Working with Themes in Windows XP
Published: February 17, 2003
By Jeremy Moskowitz, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
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Windows XP introduced a new user interface (UI) called Luna. By now, we're used to the bright blue color scheme and rounded window corners. What you might not know is that you can personalize this UI to give your desktop a look all its own.
The user interface components of Windows XP, such as sound events, backgrounds, icons, fonts, and mouse pointers, are called elements. A theme is a set of elements that create a coordinated look for Windows. To modify a set of elements all at once, you simply change the theme.
You might also have heard of skins. The terminology can be confusing, because a skin and a theme are often used interchangeably. However, the majority of folks agree that a theme is a collection of customized elements for the operating system and a skin is a visual customization for a stand-alone application. For example, Windows Media Player, which is built into Windows XP, has a skin mode allowing for radical customization, as shown in Figure 1. (See Galan Bridgman's column, A New Skin for Windows Media Player, for a closer look at skins.)
Figure 1
In this column, I'll discuss the themes that come with Windows XP, how you can modify them, and where to find third-party themes on the Web.
Windows XP Themes
You're using a theme right now. Right-click anywhere on the desktop, and then click Properties. The Display Properties dialog box opens, as shown Figure 2.
Figure 2
These Display properties (except those on the Settings tab) can be part of a theme—the desktop background, the screen saver, specific colors, mouse pointers, sounds associated with events such as opening or closing a program, and the fonts for windows. After selecting a theme from the list on the Themes tab, you'll see a preview in the Sample window.
Out of the box, Windows XP has two themes: Windows XP and Windows Classic.
If you want to revert to the Windows 2000 or Windows Me look, in the Display Properties dialog box, click Windows Classic, and then click Apply. Then apply the Windows Classic Start menu by right-clicking Start, clicking Properties, clicking Classic Start menu, and then clicking Apply. Now your dialog boxes and windows have the blue gradient and other elements from earlier versions of Windows.
Modify Windows XP Themes
If you want to be creative, you can modify the themes that came with Windows XP to create your own theme. You make changes to individual desktop elements and then save them as a modified theme with a new name. This method is free, as opposed to third-party themes that we'll look at next. You just need time to round up all the elements you want to use. To modify a Windows XP theme:
1. | Open the Display Properties dialog box. |
2. | On the Themes tab, under Theme, click the theme you want to modify. |
3. | Make your changes to the theme. |
4. | When you finish making changes, click Apply on the Themes tab, and then click Save As. |
5. | Type a name for the theme and click OK. |
The Knowledge Base article, How to Configure Desktop Themes in Windows XP, gives an overview of this topic.
To change the sounds that accompany events on your desktop, you have to create a sound scheme or apply a sound to individual program events. To create a sound scheme:
1. | Click Start, click Control Panel, click Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices, and then click Sounds and Audio Devices. |
2. | On the Sounds tab, in the Program events list, assign a sound for each event you want to save in a new sound scheme. |
3. | Under Sound scheme, click Save As. |
4. | In the Save Scheme As dialog box, type a name for the new sound scheme. |
After you save the sound scheme, save your new theme and the sounds will be included with it. Although Windows XP contains many sounds effects for you to choose from, you can also copy sounds from CDs or the Web and save them to your hard drive. Then you can use them to create personalized sound schemes. The how-to article, Enjoy Music, contains the steps for saving music to your hard drive.
Why Create Your Own Themes?
If you're just getting started with themes, you may ask yourself the burning question—why bother to create your own? The short answer is because you can. And it's fun. I don't know about you, but when I drive a new car off the lot, the first thing I do is replace the stereo with one that I want.
The whole point of themes is to customize the way your computer looks and feels. Creating the perfect theme isn't hard, although it can be time consuming. There are enough themes out there so you can add third-party ones for a long time, if you don't want to build your own.
But creating your own theme can be a very rewarding way of showing off your work. By tweaking a Windows XP theme or downloading one from the Web, you can have a customized desktop that's just for you.
Expert Zone Columnist Jeremy Moskowitz is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, and the Chief Propeller-Head for Moskowitz, Inc. He is an independent consultant, and trainer for Windows technologies. He can be reached at jeremym-ms@Moskowitz-inc.com. Note that he cannot respond to all e-mail messages.
