Top
Search
Social Profiles
Twitter Feed
Powered by Squarespace
« Sharing Windows 7 Themes | Main | Mac OSX Slide Show Wallpapers »
Saturday
Jul112009

Creating Windows 7 Themes

DateSaturday, July 11, 2009 at 7:38PM

In this article I am going to show you how easy it is to create your own custom Windows 7 Themes.

It is easy to create your own custom themes on Windows 7. First off go to the Personalization Screen in the Control Panel. This can be done by either clicking Start, Control Panel then clicking Personalization or by right clicking the desktop and clicking Personalize.

Once in the Personalize window all you need to do is modify your current Theme by either changing the Desktop Background, Window Color, Sounds or the Screen Saver.

Desktop Background

To start creating the Theme we are going to click on the Desktop Background (lower left icon) to start the customization.

From here we can customize the Desktop Background in a few different ways. The first option we have is at the top of the window called Picture Location. There are some preset picture locations, these include Windows Desktop Backgrounds, Pictures Library, Top Rated Photos, Solid Colors and Sample Pictures. If the picture location you want is not there you can click the browse button and browse to the pictures you would like. I decided to go with a few of the Sample Pictures for my custom Theme.

The next set of options you have is at the bottom of the screen. First is the Picture Position option. This option allows you to change the position of the background picture, the options include Fill, Fit, Stretch, Title and Center. The Change Picture Every option is used if you would like multiple background pictures, the time ranges between every 10 seconds to every day, you can also shuffle the background pictures by ticking the shuffle box. Lastly there is a check box called When using battery power, pause the slide show to save power, I am not too sure how much power you would save but it's handy for laptops I suppose.

Once you have set up everything to your liking just click save changes, this will return you to the Personalize screen. As you will see in the picture below you will now have a Theme in the My Theme section.

Window Color

Next up we are going to modify the Window Color. To do this simply click Window Color at the bottom of the screen which will open the Window below.

You can select from the color presets by simply clicking the colored boxes. As it says at the top of the window this will change the color of your window borders, Start Menu and your Taskbar. For my Theme I chose the frost colour (bottom right). There are a few more customization options, firstly you can enable or disable the transparency effect by ticking or unticking the Enable Transparency box. You can also change the Color intensity to by sliding the color intensity slider, if you move it to the left there color gets less intense and to the right it gets more intense. If you don't like the colours that you see you can create your own custom one by clicking on Show Color Mixer, from there you can adjust the Hue, Saturation and Brightness. There is also an Advanced Appearance Settings option to click but we don't really need it for this segment. Once you have made your color adjustments simply click Save Changes.

Sound Scheme

The next Theme feature we are going to adjust is the sound scheme. Simply click sounds at the bottom of the Personalize window. This will bring up the sound options as seen below.

At the top of the Window there are several tabs, the only on we are concerned about (and the one that comes up by default) is the Sounds tab. The first options that we have is to select our sound scheme. There are loads of sound schemes in Windows 7 for those that are interested the sound schemes are: Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, No Sounds, Quirky, Raga, Savanna, Sonata and Windows Default. I decided to choose the Garden sound scheme.

If your not a fan of any of the sound schemes then you can create your own if you would like. To do this click on any one of the sounds under Program Events then go down to sounds, you can change the sound to one of the other of the Theme's sound by clicking on the Sounds drop down menu. If you would like to use your own sound then click on browse and then browse to the sound you would like. Once you have done this you'll see your current sound scheme name will have (modified) beside the name. Once you have customised all your sounds click on save as and name it what you like then click apply.

Screen Saver

Now we move on to the last configuration, the screen saver. From the Personalization window click on Screen Saver Settings, this will bring up the screen saver window below.

From here you have several different screen savers you can choose from. These are (none), 3D Text, Blank, Bubbles, Mystify, Photos and Ribbons. I decided to pick Mystify for my custom theme. Some of the screen savers have custom settings, to access these just click the Settings.... button, we won't go into details about the different settings for each screen saver in the article but you can experiment around with them if you want. The Preview button allows you to preview the screen saver. You can set the amount of time the computer will activate the screen saver if it is left idle by adjusting the wait time, this can be set between 1 and 9999 minutes. There is also a handy check box called "On resume, display logon screen" this is great if you have set your account a password as no one can come along and just hop on to your computer once the screen saver has kicked in unless they know your password of course. Once that is all done then click apply.

