Themes

A theme is a package of graphics and audio that replaces the default look and feel and sound of the UI on a Series 40 or Symbian device. Themes can modify almost all visual and aural aspects of the UI. Visual changes range from color adjustments to the addition of animated graphics for backgrounds and icons. Audio can be attached to events such as alarms, and it can be created in any format supported by the Series 40 or Symbian platform. Themes do not affect the underlying architecture, interaction style, language settings, and general functionality of the UI.

Figure: Same UI view with different themes

Themes are transparently available to MIDlets when high-level LCDUI and eSWT elements are used. When low-level custom elements are used, it is your responsibility as a developer to use the correct colors and graphics if you want the MIDlet UI to match the native UI in look and feel. If you want your MIDlet to look and feel like a native application, it is recommended that you use high-level UI elements whenever possible.

For LCDUI, Series 40 and Symbian platform support the Nokia-UI-Enhancement JAD attribute, which allows theme backgrounds in normal-mode Canvas elements. In Symbian, eSWT provides APIs for drawing theme highlights.

Even though a device can contain multiple themes, the user can only activate one theme at a time. When a new theme is activated, the appearance of all applications that support themes is altered accordingly. The following list contains some of the UI elements that can change when the theme changes:

• Display background

• Color palette

• Highlights

• Pop-up window appearance

• Ring tones

• Look and feel of common components

For more information about themes, see Themes on Nokia Developer and section Theme design in the Design and User Experience Library.