Datasheet

CHAPTER 3

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MANAGING THE WINDOWS DESKTOP

Because of the maddening design choices built into Windows XP, if you

are into themes you are better off not wasting your time wrestling with

obscure and undocumented quirks. Your best bets are either to download

themes from the Web or to invest in a theme management program. For the

first option, visit www.themexp.org or www.wincustomize.com or any theme

site that grabs your interest after a quick Google search.

Themes, schemes, and styles

Someone at Microsoft was aiming for job security when the design

specifications for themes, schemes, and styles were created. The tech-

nologies are interrelated, affect each other, and cause customer confu-

sion rather than clarity. Quick — where do you change title bar colors?

Answer: any or all three will do the trick. Here is an attempt to explain

the difference.

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Themes cover the most desktop territory, affecting anything that

generates a common look and feel. When you create or install

new themes, you are affecting nearly every aspect of the desktop.

Theme information is stored in a text file with a .theme suffix.

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Schemes are collections of settings that affect specific sets of oper-

ating system components. For the desktop, this means such ele-

ments as title bar colors and text, window background color, and

icon spacing, among other window-specific elements. Scheme

information is stored in the Registry.

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Styles are a middle ground, specifying the look and feel of com-

mon Windows controls, such as windows, buttons, and title bar

colors and shading effects. Styles are accessed using APIs, and

specific style information is stored either in the Registry or in a

custom configuration file read by a program’s library.

If you must dive into the wild world of the Windows desktop, stick

to working with Themes. Your life will be simpler and happier for it.

Inside Scoop

If you install a theme and it doesn’t work, you need to enable the Themes service.

Click Start, Run, and then type services.msc. Scroll down to Themes, double-click it,

change the startup type to Automatic, click Start, and then click OK.

Inside

Scoop

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