Engineering Windows 7

Welcome to our blog dedicated to the engineering of Microsoft Windows 7

Creating, Saving, Sharing Themes in Windows 7

Creating, Saving, Sharing Themes in Windows 7

  • Comments 71




Creating and Sharing Windows 7 Themes


Personalization Control Panel

Personalization Control Panel

Desktop Context Menu

Desktop Context Menu


Elements of themes in Windows 7



Personalization Control Panel: Get more theme online link

Personalization Control Panel: Get more theme online link

Creating a theme



Figure 1: Break out of theme type

Figure 1: Break out of theme type












Windows Color and Appearance

Sound control panel

or pick from 14 diverse sound schemes.



personalization settings will always be available in the themes gallery.

Sharing themes





Sharing with Windows Live



and add a link to the theme on my blog.

Sharing via Homegroup




But wait…there’s more.




  1. Download the template from MSDN.
  2. Open the template using Notepad.



Looking ahead




Leave a Comment
  • Please add 3 and 1 and type the answer here:
  • Post
  • what happened to the ability to hover over a background and see a live preview?

    if i click on of the 6 images in windows desktop backgrounds, i'm returned to the themes. so i can't preview the background that i want. i can right click

    on each  one and it will preview on the desktop, but i have to deal with the

    context menu covering up most of the next image. if i move right to left, i

    can get around that.

  • With all these improvements to theme management, and 85% users customizing themes, it's very strange to see theme management removed from W7 Starter

  • You should be able to choose which elements you wish to save to -- and load from -- a theme.

    For example, I may want to backup or share my window colours but I never, ever, ever want to mess with my sounds.

  • The first Microsoft thing that Microsoft have to do with Windows is to offer al least the same functionality like Windows XP.

    I think that Aero Peak, Aero Snap and Aero etc is very usefull and nice things to an operating system but this things are not importan if the operating system not offer at least the same functionality that Windows XP do and this is the first thing that Microsoft have to do after developings new features as Aero Gadgets.

    In my company and our customers dont like Windows Vista and stick with Windows XP because only few and little things that Microsoft can correct it very easily:

    1. Expand "All Programs" in Start Menu. Windows XP can do it. Vista and Seven can't.

    2. I want to order the "All Programs" in Start Menu. I disable de option to not order Programs alphabetically, but every time i restart the computer or install a new program the "All Programs" menu sorted alphabetically automatically. This occurs in Windows Vista and not fixed in Windows Seven. What are Microsoft doing this three years with Windows Seven? Correcting bugs and fails or adding touching capabilities and Aero Peaks, Aero Snaps, Aero etc's...?

    3. The possibility to customize Windows Explorer toolbar. Windows 95 to XP can do it. Vista and Seven can't. Most users requiered the "Up Folder" button in Windows Explorer toolbar and not need the options that Microsoft put in this toolbar that cant change it.

    4. The ability to catalog music in Windows Media Player Library AT LEAST like WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 10. Imposible to catalog in Windows Media Player 11 and 12 because is only album centric and in Windows 7 Microsoft remove the advanced tag editor.

    5. If a antispyware program tells me to delete a file called "spy.dll" stored in C:\Windows\System32, can someone tells me how to search this file in Windows Vista or Seven? Very complex and a lot of clicks in Vista ans Seven.

    Or if i'm a developer or a technical and i want to find a file in the system or windows folder is very complex to me to find it. For example i want to search the host file to modify it, or to find the winipcfg application. Windows Search is not valid to a very lot of users.

    6. Removing tabs controls in some Control Panel options and in more places in all Windows, makes all things more complicated and make doings actions more slowly and with more clicks than in Windows XP. For example, in Windows XP, in the "Appearance" option i cant change the background wallpaper, the screensaver and more things only with one click to change between options. In Windows Vista the same thing is going back and double clicking in other option making changing any option very frustrating.

    If some work with Internet Information Server 7 in Windows Server 2008 this same topic of removing tabs is more frustrating making to "Go back" continuously to change between options. Why Microsoft is removing the tab control and making all things more complicate, more complex, more slower, and less practical.

    Microsoft need to think that all Windows users are acomodate to a user interface for more that 10 years since Windows 95. Microsoft cant change this from one day to another. Microsoft must offer at least the same functionality and compatibility like Windows XP does. Microsoft cant remove features and cant remove behaviors because all users are acomodate with this.

    The Office 2007 toolbar is usefull and good, but Microsoft must put an option to configure it with older menu's and older behaviour because most users are accomodate to it and needs time to change to a new user interface and behaviour. Need to do the same with Windows Vista and Seven.

    A user does become to first use Windows Vista is frustrating because its imposible to use it in the same manner like Windows XP do. Its imposible to "Go up folder" because the icon not exist, imposible to search because indexing is not complete, imposible to find things in the caotic "Control Panel", imposible to do the same things that do with Windows XP, and this is the REASON of why this user and all of mayority of users return to Windows XP and discard Windows Vista.

    The first reason of the Windows Vista fiasco is not perfomance, compatibility or features. The first REASON is that users are acomodate for more than 10 years with a user interface and changing it at all is frustrating users.

    I have a computers company and the mayority of users come back and asked to downgrade to Windows XP because its imposible to work with Vista. Only a few users have complained about the performance or compatibily of Windows Vista.

    Microsoft needs to offer the same Windows XP functionality, the same Windows Explorer, the same customizations.

    And when all of this is complete, then add new feature like Aero Snaps, Aero Peaks, Aero Tips, Aero Chips, Aero Tricks and so on.

    Today Windows Vista or Seven is not for me. Why? Because I cant expand "All Programs" in "Star Menu", cant customize my Windows Explorer toolbar (the options included are not valid for me) and its imposible to me to find the files i want to find and imposible to me to catalog music with Windows Media Player 11 or 12. I'm stick in Windows XP with Windows Media Player 10 as the vast majority of users.

