Autobots, Decepticons, and Opera™ in Disguise

New Opera Users, and those who Haven't

In this text, I mean to illustrate to anyone who is curious about Opera, that there is way more to it than what one will see at face value, from a default installation/ configuration. I want to expose the variety of configurations which are made possible by the core structure of Opera, in hopes that he or she who has tried, and turned away in the past, might venture to have another taste of its flavorful bounty.

Something to which we can Relate

I may be completely alone in my opinion on this matter, but I believe that one of the difficulties encountered by Mozilla users who wish to mingle in the Opera^™ [web browser user agent] world is the rather quite different GUI they find upon first using Opera. Supposing our intrigued Opera novice has known only IE and/ or a Mozilla browser [project, like Seamonkey or Firefox], she or he may find the dissimilar aspects of the Opera user interface, at worst-- intimidating, and at least may take some active effort to examine the many features-- especially considering that its most relevant counterparts tend to share betwixt each other, in contrast to Opera, so many similarities that our Opera Novice is likely to expect that all Web Browser User Agent Software has a GUI built on the model shared between FF and IE. To emphasize this potentially awkward transition, for example, the newest version of the former has no doubt copied the latter in the [rather over-hyped, albeit, more standards compliant] 7^th version (which, in essence, is a trickle-down copy of Opera's pioneering of tabbed browsing! Now isn't that a pickle! [sorry!])

The Opera Novice must realize that, unlike Mozilla skins, which tend to be the same thing, over and over, only with different icons in place of what came out of the box, Opera Skins or, for perhaps the more seasoned user, Setups, seem to broaden the creative canvas for skin, and Setup designers. In other words, one-man's Opera might appear (on the outside) to be a completely different GUI from the next!

OperaFox, Custom Setups, and my own Preferences

This article was bourne of my attempt to structure an inquiry for the Opera Community:
How might I enable the Opera Web Developer Toolbar just as it is by default: a complete rearrangement and population of the View bar-- while at the same time, using the OperaFox Skin/ Setup? Since the OperaFox setup itself seems to leave the View bar basiclly unaffected, my inquiry is grounded in my belief that-- if OperaFox doesn't rely on any heavy modification of the View bar itself, then perhaps I could somehow simply swap-out the OperaFox View bar for that of the Web Developer Toolbar
Specifically, I'm referring to the Opera Web Developer Toolbar which includes, in addition to a 'button' for viewing the current page in IE, and one for Firefox, it places in Opera's View bar, a JavaScript Mouseover DOM Inspector (with a dark blue bg, and collapsible DOM nodes), validation tools, and many other useful Web Developer-related tools for inspection of the page-in-focus.

One recently developed Opera Setup turns the Opera GUI into a virtual replica of Mozilla Firefox. OperaFox, as it is aptly named, does a great job of turning the Opera experience into a veritible Firefox on Acid-sort-of experience! It's quite the same-- yet the browsing enhancements so familiar, and dear to Opera evangelists remain, that is, if you know where to find them-- which brings me directly to the reason I'm authoring this text. ;-)

I want to learn more about how to craft the Opera GUI. I haven't the knowledge required to bring to life the setup which I envision, however I am not completely without experience in the advanced configurations. I've installed many skins, a few Setups, and I've been tweaking the basic, available options [Opera -> Tools -> Preferences] since I first discovered Opera at version 7.

What I seek for my own Opera GUI customization, now that I've become so fond of OperaFox-- in its so very accurate-in-emulation, oh-so easy to ‘see’ what's what when switching from another Browser, and therefore easy to realize and utilize the unique power of Opera; its downright functional, forgiving layout (indeed, beckoning Mozilla, and IE users to have a new look at Opera):

1. I am not an Opera Skin developer
2. I proclaim no creative prowess in skinning… anything!
3. I am neither proficient with creating my own Opera Setups, nor do I know how to customize those which are available in the various collections^† from Opera Community contributors.
4. I am a (self-proclaimed, yet fairly proficient) Web Developer, who understands JavaScript, PHP, ColdFusion, and various scripting, markup, and other development languages (see next item)
5. From the excellent Opera user article which demonstrates one way to utilize the power & versatility of the Opera-unique user.js file (or, User JavaScript), I have the wherewithal to enable, without error or difficulty, a ‘View-Source-With’ function in the Opera viewport context-menu by adding specified lines of code to user.js
6. From the little that I know of Opera^™ Setups, the Opera user.js file and its corresponding functional purpose, articles I've read in some hefty contributions from My.Opera.com/Community/ (and elsewhere on-line) pertaining to the management thereof, and having thoroughly exhausted the default possibilities afforded by the Opera -> Tools -> Preferences menus

How Skinning Affects the Opera Panel

In addition to my desire to implement the Web Developer Toolbar into the OperaFox Skin, I'm also seek the knowledge required to manipulate the appearance of the Opera Panel icons, or shortcuts for the various Panels one might have configured in his or her bookmarks/ Opera Appearance settings.

the Worship of Icons

 

Click - Enlarge

Note that this screenshot shows the OperaFox skin, but my Panel has no icons for selecting the various panels. I can select the panels only from a drop-down menu in the top toolbar area of the active panel itself.
NOTE: I've noticed that a Setup, "7.5" (i believe) available at Opera user, Rijk's web site does include the area, filled with the icons I desire, as highlighted in my screenshot. I appreciate any advice on obtaining the setups I've described here, whether it's through custom editing of user.js, or through perhaps some much easier method such as downloading a pre-existing setup. Thank you very much for reading, and hopefully-- for your help!

 Footnotes:

^†While browsing the Opera Setups, observe the various Setups Categories, located in the sidebar section of that particular Opera Community portal.