Skyy
Freshman Member
Posts: 27
OS: Windows 11 23H2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x
GPU: RTX 4070
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Post by Skyy on Apr 22, 2024 14:05:58 GMT -8
I know everyone mostly aims for going back to the Win9x, XP, Vista or Win7 themes but I'm wondering, now that we have tools like DWMBlurGlass and Windhawk, would themes like this old Windows 7 custom-theme be possible on recent Windows 11 versions without Windowblinds?
www.deviantart.com/minhtrimatrix/art/Luna-170290046While I'm very fond of Aero Vista and Aero 7 I really loved this kind of refined and elegant modded styles. I've been considering trying to make my own theme in this style if anything at least for StartAllBack but is there any proper documentation on .msstyles files? While I can do basic edits I find them pretty overwhelming. |
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Legofan
Sophomore Member
Embrace modernity? Nah, embrace tradition.
Posts: 168 
OS: Windows 11 24H2
Theme: Default
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y
RAM: 64GB / 8 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / IGPU
Computer Make/Model: Custom Built / Surface Go 2
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Post by Legofan on Apr 22, 2024 22:40:24 GMT -8
In theory, yes In practice, no
Windows 11's theming engine is much more limited than 10 (No borders, hardcoded title bar colors on 22h2+)
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Post by OrthodoxWin32 on Apr 23, 2024 0:52:29 GMT -8
In theory, yes In practice, no
Windows 11's theming engine is much more limited than 10 (No borders, hardcoded title bar colors on 22h2+)
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Legofan
Sophomore Member
Embrace modernity? Nah, embrace tradition.
Posts: 168
OS: Windows 11 24H2
Theme: Default
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y
RAM: 64GB / 8 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / IGPU
Computer Make/Model: Custom Built / Surface Go 2
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Post by Legofan on Apr 23, 2024 0:57:15 GMT -8
In theory, yes In practice, no
Windows 11's theming engine is much more limited than 10 (No borders, hardcoded title bar colors on 22h2+)
If only that Windhawk mod wasn't iffy as hell. |
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Post by OrthodoxWin32 on Apr 23, 2024 1:04:17 GMT -8
If only that Windhawk mod wasn't iffy as hell. No developer wants to improve their stability ? There are now many developers, and this subject is still of capital importance for the future of Windows customization. On the other hand, I'm really curious about the problem for title bars. |
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Post by OrthodoxWin32 on Apr 23, 2024 1:09:47 GMT -8
Maybe AWM will come out one day, and fix this issue. But I don't know anything about the progress of this project.
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Legofan
Sophomore Member
Embrace modernity? Nah, embrace tradition.
Posts: 168
OS: Windows 11 24H2
Theme: Default
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y
RAM: 64GB / 8 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / IGPU
Computer Make/Model: Custom Built / Surface Go 2
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Post by Legofan on Apr 23, 2024 1:12:31 GMT -8
If only that Windhawk mod wasn't iffy as hell. No developer wants to improve their stability ? There are now many developers, and this subject is still of capital importance for the future of Windows customization. On the other hand, I'm really curious about the problem for title bars. The titlebar just stays white irregardless what you set it as. And about that Mod, saw someone use it and it didn't render frames half of the time. |
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Post by OrthodoxWin32 on Apr 23, 2024 1:44:04 GMT -8
The titlebar just stays white irregardless what you set it as. However, it seems to me that there is an option similar to Windows 10 to display the accent color in the title bar. And there's also Aerolite, which shows the accent color all the time. |
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Skyy
Freshman Member
Posts: 27
OS: Windows 11 23H2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x
GPU: RTX 4070
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Post by Skyy on Apr 23, 2024 2:48:25 GMT -8
I didn't want to spark a discussion about Windhawk's stability but I see that's a bummer. Though I wonder, is there any good documentation about creating skins for StartAllBack at least? I would like to try my hands at making a style for it.
