How to create a custom syslinux splash

Hicolor Syslinux Splash

(Above: example hicolor syslinux splash from Fedora 8)

(Above: preview graphic showing syslinux using the very first graphic above)

Step 1: Create or find some artwork

Create or find some artwork to use as your syslinux splash. The main restriction on syslinux hicolor splashes is that they must be 640 x 480 pixels (not very large these days!) There aren't any practically limiting color limits, though - 65,536 colors ought to be enough for anybody. :)

There are two odd requirements, though. We'll get you through them, no problem:

• the image must be 16-bit. Don't worry, we'll walk through converting it to 16-bit.
• the image should be a png with a jpg extension. I don't remember why, but it's how it is. Again, an easy thing to account for.

Step 2: Scale down the artwork

• Open up the image you've got in the gimp. (yum install gimp)
• Go to "Image > Scale Image" in the Gimp menus along the top of the image.
• In the "Scale Image" dialog, make sure the lock icon is closed, then type in '640' for the width, erasing whatever was there. Gimp will automagically update the height field to scale it proportionally to a 640 pixel width based on the image's original proportions. If the image isn't in the same ratio as 640, 480, the height won't automagically update to '480'. That's okay. Based on what Gimp fills in for the height, we'll be able to change the picture's ratio. (see below)
  • If gimp fills in the 'height' field to a value greater than 480 (for example, 550), accept that value and hit the 'Scale' button in the lower right of the dialog. (This means the image ratio has more height than we need, so we'll crop it later.)
  • If gimp fills in the 'height' field with a value less than 480 (for example, 300), then change the 'height' value to 480. This will update the 'width' value to a value greater than 640. That's okay. It just means that the image has more horizontal image data than we need. We'll crop it later.
• (If image isn't now perfectly 640x480) Crop the image down to 640x480 by opening up the "Image > Canvas Size" dialog. Click on the lock icon so it is unlocked. Replace the 'width' value with '640', and replace the 'height' value with '480'. There will be an image preview in the bottom of the dialog. Drag the image around in the preview - anything falling outside of the rectangular border that appears in the center of the preview will be cropped out. Move the image around as you desire and when you're satisfied, hit the 'resize' button.

Step 3: Save the image out

• Still in Gimp, go to "File > Save As..." and save the image as "syslinux.png". Save it to your Desktop, okay? The instructions from here on out will assume you saved to your Desktop.

Step 4: Correct Colors & Color depth

• Open up a terminal, you'll need the command line.
• We're going to be using ImageMagick. If you don't know if you have it installed, try yum install ImageMagick.
• Okay, cd ~/Desktop, and type the following command:

convert  -depth 16 -colors 65536 syslinux.png syslinux-vesa-splash.png

Step 5: Change File Extension

• Still in the terminal, type the following to change the png to a jpg file extension:

mv syslinux-vesa-splash.png syslinux-vesa-splash.jpg

Step 6: Testing syslinux splash (mystery!)

I don't know how to test the hicolor syslinux splash. I do know as of Fedora 14 it goes to the following path:

• /usr/share/anaconda/boot/syslinux-vesa-splash.jpg

Indexed color Syslinux Splash

Step 1: Create or find some artwork

Create or find some artwork to use as your syslinux splash. The main restriction on syslinux hicolor splashes is that they must be 640 x 480 pixels (not very large these days!) There aren't any practically limiting color limits, though - 65,536 colors ought to be enough for anybody. :)

Other Information

I don't know how to test syslinux's splash. The only way I can think of is by using a custom Fedora spin. The only reason you'd want to customize your syslinux splash is for a live usb stick - syslinux's splash is the first thing you see on the screen when you boot off of a Fedora live USB stick.