    When i see Windows Vista or Seven and think that is an operating system for domestic users only or for multimedia users only. Windows Explorer in Vista and Seven is focusly on media files. But what about companies, technicals, developers and so on. When I open a developer folder project in Vista or Seven i see it like media files. This is incongruent for an operating system. And operating system must cover all kind of users. Not the mayority of users. This is the cause of the fiasco of Vista. Companies, technicals and developers dont want and operating system do only for media or domestic users (the mayority of users).

    All technical, developers and so on need the ability of customize the operating system like Windows 95 to Windows XP do. Don't like a closed operating system. If i want it i buy a Mac.

    Microsoft needs to think seriously and slowly two things:

    1. Cant change a behaviour and a user interface that users are acomodate for more than 10 years. Changing it makes rejection of users.

    2. Think not only in the mayority of users. Think of all users, especially technicals, devolopers and more.

    When Microsoft develop the Windows 95 user interface used psychologists and sociologists and studied the behavior of people: builders, housewives, children, engineers, developers, governments and others to develop the user interface and get the best performance and ease of use to them.

    What happened with Windows Vista?

    Microsoft think, please think.

    "If I want a Mac, I buy a Mac, not Windows Vista or Seven."

  • Hello everybody,

    I was wondering if there is a possibility to constantly update the themes. Basically, it would be fun to "subscribe" to a theme "feed". It would be a good idea to be able to add a theme to a centralized node (could be offered by Microsoft) or public domains that expose the content (themes and, going forward, theme components) based on a standard interface, and people around the world could subscribe to that theme and have new content as soon as the owner of the theme updates the content (adds new images, changes sounds for different actions, etc.).


  • Thank you JaviAl for saying what was on my mind since the first time I saw Windows 7: "It is a Mac!"  Windows is becoming way too Mac-like.  I bought a PC so I could run WINDOWS!

  • @JaviAl

  • How about deeper theme support? It's needed the uxtheme patch?

    And how about Windows 7 UI? It will be nicer to see old-like Vista style (or a black theme) with two lines (like application name/document name) per button on taskbar.

  • Hi!

    First off, I'd like to congratulate you for your job on this blog. Yes, really.

    All the PR stuff annoys me, therefore having the guys working on the product sharing a bit of their insights, I think it's really cool.

    However, for all the awesomeness that we're promised with Windows 7, I find several bits worrying. Namely, why several features are gone?

    I completely understand why you removed bundled apps like Windows Movie Maker or Windows Mail, but why did you strip out the advanced tag in WMP, the "open the last opened windows at log on" option from Explorer, the network activity animation in the system tray, or the Software Explorer thingy from Defender?

    I'd really like a blog post to explain your reasons on these ones.

    Thanks anyways for the blog. Keep the updates coming!

    Oh, and I sincerely hope we'll get a similar blog for Windows 8. =o)

  • @JaviAl

    1. and 2. You can expand All Programs.  

    Right Click the task menu and go to properties.

    Click Start Menu.  Under Privacy make sure "Store and display recently opened programs in the Start menu.  Now click customize.  

    You will see an option for "Start menu size."  Increase the "number of recent programs to display" to something very high.  You can uncheck the Privacy setting and your number will still be put to use.

    Now you won't get the scroll bar unless you have so many programs that the menu is taller then your resolution.  And if you have that many programs why don't you start using the new Start menu the way it was designed?

    Windows key -> type what you want -> hit enter.  So much faster and efficient then when clicking with a mouse.

    3.  How is hitting the "Back" button any different then the up button in the old WinXP Explorer?  Up and Back did the same thing under WinXP except when browsing through multiple computers on the network at the same time.

    4.  I don't use WMP for my Music so can't comment but remember there are other options out there that are FREE that will meet your needs.

    5.  Set your Indexing Options to cover all of your drives and ensure it indexes DLL files as well.  Then just click the Windows Key and type the file name.

    6.  What's wrong with them making everything far more efficient?  The old menus are slow and inefficient.  Yes, some people hate change but that's life.  Better off learning the new method and making yourself more efficient.  Not to mention making life easier.

    In the end if you want the "Same Windows XP functionality, the same Windows Explorer, the same customizations" then stick with Windows XP until the end of time.  Or you can accept that evil thing called CHANGE and join everybody else by moving forward with bigger and better things that make you more efficient.

  • @Mr. Steven Sinofsky

    PS. 22 October Windows 7 is avaiable only in US

    or all Language? (ps. Italian :D )



  • 1. When selecting multiple pictures for the desktop background, it's impossible to preview without losing your current selection.

    2. It's hard to keep track of which pictures are selected especially when there are many pictures in the folder/library.

    3. It's impossible to reorder the pictures in a slide show.

  • Thanks for this advice! I set the NASA Image of the Day feed as my background. I knew it was possible, but I didn't know it was this easy until this blog post.



    Expanding the start menu? How many programs do you need on a regular basis that you can't just pin them? I think the Vista start menu cut my 'time to open a new program' in half, and the Windows 7 taskbar has probably cut that in half again. Thanks Microsoft!

  • C'mon, when you buy a new car, only a steering wheel a gear stick and the pedals are in the same place (roughly). Everything else is somewhere else. A mob for conditioner always changes places.

    Folder up? In Seven it's even better than in any previous Windows. You just click in the address bar on the folder higher in the hierarchy, and you can go up as many levels as you want in ONE click! In two clicks in address bar (not a click and doubleclick like in XP), you can go to a neighbour folder!

  • When reading JaviAl, I just feel pity how much people are simply slaves of their habits.

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