Desktop customisation

C

Clem Rocks

Scooby
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Ok so judging from the pics i've seen on here in post your desktop threads, not many of you are into desktop customisation.

So do any of you use custom themes and programs that M$ doesn't tell you to use?

If not, would any of you like to start? I could give you some pointers
 
I used to do it some time ago, but I got lazy. What's out there now?
 
I downloaded a trial version of a program called Custom Icons (not a very creative name, I know), but my time is almost up. I didn't really like the program, so i won't be buying it.

Anyway, what kind of programs are out there? I'd be interested in customizing my setup a little more.
 
Well the big thing atm is making XP and Vista look like Windows 7. So far we have several features from it and can get a superbar lookalike in both XP and Vista.

@Pala: Icons are just the tip of the iceberg, you can change almost anything you see on your computer. You can make it look like XP, Vista, Mac, Linux, anything. I even made an Angel visual style a while ago. There's docks, widgets, themes for IM clients, themes for Browsers, everything.

If you want to stick with icons though, there are plenty of free programs you can use for it, and most icons you can do manually within a few seconds without needing any program at all.
 
I noticed a lot of the Vista users had the huge default desktop icons which at least I found very annoying. You can make them smaller by right clicking on the desktop, going to View and selecting classic icons!
 
I used to have a Doc but it seemed to slow down my PC to much!

I've done nothing except simply customizations, don't really know what you can do!
 
Well what part of your computer would you like to customise? I'll suggest some stuff
 
I don't really know what I'd want to edit! Is is possible to edited the colours on the start bar along the bottom?

Or do you know if any good docs?
 
The taskbar (the bar along the bottom with the start buttom on it) is what you change with visual styles. There are hundreds for both XP and Vista. Like i said before, you can change the look of yours to that of a different OS. Check my desktop screenshot in the post your desktop thread. It's Vista right? Wrong, It's XP with a Vista visual style and ported sidebar.



Now, it seems to me that alot of you are interested in all of this, but don't know what you can actually do to customise your computer, so I've thought of a few lessons for you

Lesson 1: Internet Browsers​

Now, some people think that Internet Explorer is the internet itself, it's not! It's merely Microsoft's browser, and like alot of Microsoft stuff, there are alot better ones out there. Alot of people only use IE(Internet Explorer) because it comes preinstalled on Windows or because they haven't heard of any other browsers.

The two best alternative browers are Opera and Firefox.

Opera is preferred by some because you can change it's looks, it has a built in email client, a built in bittorrent client, a built in widget engine and some claim it's more secure and faster than any other browser, although results vary from test to test.

Firefox, is preferred by most for almost everything about it. You can change it's looks, you can add hundreds of extra features with it's many addons including a sidebar for all your ebay listings, the ability to block adds on webpages, extra toolbars, an IRC client, etc. and most of all, it's preferred for it's speed!

Now, I've used many browsers in my time, IE6, IE7, Maxthon, Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome. And in my opinion, and many others, the best is Firefox.

Now i urge you all to go and download Firefox, use it for just 1 day, and alot of you will never want to use Internet Explorer ever again.

I'll leave you with an example of how fast Firefox is.

On a forum i go on, when i was using Internet Explorer, if i tried to load 2 threads at once, it would take me half an hour.

Now that I'm using Firefox, i can load 6 threads at once in around 5 minutes.
 
Anya2012
Anya2012
karma for Firefox. I love FireFox.
Well I don't really see the point why I should make my desktop look pretty. I very rarely see it anyway, cause I've got stuff open on top of it. However, what I would be interested in, is how to make the icon symbols smaller, but keep the design, cause I like that.
 
Queen Mum said:
Well I don't really see the point why I should make my desktop look pretty. I very rarely see it anyway, cause I've got stuff open on top of it. However, what I would be interested in, is how to make the icon symbols smaller, but keep the design, cause I like that.
Click to expand...

Desktop customisation doesn't just happen on the desktop level, you can change the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, you can change your window borders, and can change how your web browser looks if you use a skinnable one. If you use Firefox, you can even change how some websites look

If you mean make the icons on your desktop smaller, if you're using Windows Vista, there is a way to make them as big or small as you want, if i remember correctly, you hold Ctrl and then scroll with your mouse wheel.
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"Queen Mum agrees: thanks, that's what I wanted. Mh Firefox modifications. Nah, I'm just happy it works 😉"

You're welcome

Any other parts of your computer you'd like to customise?
 
Q
Queen Mum
thanks, that's what I wanted. Mh Firefox modifications. Nah, I'm just happy it works ;)
Are there any good calendar, notebook programs you can use from your Desktop? I've tried some, but nothing's fully satisfactory.

Also, this - This (Clipomatic) - isn't really desktop, but I want something like it, only better. Do you know of anything?
 
I think you'd be best off using widgets. I use the Vista sidebar and you can have a calendar on that, a post-it note pad for taking notes and a clipboard monitor. i'm not sure if other widget engines have a clipboard monitor, but they all should have a calendar and a notebook
 
The sidebar link is cool, how did you change the taskbar at the bottom yo make it look like Vista?
 
Black Eye Guy said:
The sidebar link is cool, how did you change the taskbar at the bottom yo make it look like Vista?
Click to expand...

To make your taskbar look like Vista, you either have to buy Windowblinds and find a Vista theme for it.
Or patch your Uxtheme.dll and find a Vista theme for it, and believe me, there's loads!

Windowblinds will give you nice glass effects, but it might slow your computer down, so i'd say go with patching your Uxtheme.dll which is what i did to get my taskbar like that.

If you want to do that you'll need to find a Uxtheme multipatcher, i would link you but there's several out there and not all of them will work for you, i tried 3 or 4 of them before i found one that would work for me.

And remember, if you do try it, set up a system restore point first, better to be safe and sorry.
 
" Comments on this post
nerd4hire agrees: Thanks. That looks exactly like what I was looking for."

You're welcome mate

The clipboard widget that i mentioned should by on MSN's Widget gallery website
 
I've been looking for non-windows theme for my vista. I've tried windows classic for a while, but now I'm back to the vista theme because you can set the colour and I set it to pink. But it's still the same old ugly vista theme, so I'm looking for something new, though not too big, I don't like slow computers. Any tips? I can't seem to find good (free) sites 😉
 
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