Saving your Theme

Now you should be back to the Personalization window and the options you have configured should be there along the bottom. If you have been following my example options that I picked then your Personalization screen should look something like below.

To recap the options that I picked were Slide Show for the Desktop Background, Frost for the Window Color, Garden for the Sounds and Mystify for the Screen Saver. 

Now that all the work is done we are going to save our Theme, to do this simply right click the Theme under the My Themes section and click Save Theme. I called my Theme Animals as you can see in the screenshot.

Bonus Material

If you would like to get more Themes you can download some from Microsoft's website to do this either click get more themes online from the personalization screen or click here.

If you would like to download my example theme just click here.

Also check out my other articles Sharing Windows 7 Themes, Windows 7: The RC Themes and Windows 7: Beta Styles.

AuthorAndreios | Comment24 Comments | | | Print ArticlePrint Article
tagged , in

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (24)

Very good tutorial! Thank You!

July 13, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterWindows7full

Cheap Uggs,Genuine ugg boots are available in a plethora of colours, from blacks to browns, from pinks to purples, and all kinds of UGGS are with neutral colours.Cheap ugg boots online for sale,discount ugg boots to your door quickly!

December 15, 2010 | Unregistered Commenterugg boot

Look at these fashion Nike Air Rift Shoes, they're the new and most pouplar Nike Rift Trainers. We're the best Nike Rifts online shop to purchase Cheap Nike Air Rift Mens shoes, Womens Nike Air Rifts and Nike Air Rift Kids Shoes with Nike Air Rift Socks, cool and comfortable! All Nike Rifts UK on sale with high quality and low price, free shipping and fast delivery. Welcome to http://www.nikeair-rift.com/ ! </p>

March 1, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterNike Air Rift Shoes

<p>vibram five shoeswas originally designed to increase the participation of potential and power of the runners, athletes and other extreme five fingers sports. People spend time, money and energy in comfortable vibram fivefingers shoes and carry out their legs while it is well known that the best way to go barefoot. fivefingers kso of culture to promote walking barefoot, and now many athletes around the world to find the five fingers vibram of her best choice. Handle proposed to increase the stability and speed of the barefoot with vibram five finger, for many, for quick movement or reflexes-based vibram five fingers solutions terrain, Muddy Waters, sand sliding, etc. useful. Five fingers has become popular among those climbing, fitness, martial arts, tourism, yoga participation, vibram fivefinger canoeing, running, pilates, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, fishing, lodging, travel and canoeing. </p>
<p>Every few years of five fingers classic innovation, to surprise the world and accept changes in our lifestyles to a considerable extent. vibram five finger shoes is one such revolutionary innovations as the goals and promises to change our perception of the five finger shoes. These coatings are thin, lightweight and ultra-comfortable protection for your feet you enjoy barefoot, and at the same time ensure that your legs remain without five finger speed corners and edges.</p>
<p>Further, there are many activities in the five mountains Nike Air Max can take in all of Northern Cyprus on your holiday. Catakloy Riding Club offers horse riding in the mountains of the five fingers, and they include picnics and visits to historic castles and monasteries in the mountains. If you are not afraid of the tourists can enjoy Nike air max 2010 paragliding in the area of St. Hilarion Castle they are on holiday in Northern Cyprus.During your Nike Air Max 2009 holiday in Northern Cyprus, how many times you tell the story of the village looking in vain hands of Queen in marriage. Aversion queen wanted to get rid of this brash young man, when she brought him water from the well Monastery of St. Andrew takes is located in the Karpas. Dangerous Air Max 2009 journey, of course, not a holiday in Northern Cyprus, and Cheap Air Max certainly the Queen that the villagers would never have imagined. But a few weeks later, residents were faced with the queen with a jug of water so much. The Queen was shocked to see that the people did, but still refused to marry him. Angry residents Air Max poured water into the ground, grabbed a handful of mud and fell straight to the top of the Queen. Bent down and dirty Queen sailed past her, and Nike Air Max 95 frustration levels of Kyrenia mountains, where she Discount Air Max continues to date impression of five fingers, as rural residents.

