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Tweak Your Windows Theme With Vista Visual Master
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 12:00 AM on October 3, 2008
Earlier this week, Jason de-mystified the process of styling your Windows system with custom themes, along with the tweaks needed to pull it off. Those Windows Vista users who just can't commit to patching, finding and copying themes, however, might find comfort in Vista Visual Master, a free, all-in-one tool for opening up your Vista system to themes, downloading and installing them, and tweaking tons of other graphical elements, including icons, your log-on picture, boot screen, and more. Read on for a peek at how Vista Visual Master can mold your system to your liking and make theming easy.
Update: As many commenters have pointed out, the site hosting Vista Visual Master appears to have outright copied tutorials and instructional posts and re-posted them, without credit. The site itself (which the software links to) is also ad-heavy.
Others have noted that Vista Visual Master may not work with Vista systems patched with Service Pack 1, or at least systems in which other theme tools have made changes to the core uxtheme.dll file. So proceed with caution, and, of course, back up files before you change them.
Grab a copy of Vista Visual Master (VVM) at the creator's Vista123.net site. The app supports both 32- and 64-bit Vista builds. When launching it, I'd recommend using the "Run as Administrator" feature from right-clicking its icon—I ran into some file access hang-ups when I didn't, and in some cases, I couldn't apply themes.
Once you're installed and launched, you'll arrive at VVM's first tab, "System Settings." There are some cool tweaks here, nothing you can't accomplish with other utilities, but kind of nice to have quick access to while you're messing with the total visual style of your system.
Now for the meaty stuff, "Theme Patch":
Check one box, and VVM will patch your uxtheme.dll file so Vista can use non-Microsoft-approved themes. I'd recommend making a backup of that file, as Jason detailed, before letting VVM take care of it. The patching worked for me on the first try, and after that, theme-changing became a simple matter of downloading, choosing, and hitting "Apply Theme." The built-in download link takes you to Vista123's collection of themes, which are nice, if mostly subtle. The "Restore Default" button is, of course, a very, very good thing to have, as some themes are more buggy and rough-edged than others.
I tried out Vista123's copy of "Blue as the Sea", and liked the way it coloured, shaded, and otherwise subtly moved my Vista system toward a blue colour scheme.
Beyond basic theme-applying, VVM lets you tweak individual elements of your system's looks, right down to, say, the icon for PDF files. The "System Icons" tab lets you tweak (and restore) icons, mostly the kind that appear on the desktop:
"File Type Icons" gives you the same change/restore options, but for every single icon on your system. Good, perhaps, for when you've got one particular icon that just looks darned ugly.
Next up is "Logon Picture," the background you see when you're prompted to choose a user and type your password:
Very simple—you can use pretty much any picture that fits your screen here, keeping the centre log-on box in mind. You can apply, restore, and grab Vista123's offerings here.
The remaining links are less exciting or handy. "OEM Information" lets you tweak the owner/organisation/branding that appears when clicking "Properties" on My Computer and elsewhere. "Boot Screen" can put any picture in place of the progress bar screen during load-up, though, as the site itself points out, it's not all that hard. "Vista Extras" is just links to free software (the kind that likely help keep Vista Visual Master free), although they're good picks.
That's it for my tour of Vista Visual Master. If you're looking to get in deeper, check out (sorry for the broken record linking) Jason's guide, which includes the steps for Windows XP.
What's your impressions of Vista Visual Master? Which themes do and don't work through it? Tell us your take in the comments.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Börje Frylmark
Posted October 4, 2008 10:48 PM
Seems great! But unfortunately I can't patch SP1 in Vista. I've followed the instructions, but still get the annoying "Your theme files can't be patched, for it may have been modified by another program"...
:-(
Of course, I DO have rebooted the system...
Weird...
hexpunK
Posted October 13, 2008 7:49 PM
@1:
You should try VistaGlazz (search google), they have a beta capable of patching the uxtheme files in SP1 (I have done so myself).
LissaKay
Posted 1:13 AM 3/10/08
Well, if it weren't for the fact that this will not work with Vista SP1 ... nevermind, I don't know since it doesn't work!
LissaKay
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Posted 1:08 AM 3/10/08
I posted this on gHacks and now I'm sharing the same thing here!
I request everyone to not use this software as the developer is a shameless content stealer. He has copied the following tutorial from my site AskVG.com:
[www.askvg.com]
And pasted at his site:
[www.vista123.net]
No credit, no source. Even I tried to contact him but no reply.
Most of the forums contain my tutorial and ppl know that its my tutorial as I posted it long time back. Its really sad that some ppl doesnt respect others hard work.
We should not encourage such developers who can't understand and respect others hard work. I have never seen any software developer doing such kind of plagiarism. Really shameful.
Coming to the topic, everyone should use "VistaGlazz" to patch system files and then everyone can use all custom themes without any problem. One can also use "Tuneup utilities" to easily apply themes.
