anybody can make a basic skin for Windows Live Messenger with Messenger Plus!, all you need is the will to put some time into it. Remember to send us your finished skins if you want other people to use them.
Make sure you read the official skinning documentation first, especially the Getting Started section. The other resources listed below will then make your life as a skinner easier.
The official skinning documentation can be downloaded here. The CHM help file guides you trough everything you need to know to make a skin, it is the most important document for everybody who wants to make a Messenger Skin with Messenger Plus!. This file is only available in English.
The applications below can be very handy when creating skins. It's not necessary to use them (you can use any kind of text and graphics editor you want to make skins), but several experienced skinners use these tools to make their life easier.
- AptDiff - Brother Technology
A Visual text / binary files comparison and merging utility for Windows, useful when updating your skin for a new Messenger version. - Resource Hacker - Angus Johnson
View and extract resources from Windows Live Messenger's library. - SkinTools - Vikke
A small simple Messenger Plus! script to help you out when you are skinning. - XMLSpy - Altova
Very good XML editor capable of perfectly rendering XML Schema files (you will need the professional version which is available as a free trial).
All files on MessengerBling.com are thoroughly checked and scanned with ESET NOD32 before being uploaded and therefor 100% virus free. We at MessengerBling.com think it's better to be safe, than sorry!