EggXpert

Well, I downloaded a nice Royale mock-up theme for Vista (and it works too).

The only problem though is that there are some things that rather annoy me, i.e. the start menu is pretty darn screwed up. I've tried to contact the original author of the theme but she told me she no longer supports it. Is there a way to modify the theme (without Stardock bloatware/crapware/junkware)? All I have is mostly dynamic link libraries, two .dll.mui files, and a .msstyles file. Any help is appreciated. And no, I would just use it for personal use. If you don't understand what I mean, I've already patched all the needed files (or else as you can see above, I wouldn't have a custom theme going!)

Cheers! 

Good day,

There certainly are ways to modify your theme, using free software!

What you need is a resource editor, so you can modify the images stored within the theme's library/libraries (the .dll files). A free one that's quite decent is Resource Hacker (http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/).

You can see somebody having fun customizing many parts of his system here: http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?cid=64&c=1

There will usually be a 1033 folder within the dll, and somewhere under that will be the image resources. You should be able to replace those with files you create from an external image editor, or extract from a different theme using Resource Hacker.

 Good luck!
 

Ok, I was 90% sure that'd work, but I went ahead and checked for you.

I'm using Resource Tuner, which is a commercial resource editor. When a .msstyles file is opened with it, its image resources are all viewable and editable in the "Bitmap" folder, including the start menu images.

Resource Hacker should do the same... 

Well I've run into a problem.

 All of the files (and there's a LOT of them) that are named 1033 are just hexadecimal characters.
 

:-S 

Unfortunately, I can't seem to reproduce what you have going on.

When loading "Royale Remixed," which may be a good starting point for whatever it is you're doing, there is a Bitmap folder in Resource Hacker, each of which has a 1033 folder and an image that displays inside it (no hex garble).

Let me know if Royal Remixed is an ok starting point... 

Here's the theme I'm trying to use.

When you do experiment the theme I just linked to could you post pics?
 

Ok,

Here's the deal. You have, indeed, located the theme's images; however, they're PNG images. Unfortunately, it appears that Resource Hacker doesn't display PNG images, so you can either right click on individual 1033's in the list and export their data as .png images, or you can use a resource editor that has native PNG support. Resource Tuner is one such product, but there are probably many floating around the internet tubes.

 I believe the ones you're interested in are 868 and 876. The start button is green, right?

--MHG 

Well now I'm confused. Are there any other resource viewers out there that can see .pngs? And it's not just the start button, it's teh start menu, buttons and among other things. I also wanted to fix a transparency bug.

And if I do export, how will I ever get them back in? 

Unfortunately, I was not able to locate any free resource editors with PNG support. Commercial solutions include Resource Tuner, PE Explorer, and the resource editor included with Microsoft Visual C++. Any of these are probably far more expensive than you care to pay for if you're just using it to customize a single theme, but if you do get a hold of any of these, you should be set!

Otherwise, you'll have to manually export each image resource by right clicking on them and saving. You can then edit this PNG file, and replace the original image in Resource Hacker by right clicking on it and selecting "Replace."

Good luck!
 

Look for one in the Software section, there is a stickey at the top of the page for free software, not sure if there is one in there or not.

Feel free to add links to any free software you know of while your in there.  

---

MrHelperGuy:

Unfortunately, I was not able to locate any free resource editors with PNG support. Commercial solutions include Resource Tuner, PE Explorer, and the resource editor included with Microsoft Visual C++. Any of these are probably far more expensive than you care to pay for if you're just using it to customize a single theme, but if you do get a hold of any of these, you should be set!

Otherwise, you'll have to manually export each image resource by right clicking on them and saving. You can then edit this PNG file, and replace the original image in Resource Hacker by right clicking on it and selecting "Replace."

Good luck!
 

 It only allows me to save the 1033 files as hex dumps (.txt).

 
I've also tried changing the extension to .png on the file but it just breaks it.

I would use Stardock's Skinstudio, but the main reason I hate it is because no matter how you save the themes with it you can only use them with Windowblinds... blech!!  

Just try one of the commercial alternatives I mentioned. I believe all of those have 30-day trials... If nothing else, you can take turns and have 90 days to do your theme that should be enough!

Good luck! 

MrHelperGuy:

Just try one of the commercial alternatives I mentioned. I believe all of those have 30-day trials... If nothing else, you can take turns and have 90 days to do your theme that should be enough!

Good luck! 

Heh. Well I got PE explorer. Where do you think I could find the stuff for the Start Menu, Windows (as in the bar at the top where the window name is), and the buttons (like Minimize, close, etc.)? I've skimmed it but I can't seem to find them.  

IMAGE_868

IMAGE_876 

 Should be under either Images or Bitmaps, I think I said earlier
 

MrHelperGuy:

IMAGE_868

IMAGE_876 

 Should be under either Images or Bitmaps, I think I said earlier
 

Thanks but that's the start button again.
 

Oops, had in mind that was what you wanted. The start menu background is easy to find, just look for a rectangular sliver that will be teselated to make the actual menu...

Sorry, but I don't have the time to track down each image. Hopefully you have learned how to manipulate the images of a theme though!

Good luck! 

MrHelperGuy:

Oops, had in mind that was what you wanted. The start menu background is easy to find, just look for a rectangular sliver that will be teselated to make the actual menu...

Sorry, but I don't have the time to track down each image. Hopefully you have learned how to manipulate the images of a theme though!

Good luck! 

Well, so fa I've fixed a LOT of bugs (mostly with the start menu) although I've created a bit of my own.

 As you can see, the text on those "recently used programs" and the some of the text where the browser and email are, is white. I've tried to change the color in the Appearance Settings dialog but there's nothing I can see to change that text. Any clues?
 

When you open the theme files up with a resource editor, there are embedded text files that have to do with the theme's color scheme... Remember it slightly looking like CSS when I checked out a theme for you the other day.

I've never tried to edit a theme to the extent you're doing, so let us know if you figure out a way!

Good luck! 

Maybe something like this? http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14347

 Also came across this, but I have not downloaded it. Make sure you have anti-virus installed Is probably legit though:

EDIT: More questionable site than I realized, link removed. Looks bogus--you have to give your e-mail address to get a link to download it, and the link o the author's site doesn't work!  

MrHelperGuy:

Maybe something like this? http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14347

 Also came across this, but I have not downloaded it. Make sure you have anti-virus installed Is probably legit though: http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Themes/Themes_Editors_and_Tools/Theme_Tutorial.html
 

Thanks for the help, the main thing I needed were the image location numbers! Cheers!