Microsoft has changed the theme management in their Windows 7 operating system. There is still a lock in place that is keeping users from installing themes that have not been signed by Microsoft but the overall theme manageability has improved. It is for instance now possible to save and load basic themes which opens up several new possibilities like sharing them with friends and family or installing the same theme on multiple computer systems running Windows 7.
This new option made it possible for Microsoft to offer a multiple of the themes that they offered for previous operating systems. The Windows 7 Personalization Gallery over at the Microsoft website contains download links to dozen of themes from country specific themes to sponsored themes. Every Windows 7 user can create basic themes with custom wallpapers, sounds, mouse pointers or desktop icons.
Windows 7 News has published a comprehensive guide on theme usage in Windows 7 (read: Windows 7 Guides: Managing Windows 7 Themes (Part 1) and Windows 7 Guides: Managing Windows 7 Themes (Part 2)).
Part 1 of the guide describes the build in theme management options while part 2 deals with custom third party themes that require system file patching before they can be installed. The Windows 7 theme patcher for Windows 7 can be downloaded from the same website. Please note that the patcher will replace several system files in Windows 7 with different versions. Make sure to backup all important data before making any changes to the computer system.
A good resource for finding third party Windows 7 themes is the Windows 7 themes repository at the Windows 7 News website. There are however other places to look for new themes for the operating system including Deviant Art.
On a personal note: I’m pretty happy with the default themes that are provided with the operating system and have not yet felt the need to search for third party themes. What about you? Have you customized your theme in Windows 7?
Related posts:
- Windows Themes Patcher
- Four New Windows 7 Themes Released By Microsoft
- Install Vista Themes Without Patching The System First
- Use custom themes in Windows Vista
- Windows 7 Personalization
- Another Signed Windows XP Theme Emerges
- My First Windows 7 Theme
- Windows XP Service Pack 3 Uxtheme.dll patch
I have not nor do I plan to upgrade from XP to Windows7 – until the time comes that I have no other choice. ONE of the reasons for that has to do with customization. I still use classic view on my system because it takes up so much less room than the newer OS themes and because I can make the color scheme myself. Anything I want. Anytime I want it. My own wallpaper. Color of my choice on every toolbar and menu bar. Font of my choice in any color of the rainbow. Sounds in any variety I want. No big, useless panels. Best of all, Auto-hide taskbar.
Now. Please tell me. Can Windows 7 do that for me or are my choices limited to what Microsoft has chosen for me or third-party themes that have to be swallowed whole or not at all?
Classic view is still available and supports the full customization you are probably accustomed to using.
Thanks. You are the only person who has been kind enough to give me that information. And, I’ve asked many times. I hope I’ve understood what you are saying. Windows 7 offers an option to use Classic View. Is that right? I could auto-hide the taskbar?
Windows 7 does that perfectly from my experience. You can do quick, system-wide theme changes using the Personalization menu and save themes with your own wallpaper, your own system sounds, the colors of toolbars and panels, all of this very easily. Of course, to have it exactly the way you want it there are Advanced options that pop up a dialog that allow you to customize to your heart’s content. The Advanced options do allow you to change fonts, and customize several different fonts for several different window elements. My personal favorite has been the “Blue Highway” font.
Windows 7 is way better than Vista, much faster. Plus the themes are cool. I agree with you!
I still don’t know why I would want to upgrade from XP to 7. “Faster”. What do I want faster? Windows 3.11 booted in 11 seconds (with 20 Megs (!) of RAM to complete mission-ready. A fresh installed 7 will probably boot in around 40 second, XP in 45 seconds. After Registry bloat it will take longer as usual. Microsoft should finally do something about Registry bloat. (which surely is no longer as bad as with 95, 98, Me anyway).
What themes is concerned: why can’t Microsoft allow me what to do anyway. I don’t care about the wallpaper and sounds, which I can control anyway, but the rest, with patched uxtheme.dll I at least have a wide choice, which I am yet denied with “7″. Anyway, disregarding tyhe cost fctor, I will not bother downloading “7″ until I have to.
I had to upgrade from 3.11 to 95, because of the long filenames (and 95, wasn’t that a craher!). I stuck with it only a few weeks and went on to NT 4.0, which I loved: it was rock-solid. USB-support forced me to to Win 2000, but being there I skipped “vista”, because there was no effective reason and the critics were pretty unison. “7″ has no real reason for being either. It can handle more RAM and therefore deals better with ultra bloated software, if I whack in 8GB of RAM and, hopefully quad core processor too, that is.
I trust, that with the combined user-experience out there, everybody is in a position to make XP still the best O/S out there, with the of plenitude themes available just the icing on the cake.
I think the themes are one of the best elements of Windows 7. I just went to their personalization gallery, downloaded all the international themes, combined all their backgrounds and ended up with a very nice background slide show around the world. At least for me, it improves the computer experience.
In response to the question. I’ve been going crazy making themes. Mainly just color changes matching awesome backgrounds, but still amazing with it being so easy to do. I started uploading my win7 themes to a new theme sharing community I found at http://ww.windows-7-themes.com . I just made an account, activated my e-mail, and when I log in I get a new area on the left called “create content” to where I can upload my own themes.
Really XP was one of the best non- *nix based OS’s to hit the market after it became stable. I still use it everyday.
However to the poster that refuses to try new things? You ever think that maybe you are to antiquated for a computer? 20 megs of ram? My phone uses more than that.
Better find something else you like because eventually XP will be nothing but a memory in a museum. That day is coming faster and faster now…
Oh, another one. Thank you. Is it possible to hide the taskbar?
Yes it is.
@kalmly
The new Windows 7 can do everything that XP can and much more. Think of Windows 7 as an improved XP with the looks of Vista.
The filesystem for one is greatly improved, copying doesn’t take forever like in XP, other improvements too. You won’t make a mistake if you upgrade, Microsoft has done it again.
Yes classic view is possible and you can auto-hide the taskbar.