March 17, 2011 | Unregistered Commentervibram five

<p>There are few things in life that are five fingers simply better in every way, and leave no room for argument. vibram fivefingers is one of them. This product, which does not depend on his appearance, but its five finger execution. This may be a good idea to test them on their feet.Company in thevibram vibram kso sale for over 70 years and is known for producing high quality footwear. vibram five are soft and supple nylon sole that can easily be extended to cover the contours of the legs to do. This is the only vibram five fingers shoes, in one machine so that you keep them clean and fresh can be washed. </p>
<p>If you have compiled one of those unfortunate set of fivefingers kso shoes for long hours almost every day wear in your life, then you probably know how much load can five finger speed shoes. People's feet at least 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles, and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and vibram classic ligaments in this small space. He is not without reason, of course. Our feet are capable of great strength, speed, endurance, and it alone, we need to vibram shoes improve their potential. Barefoot and regularly ensure that our legs carried out in order to vibram five fingers enhance vibram fivefingers kso productivity. Shoes on the other hand, changes in the shape of legs and muscles during sleep. For runners and athletes who have vibram five finger shoes, calf muscles, finally, to take the load vibram flow pressure while the feet and toes curled up in a lather. </p>
<p>Nike air max 2010 is designed to reinvent the pleasure of "bare legs. It allows us to return to the top, live as we should. The moment you start using your Nike Air Max fingers to move five feet bare, we have Nike Air Max 2009 experienced a sudden resurgence of a large number of functions that We lost Air Max 2009 power years, our bodies move against nature. Gradually, we begin to bring our original way of Discount Air Max walking, we used a pain in the muscles of the shin or on our waistline Cheap Air Max disappears suddenly feeling that we are starting to Air Max feel particularly Nike Air Max 95 happy and free.

March 17, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterfive fingers

high waist design life is Able to waist line looks so natural Custom Wedding Gowns,That bridal stomach and perfect. It is always bestchina wholesale, to get a loose fit by Doubling your current measurements. Wholesale Maternity Wedding Dresses,Because of the larger belly size,Wholesale wedding dresses, the maternity gown Should Not Be soBrowse Wedding Dresses, Elegantly Adorned Seized as the regular ones, http://www.weddingdresseshome.com/Cheap Wedding Gown sales,But The embellishment at the top Maternity Wedding Gowns,of the dress Can Be Made a little bit more.Matenity Wedding Dresses Shop,In order to supper those women with proper bridal wedding dresses; cheap wedding gown under 1000,there are maternity wedding dresses made exclusive for them.Cheap Wedding Gowns, And if you are one of them, you will look as nice and elegant maternity Wedding Dresses,as other brides when wearing your maternity wedding dress http://www.weddingdressexhibition.com/ Wedding Dresses,on the wedding ceremony with your family members at your big day. Wedding dress and Wedding Gowns,Isn’t very good news for you? http://www.weddinggowns-shop.com/ more and more maternity bridal dressesnice wedding dresses, have been making their appearances on wedding gowns,the red carpet, which has led a lot of designers to use their talents to make all sorts of maternity bridal dresses. bridal,This has created a wide variety of styles and options for the http://www.wenlibridal.com/ Bridal Gowns,p

May 19, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterCocktail dresses

contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.-Franck Muller Long Island replicas

July 20, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterFranck Muller Long Island replicas

In the Herve Leger outlet online store, there are coming in many Herve Leger New dresses, they are fashionable,On one
dress of Herve Leger wherever you are you will be the focus.That is why many
Hollywood famous stars choose to. Herve Leger bandage is always binding up with the shining:
Herve Leger Dresses Herve Leger Dresses;
Herve Leger Cheap Herve Leger Cheap;
Herve Leger On Sale Herve Leger On Sale;
Leger Dress Leger Dress;
Herve Leger Outlet Herve Leger Outlet;
Herve Leger Bandage Herve Leger Bandage;
herve leger skirts herve leger skirts;
Herve Leger Swimsuit Sale Herve Leger Swimsuit Sale;
zentai catsuit zentai catsuit;
zentai bodysuitzentai bodysuit;
lycra suit lycra suit;
spandex catsuits spandex catsuits;
spiderman suit spiderman suit;
Christian Louboutin Replica Christian Louboutin Replica;
Christian Louboutin Sale Christian Louboutin Sale;
Cheap Christian Louboutin Cheap Christian Louboutin;
Christian Louboutin Knockoffs Christian Louboutin Knockoffs;
Christian Louboutin Discount Christian Louboutin Discount;
Christian Louboutin Replica Christian Louboutin Replica.

