WindowBlinds 7: Beta 3

[Frogboy Administrators]

WindowBlinds 7 beta 3 is now available for Object Desktop users.

WindowBlinds is a program that enables users of Windows to customize the look and feel of the Windows GUI.

WindowBlinds 7 has been designed not just to support Microsoft Windows 7 but also to greatly enhance the existing Aero experience via advanced texturing capabilities as well as allow XP msstyles and such to be able to be used on Windows 7.

Here's an article that talks more about it:

http://forums.wincustomize.com/366658

Some screenshots:

Aero-like skins can now get a new life.

And for those wondering what WindowBlinds 7 can do to those who simply like the default Windows 7 Aero design, consider this customization example: Simply trying to get "black" aero:

Windows 7 by default:

With WindowBlinds 7:

(start button can be notched up or put within the start bar).

Some of the new WindowBlinds 7 skins:

And for those wondering how XP-era visual styles work out, here's Kol's Thalos running unmodified on Windows 7:

(large version)

To learn more about Object Desktop visit: http://www.objectdesktop.com.

[Boz]

well don't know what more can Windows Blind improve to be honest.

I lately have absolutely no desire to use skinning of any kind but Windows Blinds have grown to be ok I guess.

I think the only issue is that you don't see any more quality skins and I'm not talking over the top alienware like or christmas themed styles. I'm talking about elegant and alternative smooth looking skins that would leverage all of the extra things WB can do and even possible look better then Aero or even OSX.

But I guess people don't have a lot of time to do it and the Skin Studio guys mostly make sure thick, cheesy ones too.

We need elegance and smoothness in UI adn that's unfortunately something I've always struggled with Windows Blinds.

Have you guys improved the Builder? Simplified it? Cause every time I tried the steep learning curve and complexity of it turned me off every time. I hope you will release (maybe you have) newer versions that are much more user friendly and simple to use.

[Frogboy Administrators]

Well, as I mentioned in the post, one of the major pushes with WindowBlinds 7 is that you can now greatly modify Aero and other "elegant" skins.

One of the problems I've seen people mention is that they can only find a handful of skins they like. With WindowBlinds 7, you can now make, without having to use any sort of "builder" an infinite number of derivatives of it right from the GUI.

Here's my desktop for instance running a skin made years ago that looks right at home on Windows 7 thanks to the new customization features in WindowBlinds 7:

[Boz]

Okay.. well i understand that.. but let me ask you this:

1. I am interested in maybe in my free time trying to use Windows Blinds builder to make a new theme from scratch. Do you have plans on revamping the Builder to be a bit easier and more straightforward to use for creative people who actually want to change larger number of things in the skin. I bought several previous releases of Widnows Blinds and the whole Suite and builder seems to have not changed a lot.

2. My beef with Aero for example is super ugly glow around the caption bar font and the fact that it doesn't change the color from black for fonts but keeps the ugly ass glow around it. So if I wanted to make a nice black aero variation the font looks awful. Can you modify this from the Windows Blinds direclty without builder or any other tools?

[Frogboy Administrators]

1. Yes. SkinStudio 7 (in beta) is vastly simpler to use.

Here's a screenshot:

2. You have the same beef I have. This is what UIS 0 is supposed to do: Let users still have Aero but be able to change its texture (like a black aero).

[Binary]

How does watercolor look on 7?

(I'm using OS X now, so obviously I wouldn't know) :)

Edited October 14, 2009 by Binary

[Alan-]

How does an XP skin work? Aren't there missing components? I would assume it somewhat works but then either looks odd in places or maybe WindowBlinds just makes it copy some other part of the skin and stick it where the missing piece would be.

[Bubbabyte]

The beta of WB7 and SkinStudio 7 are beautiful thus far.. very simple and eligant. However i do have a few questions that perhaps frogboy can answer.

1. The latest update i have is build 214 x64, but when opened still says Beta 2. When is the new GUI going to be permanently implimented?

2. I'm really digging where stardock is heading with their customization apps, however impulse continues to be a pain the ass. Whenever it detects a new update (sometimes it won't and i have to force an update by resetting data) it will try to update windowblinds and sit at "installing update..." forever. This happens for EVERY new update, and if i cancel (even after leaving it for an hour) i'm stuck with a half updated version of WB, which if verified says i need to update. So i end up having to completely uninstall and reinstall for every update which is annoying.

[Minifig]

I'm not a Object Desktop user, however I bought WindowBlinds in the past. Is this available to me to get?

Also; How do just icons in the task bar work on old XP style skins?

[XmoshiX]

Looks nice, might give an added boost to the themeing community.