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Post by OrthodoxWin32 on Apr 23, 2024 2:54:39 GMT -8
I didn't want to spark a discussion about Windhawk's stability but I see that's a bummer. Though I wonder, is there any good documentation about creating skins for StartAllBack at least? I would like to try my hands at making a style for it. You can always try using the mod I talked about, you will see for yourself if it works correctly or not. Regarding StartAllBack, I don't know this program well enough to answer anything. |
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Post by Brawllux on Apr 23, 2024 3:38:05 GMT -8
I didn't want to spark a discussion about Windhawk's stability but I see that's a bummer. Though I wonder, is there any good documentation about creating skins for StartAllBack at least? I would like to try my hands at making a style for it. SIB/SAB Start menu is Windows 7 one but reverse engineered. By looking at how things were made in a Windows 7 theme you should be able to create SIB/SAB styles. |
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Skyy
Freshman Member
Posts: 27
OS: Windows 11 23H2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x
GPU: RTX 4070
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Post by Skyy on Apr 23, 2024 4:52:44 GMT -8
I didn't want to spark a discussion about Windhawk's stability but I see that's a bummer. Though I wonder, is there any good documentation about creating skins for StartAllBack at least? I would like to try my hands at making a style for it. You can always try using the mod I talked about, you will see for yourself if it works correctly or not. Regarding StartAllBack, I don't know this program well enough to answer anything. Alright but I'm confused, which mod are you talking about, Windhawk? I didn't want to spark a discussion about Windhawk's stability but I see that's a bummer. Though I wonder, is there any good documentation about creating skins for StartAllBack at least? I would like to try my hands at making a style for it. SIB/SAB Start menu is Windows 7 one but reverse engineered. By looking at how things were made in a Windows 7 theme you should be able to create SIB/SAB styles.
Well I tried to simply copy the .msstyles from the Windows 7 theme I posted into SaB, the program sees it but when I select it nothing happens so I assume I would have to modify the .msstyles somehow to properly work with SaB but I don't know how. Maybe I should just try a working SaB .msstyles and then transplant the images over one by one?
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Post by Brawllux on Apr 23, 2024 5:58:20 GMT -8
You can always try using the mod I talked about, you will see for yourself if it works correctly or not. Regarding StartAllBack, I don't know this program well enough to answer anything. Alright but I'm confused, which mod are you talking about, Windhawk? SIB/SAB Start menu is Windows 7 one but reverse engineered. By looking at how things were made in a Windows 7 theme you should be able to create SIB/SAB styles.
Well I tried to simply copy the .msstyles from the Windows 7 theme I posted into SaB, the program sees it but when I select it nothing happens so I assume I would have to modify the .msstyles somehow to properly work with SaB but I don't know how. Maybe I should just try a working SaB .msstyles and then transplant the images over one by one?
Check the build in themes in SIB/SAB and compare it with the stock 7 style. The resource ids and order of stuff must be different but similar too. |
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Post by OrthodoxWin32 on Apr 23, 2024 6:16:32 GMT -8
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Skyy
Freshman Member
Posts: 27
OS: Windows 11 23H2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x
GPU: RTX 4070
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Post by Skyy on Apr 23, 2024 6:46:07 GMT -8
Alright but I'm confused, which mod are you talking about, Windhawk?
Well I tried to simply copy the .msstyles from the Windows 7 theme I posted into SaB, the program sees it but when I select it nothing happens so I assume I would have to modify the .msstyles somehow to properly work with SaB but I don't know how. Maybe I should just try a working SaB .msstyles and then transplant the images over one by one?
Check the build in themes in SIB/SAB and compare it with the stock 7 style. The resource ids and order of stuff must be different but similar too. Alright thanks, I'll see what I can do. Are these to still the only .msstyles editors?
I wouldn't mind paying for the latter one since the OpenSource one is so barebones that I have no idea what I'm doing inside a theme but I don't want to pay for the other one not even knowing if it still works properly.
Ah thanks! I hope Windhawk is safe now in terms of anti-cheat systems for games.
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Cynosphere
Freshman Member
Posts: 46 
OS: Windows 10 Home 22H2
Theme: Classic (Scheme: Amora Focus)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: 32 GB
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
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Post by Cynosphere on Apr 23, 2024 22:08:24 GMT -8
I hope Windhawk is safe now in terms of anti-cheat systems for games.
I just have C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\* excluded globally out of paranoia. Kernel-level anti-cheats will more than likely throw a fit no matter what, which is why I'll never play a game that uses one because I value my freedom of choice and customization over a gaming experience. |
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Skyy
Freshman Member
Posts: 27
OS: Windows 11 23H2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800x
GPU: RTX 4070
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Post by Skyy on Apr 24, 2024 3:27:56 GMT -8
I hope Windhawk is safe now in terms of anti-cheat systems for games.
I just have C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\* excluded globally out of paranoia. Kernel-level anti-cheats will more than likely throw a fit no matter what, which is why I'll never play a game that uses one because I value my freedom of choice and customization over a gaming experience. That's fair! Honestly I by myself only play one game that features such an anti-cheat and that's Honkai Star Rail. But my friends sometimes play other games with it too and I don't want to be that person that says: "Sorry I can't" |
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