title: Native Aero Blur without Glass Effect on Borderless WPF Window
body: <p>I am aware that similar questions have been asked and answered. Mine, however, is a three-part question.</p>
  
  <p>For the purposes of this question, keep the following in mind:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>I am an amateur, early college undergraduate studying Computer Science. I am highly unskilled in complex programming, but I can understand most terminology.</li>
  <li>This is a WPF project created in Visual Studio using VB.NET, but I can read C# just as easily due to the languages' similarity.</li>
  <li>This is my first time experimenting with any DWM APIs.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <h2>1. Applying Aero Glass to Borderless Window</h2>
  
  <p>First and foremost, is it possible to use the glass effect in the background of a borderless window? If so (and I believe it to be), how is this done?</p>
  
  <p>Additionally, since Windows 8 and newer no longer use the translucent glass effect, can this still be done on those operating systems?</p>
  
  <h2>2. Keeping Native Blur Effect without Glass</h2>
  
  <p>I want the smooth native DWM blur effect, but I don't want the glossy glass overlay, and I don't want the window color predefined in the user's theme settings.</p>
  
  <h2>3. Customizing Blur Radius and Location</h2>
  
  <p>Is it possible to only apply this effect to a certain portion of the window? More importantly, is it possible to adjust the intensity (radius) of the blurring effect?</p>
  
  <h2>EDIT - Screenshot Examples</h2>
  
  <p>By request, I have posted some examples of the effect I wish to achieve.</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1YddP.jpg" alt="Current Program"></p>
  
  <p>The image above is an actual screenshot of my WPF application (still in the works). Its minimalist design relies heavily on animation of movement and window resizing.</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/E6PEK.jpg" alt="Blurred Program"></p>
  
  <p>Using some photoshop skills, I've rendered the image above, demonstrating the effect I want to create, <em>exactly</em> the way I want it. Note the following:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>The blur has a much higher radius (intensity) than usual Aero blurring effects</li>
  <li>The blur is only visible on one portion of the windows</li>
  <li>The blur does not inherit its color from the green color theme of the desktop</li>
  </ul>