[NienorGT]

I wish you guys could fix the problem with Firefox Glasser extension. This is one of my rare grip with WB which doesn't help my choice whatever I get back on OD or not. The FX 3.7/4.0 theme is too beautiful to give up :(

[Denis W. Veteran]

Hmm... It seems that in the customized Aero skin, the font sizes are knocked down to 8 points. Forgive me for being overly picky, but Segoe UI in my opinion looks ugly at 8 points, but splendid at 9. I've had to manually override font settings for my installed skins when I was using Windowblinds 6.

[vf-]

Seriously, is it so hard to post thumbnails... I'm scrolling about 2 miles left and right while everything loads.

[petrossa]

I'm not a Object Desktop user, however I bought WindowBlinds in the past. Is this available to me to get?

Also; How do just icons in the task bar work on old XP style skins?

There is a bit of sizing probs with older skins. Especially the trayicon area tends to be clipped. Resizing the taskbar sometimes helps.

For the rest it has no real issues to speak off.

[Shaun N.]

Your screenshots are too large Frogboy, You should either thumbnail them or make them smaller. I think there is a rule about this somewhere

[Island Dog]

The beta of WB7 and SkinStudio 7 are beautiful thus far.. very simple and eligant. However i do have a few questions that perhaps frogboy can answer.

1. The latest update i have is build 214 x64, but when opened still says Beta 2. When is the new GUI going to be permanently implimented?

2. I'm really digging where stardock is heading with their customization apps, however impulse continues to be a pain the ass. Whenever it detects a new update (sometimes it won't and i have to force an update by resetting data) it will try to update windowblinds and sit at "installing update..." forever. This happens for EVERY new update, and if i cancel (even after leaving it for an hour) i'm stuck with a half updated version of WB, which if verified says i need to update. So i end up having to completely uninstall and reinstall for every update which is annoying.

1. The new UI will be permanant when the final release arrives.

2. That's more of a tricky one. It could be an anti-virus/firewall issue. It would be best to e-mail [email protected] as they might have ran into this before.

I'm not a Object Desktop user, however I bought WindowBlinds in the past. Is this available to me to get?

The beta for WB7 is for Object Desktop subscribers. Depending on when you purchased WB6 you will either get a free upgrade or a significant discount.

[mad_onion]

I just want to be able to change the in focus window style so that it is the same as the out of focus window style. can windowblinds do that?

[NienorGT]

I just want to be able to change the in focus window style so that it is the same as the out of focus window style. can windowblinds do that?

No. WindowBlinds apply new themes, it don't use/change/affect Aero himself in any way.

You can find some Aero remakes and edit them as you wish, but this is it.

Oups, apparently there something new with WB7

This is what UIS 0 is supposed to do: Let users still have Aero but be able to change its texture (like a black aero).

Maybe this is what you are looking for!

[BoDEAN]

Are there even any windowblind windows 7 themes out there? Wincustomize only has vista rip offs it seems.

[NienorGT]

Are there even any windowblind windows 7 themes out there? Wincustomize only has vista rip offs it seems.

Acrylic 7 by DanilloOc should be coming this month and this will be big!

http://danillooc.deviantart.com/art/Acrylic-7-133350284

(May make me get back to WB after all)

[+KibosJ Subscriber²]

The bloody firefox 'glass' issue still exists :( Glass themes in Firefox don't render properly, other than that I think it is coming along nicely :)

It also messes with Outlook 2010 and adds random blackness :/

[Frogboy Administrators]

How does an XP skin work? Aren't there missing components? I would assume it somewhat works but then either looks odd in places or maybe WindowBlinds just makes it copy some other part of the skin and stick it where the missing piece would be.

Precisely. It just uses a similar pieces from the XP skin in the place you need it.

Ironically, there's actually less in Windows 7 to skin in some ways than XP. Remember the task panel in XP? There's nothing like that in Windows 7.

Your screenshots are too large Frogboy, You should either thumbnail them or make them smaller. I think there is a rule about this somewhere

Sorry about that. I was under the impression that it was auto-thumbnailing now on here with the "Reduced" window. I take it that it is trying to display them at full size on your screen?

[Denis W. Veteran]

^^ The forum does auto-shrink the images, but only after everything on the page is done loading.

Acrylic 7 by DanilloOc should be coming this month and this will be big!

http://danillooc.deviantart.com/art/Acrylic-7-133350284

(May make me get back to WB after all)

Acrylic's one of my favourite WB themes. Nice to see a Windows 7 remix. (Y)

[NienorGT]

Yes, it load full size pictures then shrink them.

[fhpuqrgrpgvirzhpujbj]

I can't find any WB7 themes anywhere, can someone point me to a download?