Choosing the visual style the theme will use

Windows XP introduces the new way of skinning the Windows interface (applying a new skin/look to the interface) with files called visual styles. The visual style files are like one file with all of the different images in it that make up the way the interface looks. Windows XP only includes one visual style, which is called the Windows XP style. The second half of this chapter, which is all about visual styles, will show you how you can get more visual styles.

Each visual style usually contains different color schemes. The Windows XP style that comes with Windows XP has three: Blue, Olive Green, and Silver. The color schemes of the Windows XP style do not change the shape of the windows, just the color, since this is what a color scheme is designed to do. Unlike the classic windows interface, changing the colors of the window elements is not as simple as selecting a new color. Instead, a visual style has to have a whole new set of graphics created and then imported into the file. Because of that, each of the
different color scheme options of a visual style are actually completely separate visual styles. Because each of the color scheme options of a visual style require a whole new set of graphics, authors of visual styles on the Web often use the color scheme settings to store slightly different versions of their visual style. Not only do the different versions often have new colors, but they also have minor physical tweaks and differences.

Now that you know the basics of the visual style, it's time to tweak the visual style settings so that when you make your Theme file in the next sections, it will be included with your sound and mouse settings:

1. Right-click the desktop and select Properties to bring up the Display Properties window.

2. When this is displayed, click the Appearance tab.

3. In the bottom half of the window, you should see the Windows and Buttons drop-down list. This will include all of the visual styles properly installed on your computer. By default, with a new Windows XP install, you will have two choices: Windows XP Style and Windows Classic Style.

4. Once you have your visual style picked out, play around with the color schemes and see which one you like best. Remember, if you have already installed some visual styles that you downloaded from the Web, changing the color scheme may reveal different variations of a visual style that can look completely different from one another.

5. The font size settings are also fun to play with, but most users have little use for them because the author of a visual style usually picked what looks best with the style of the skin. However, if you do not like the author's choices, this is where you can customize the look to suit your taste. When you are finished customizing your visual style settings, click OK to save your changes.