Regards
Vishal Gupta
Microsoft MVP
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Asian Angel
Posted 12:59 AM 3/10/08
@jsmorley: That is very good information to know before trying this. ^__^ Thanks! ^__^
Asian Angel
jsmorley
Posted 12:51 AM 3/10/08
Be aware that if you have already patched your windows uxtheme.dll file, then this program will refuse to work for managing themes. The "browse", and "Download" buttons are grayed out. If you want to use this to manage your themes, you will have to put back your original uxtheme.dll and then let this patch it for you.
jsmorley
LiquidGravity
Posted 1:37 AM 3/10/08
@Vishal Gupta -MS MVP:
Its a shame when people screw you over like that. I agree that VistaGlazz is the best way.
Also I was looking for the manual kind of information that your site provides. Thank you.
LiquidGravity
Asian Angel
Posted 1:56 AM 3/10/08
@Vishal Gupta - MS MVP: It is sad what that person has done...I will definitely not be downloading it.
While I have the opportunity, I do want to thank you for making very wonderful themes. ^__^ I am currently using the Aero VG theme and love it. ^__^
Asian Angel
The How-To Geek
Posted 2:11 AM 3/10/08
I completely agree with Vishal Gupta above.
I'd also like to point out that whoever is behind that Vista123 website is a horrible WORTHLESS CONTENT THIEF and should not be trusted under any circumstances.
Literally every single article on the Vista123 site was stolen from somebody else, copyrights completely ignored.
The original point of this software was to redirect you to their website where ads were being displayed on every inch of the site, on the stolen content. I don't see any ads anymore, but the adsense code is still there... I assume google shut them off because of their thievery.
Personally, I wouldn't use any software from a site run by a person with no ethics...
THINK ABOUT THIS:
It's just as likely that this person is stealing your personal information through this software, or will in some update in the future. Clearly they have no problem stealing.
The How-To Geek
dchall8
Posted 2:46 AM 3/10/08
@dchall8: I might add that I wrote a FAQ for organic lawn care many years ago. I know from site counters that the FAQ has been downloaded well over 20,000 times. Every now and then I see the essence of the FAQ posted as a FAQ on other websites. I guess I'm less concerned about it than y'all are.
dchall8
dchall8
Posted 2:43 AM 3/10/08
Are you suggesting that Vista Visual Master might have been stolen?
dchall8
Nick P
Posted 2:41 AM 3/10/08
Another failure on Vista SP1 here.
Under the theme patch section it just says:
"Your theme files can't be patched, for it may have been modified by another program."
To the best of my knowledge I haven't patched it so I'm presuming its SP1.
Nick P
j3st
Posted 2:41 AM 3/10/08
Good thing I scanned through the comments before trying this out. Won't download this ever now! Tried downloading VistaGlazz before but their servers seem to be down. Will try again later.
j3st
Kevin Purdy
Posted 3:11 AM 3/10/08
@All: I have to say, even when you're giving me the stern look, I appreciate having you guys around.
I'm updating the post to reflect both the SP1/patching issues, and the content ripping.
That said, I (as a non-experienced theme patcher) was still glad to see the software itself. I hope the developer can make amends, or at least correct his ways.
Kevin Purdy
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Posted 3:33 AM 3/10/08
@Kevin Purdy:
Thanks. I have no problem with you or this topic. I appreciate your support. I just wanted to point out the truth behind this utility. :)
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Posted 3:31 AM 3/10/08
@Asian Angel:
Thanks for your support. I really appreciate it. :)
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
Posted 3:31 AM 3/10/08
@LiquidGravity:
My pleasure. :)
Vishal Gupta -MS MVP
The How-To Geek
Posted 3:31 AM 3/10/08
@Kevin Purdy: We still love you.
This particular webmaster will not change his ways... it took me a dozen emails to get him to remove just 1 or 2 of the half a dozen articles he stole from me, and then he'd just steal another one. He finally quit stealing them once I threatened to file a DMCA with Adsense.
The How-To Geek
kph59
Posted 4:20 AM 3/10/08
It's rated Red by McAfee SiteAdvisor, but doesn't report VVM is filled with AD/MAL/SPYware.
kph59
Asian Angel
Posted 4:58 AM 3/10/08
@Vishal Gupta - MS MVP: You are very welcome! ^__^
Asian Angel
The How-To Geek
Posted 5:08 AM 3/10/08
@Rogue: That depends. If all the webmasters who live in the US file a DMCA with the hosting company, then the website would be shut down, but they could always relocate the domain to a non-US server where the copyright laws don't apply.
The How-To Geek
Rogue
Posted 5:02 AM 3/10/08
@The How-To Geek: Is there any way to get that website shut down permanently?
Rogue
Giolon
Posted 7:35 AM 3/10/08
For login screen alterations, may I recommend the FREE LogonStudio from Stardock? It's got loads of options for XP, but in Vista it only allows changing the background of the login screen (still worthwhile IMO).
Giolon