July 27, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterHerve Leger

Our company has extraordinary Internet high-tech business venture experience.You can buy cheap tibia gold, tibia leveling，tibia item and tibia account here. We are the best service in the industry standard security measures with SSL encryption via your browser and further safety measures base on standard SET, to ensure the security of your online payment for the cheapest tibia gp,cheapest tibia gold from us right now.
Because the tibia gold is useful in the game and help to you when you are play it, so wheather buy the tibia money the most important for you. We have reliability supply of tibia gp.
If you have any other question with buying tibia money,tibia item,tibia account and tibia leveling service, tibia gp or after sale concerns, contact our 7/24 Live help.
Come on,cheapest tibia gp and cheapest tibia gold are on sale now!
武汉婚纱摄影

Where is the best place to buy guild wars gold (gw gold)?
It is glad to announce that guild wars 2 platinum,guild wars 2 money,guild wars 2 armor and guild wars 2 farming are hot selling now,there are over 50+ people trading guild wars 2 gold here everyday.You can purchase cheaper guild wars 2 platinum and guild wars 2 farming here to save lots of money. We always provide you with such services: 30 mins - 24 hours gw gold delivery, 24/7 online live customer service, especially cheaper guild wars 2 gold price. We have available stock of guild wars 2 money which can meet your needs all the time. Don't forget to bookmark our gw 2 gold site in your personal computer! ^_^
寓教于乐的游戏

runescape gp Price Slashed again! Unbeatable runescape gold price from the direct sale. Fast & safe trade runescape gp, 10mins runescape gold delivery First choice of 100000 customers!
We strive to give you the best prices on runescape money,runescape item and runescape account service. We can always get runescape money quickly and fast delivery that brings you more satisfactorily. Our aim is to make you happy with a more excited life in the game. We will try our best to provide customers the best service and the safest delivery. Thanks to the loyal and new customers for supporting us all the time. If you are interested in cheap rs2 gold or power leveling, you can enjoy cheap rs2 gold and great discount here! We will devote all efforts to returning, once again, thank you!
衣服搭配

July 31, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterzdy

christian Louboutin pumpsWonderful, like it very much.

louboutin shoe

October 19, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterchristian louboutin sale

griffey max 1I really like your article. Please keep on writing excellent posts.

air griffey

October 19, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterken griffey

Asics AustraliavThanks for such a great post and the review, I am totally impressed! Keep stuff like this coming.

Asics Shoes

October 19, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterAsics Shoes

ferragamoI don't like your template but your posts are quite good so I will check back!

ferragamo mens

October 19, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterferragamo discount

karen millen clothingThanks for such a great post and the review, I am totally impressed! Keep stuff like this coming.

karen millen online
karen millen

October 19, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterkaren millen australia

<p>The modern age is an age of soccer shoes. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure, people grope about in nike soccer cleats flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils in silent refrigerators. Yet, people began to understand white soccer shoes how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for million of years. Scientists are discovering more and more that blue soccer cleats living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity. all living cell send out tiny pulses of electricity. as the heart beats, adidas shoes soccers sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of adidas f50 tunit boots, which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremely small – often so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record adidas f50 predator. But in some animals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cell are linked adidas adizero f50 together, the effects can be astonishing. The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can seed a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which adidas f50 tunit uppers live. ( an electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) as many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel’s body are specialized for ctr 360 maestri elite generating electricity.
soccer cleats
adidas f50 boots
adidas f50 adizeros
</p>
<p align="center"></p>

ljp

October 26, 2011 | Unregistered Commentersoccer shoes
Page 1 2 Next 20 Comments Most Recent Comment »

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>

Notify me of follow-up comments via email.