Want to start designing my own theme

[Allusion]

so i know there are plenty of theme building tools
little tools for quick swapping
and a variance of other tools for this as well

i don't want to design a theme that takes 10 different tools to get the job done
i also don't want the themes to effect each login as well, i prefer it just affect the one user

reason being for me stating all of this is cause:
i have seen some themes have items that apply through and show up in other user's logins
i have seen some themes that just stay in effect on just the one login and not effect other logins as well
and i have seen some themes were parts of it affects other user's while parts of it does not affect other user's

now in the manner i design things (and yes you can call me mad, others have before)
i like to figure out every file that can be effected by the design
know which ones only apply to the one user or if it will effect other user's as well
i like to see every possible icon, image, exc that could be altered and figure out a replacement no matter if it is used or not (i know there are times where an item used to be used or plan for future use)

from what i have seen from looking at Mr GRim's themes and a few others, there is alot that can done to the look of windows without using a third party software like windows blinds and some others

i have already started to do some research into this and found that the following files are altered:
explorer .exe
ExplorerFrame .dll
imageres .dll
shell32 .dll
shellstyle .dll

i want to first start by working on all the icons, images, buttons, and any other visual display piece
after i get a good start on those, then i will take a look into text, style, layout, exc

i guess you can say is that my first goal is to get a list of every file that gets altered.
i already have programs that uncompress files, view contents, and resource hackers for accessing the info in the files
but if you have any suggested programs that are free, i will check them out as well

[CrazySouthernBoy]

so i know there are plenty of theme building tools
little tools for quick swapping
and a variance of other tools for this as well

i don't want to design a theme that takes 10 different tools to get the job done
i also don't want the themes to effect each login as well, i prefer it just affect the one user

reason being for me stating all of this is cause:
i have seen some themes have items that apply through and show up in other user's logins
i have seen some themes that just stay in effect on just the one login and not effect other logins as well
and i have seen some themes were parts of it affects other user's while parts of it does not affect other user's

now in the manner i design things (and yes you can call me mad, others have before)
i like to figure out every file that can be effected by the design
know which ones only apply to the one user or if it will effect other user's as well
i like to see every possible icon, image, exc that could be altered and figure out a replacement no matter if it is used or not (i know there are times where an item used to be used or plan for future use)

from what i have seen from looking at Mr GRim's themes and a few others, there is alot that can done to the look of windows without using a third party software like windows blinds and some others

i have already started to do some research into this and found that the following files are altered:
explorer .exe
ExplorerFrame .dll
imageres .dll
shell32 .dll
shellstyle .dll

i want to first start by working on all the icons, images, buttons, and any other visual display piece
after i get a good start on those, then i will take a look into text, style, layout, exc

i guess you can say is that my first goal is to get a list of every file that gets altered.
i already have programs that uncompress files, view contents, and resource hackers for accessing the info in the files
but if you have any suggested programs that are free, i will check them out as well

All you need is Windows Style Builder PhotoShop & this Tut http://virtualcustoms.net/showthread.php/28810-Complete-Guide-to-Theme-Building

[Allusion]

yeah i saw this in another post in another thread.

All you need is Windows Style Builder PhotoShop & this Tut http: //virtualcustoms .net/showthread .php/28810-Complete-Guide-to-Theme-Building

i guess you missed this part of my post.

but if you have any suggested programs that are free, i will check them out as well

right now the girlfriend and me are on a ban of buying anything not essential to life right now. cause our funds are limited and we don't know when we are getting the money we are waiting on.
(basicly got a decent amount of money we are waiting on that normally pay the bills, but could take anywhere from 2 months from now to 9 months from now to get it or even longer)
so we got to make every penny stretch and hope that we don't half to borrow any money (don't you just love life sometimes lol)

so since i'm poor and i won't contribute to the piracy of the internet
i got to do things the long and hard way
which is fine by me cause i learn more that way

lets just say its kinda crazy what all goes into an .exe file for an application or installer

so maybe after i get the money or know when i'm accually going to get it, then i will look into buying Windows Style Builder
not sure if i will ever buy into PhotoShop since Gimp and Paint .net normally cover my needs

[CrazySouthernBoy]

yeah i saw this in another post in another thread.


i guess you missed this part of my post.


right now the girlfriend and me are on a ban of buying anything not essential to life right now. cause our funds are limited and we don't know when we are getting the money we are waiting on.
(basicly got a decent amount of money we are waiting on that normally pay the bills, but could take anywhere from 2 months from now to 9 months from now to get it or even longer)
so we got to make every penny stretch and hope that we don't half to borrow any money (don't you just love life sometimes lol)

so since i'm poor and i won't contribute to the piracy of the internet
i got to do things the long and hard way
which is fine by me cause i learn more that way

lets just say its kinda crazy what all goes into an .exe file for an application or installer

so maybe after i get the money or know when i'm accually going to get it, then i will look into buying Windows Style Builder
not sure if i will ever buy into PhotoShop since Gimp and Paint .net normally cover my needs

Yeah Sorry I didnt see that line lol Well I was gonna say Do that one thing But you dont want to do it. Other then that I dont know of any other way to make the theme With out WSB.

[Allusion]

so i went ahead and bit the bullet and got the Windows Style Builder

very nice program, alot of options but I haven't seen an update for the program in a long time and that was even when people were talking about an update that never came
the other problem i'm having with it, is that every part of it is almost separated out and no visual help till you hit the test button and even then you half to know where to go look to test what you have changed
so for someone like me that is super visual based and like having preview images and windows of what your working on as a whole vs the one image of the piece of the puzzle, it works completely against me
example: having a preview of a working "Control Panel" window - that way you can see the changes and effects you have but then also cause you have that window up, only have items that apply to that window

i know a few of you here are anti Stardock or might of been another company but i like a theme editing software that is visual
i mean after all what you are trying to edit and change is a visual product itself
i only bring up Stardock cause there theme editor in the preview images show it to be a more visual reference tool and alot simpler too for a person like me to use

so i was wondering if anyone had any reasons why they don't like there products or any reviews of there theme editor
or can think of any other that have alot of options but also more visual in layout
i only ask this cause it doesn't seem to be much a chance of Windows Theme Builder getting any more updates to its current setup or maybe even a 2.0 version that is design for more users like me
that needs more visual reference

the other part of me extending into this more for more options is the fact that i have been poking around in Windows Theme Builder and following guides for the past couple days only to get very spread out random results
i can tell by the program and what is involve that it will not be a quick process, but so far everything i have found takes me all over the place and doesn't have a high constancy of leading you to work on similar areas

but i'm going to keep poking around in Windows Theme Builder and see how far i can take it
it just seems like it is a task or chore vs being a fun project, and looking threw the guides don't seem to show some of the cool changes like i have seen in some of the premium themes here

[jhgenius01]

I agree with that Windows Style Builder could be updated and stuff, and preview panels would also be great, but right now it's the best option besides hex editing files (that's even more mundane and boring)
It does take a lot of work than it otherwise could be i.e. the efficiency isn't that great.