Hello everyone and Jorge...

I am speaking mainly to Jorge who I hope will be able to give me answers...

Questions that I have always asked myself and that I am trying to resolve...

1- Is it possible to apply a kind of overlay (Images) on the complete menu TitleA and I, ButtonA and I, EndcapA and I which does not undergo stretching when adding an element in the menu (Separator or others) as can be done on certain modules.

2- Is it possible to apply an animation image to TitleA and I, as can be done on WindowBlinds...

3- Is it possible to have WsCalLeftArrow and WsCalRightArrow over and down buttons on the calendar as well as close normal over and down buttons on the different modules without going through the drop-down menu for each module...

4- Is it possible to change the color of the new gear icon in the tray section which is always white and which is sometimes almost invisible with certain colors of the SysBack or the StartBar...

Well, I think I've covered it, but these are questions that have been bothering me for a long time and which prevent me from creating certain themes which present elaborate menus...

Thanks everyone and Jorge...

Have any updates? I have the same question as a new user. Is it possible to apply an animation image to TitleA?

Those anims are just about the worst idea - there're far too many already and GUI anims are the worst thing ever to have crept into GUIs. There's been a lot of discussion of this very topic in loads of other forums, along with excessive eye-candy. The fact that skinning/theming has long become pretty much obsolete is an indication how little interest there is in GUI customisation and eye-candy and its ilk.

Functionality's the thing. Fortunately, Winstep apps have oodles of that!

With Winstep being single-threaded, yet more anims are not a good plan with regard to that also. Bearing in mind especially that there are still users out there running on very ancient hardware and ancient OSes like Windows 2000 and earlier.

Anyway, just my 2 Million quid's worth - I know, it's inflation, what can you do!?

I think the problem is that Picco14 has asked these questions before and still hasn't gotten an answer. I know that he has asked the question on image stretching before.

If you look at the WinCustomize Winstep Gallery you will see that the last eight themes created for Winstep Xtreme were by Picco14. I have also seen additional themes of his in other forums that are not available to us. I would think that answering a few questions in the hope of getting some new themes would be worth the effort.

I purchased Winstep Xtreme because of the themes. I was able to do almost everything it does with several other freeware programs, but Winstep Xtreme tied it all together in a nice looking package. I think themes are what has attracted a lot of customers.

Anyone who is running Windows 2000 and earlier (why would you even bother) obviously has little interest in themes or any other eye candy. They could simply choose not to install more complex themes if their systems can't handle them or they don't like eye candy.

There are still artists creating themes for WindowBlinds, visual styles for Windows 10 and 11, and some interesting skins for Rainmeter. They have some very nice, not elaborate, animations that in no way would tax a system. Many people are still interested in eye candy.

With the lack of interest in themes and fixing the minor long standing bugs in Winstep Xtreme, I have started to move away from the program. For less than the price of Winstep Xtreme I have been able to customize my system as much as I want. My system is seven years old and I have seven programs running in the background without any slowdowns or problems. I still have a shelf running in the background, but I don't use it very often.

I still really like Winstep Xtreme, and I hope that all the minor problems get solved and more themes are created. I know that Jorge had to step away from the forums for a while and I think everyone understands that. It's just that without his input, the quality of support suffers.

2 Million quid???? I still can only afford 2 cents. I would add a smiley face but I guess the only eye candy that I don't like is Emoticons. The great thing about Windows is that you can customize it the way you like. It's too bad that option is starting to disappear in Linux. I remember when that was a selling point.

Indeed, Picco14 has asked that before. And I agree, an answer from Jorge might be helpful, any answer, even if only to say 'Not on my watch'. And some good new themes certainly would help too. The default ones certainly look terribly dated.

In the - now more and more distant - past, yes, I'm sure. Now, they're much less of a factor I'm equally sure.

I'm afraid I have to say that those are rather presumptuous statements. There are a lot of people who still use very dated hardware for any number of reasons, e.g. financial ones, or they're happy with what they have and don't see the need to get more modern hardware, etc. Also, a lot of people prefer running an older OS - Win XP seems to be the most popular one, but I've come across Win 98 even though that is really rather sad I think, but then for some it's a matter of sentimental attachment or nostalgia. In any of these cases we cannot simply assume that such people have little or no interest in themes or eye-candy.

Windowblinds/Visual Styles is one big pile of manure that can seriously f**k with your system IME, and most of the skins are much of the same. Not that it's still a vast number of new ones. Rainmeter, yes, interesting, and some interesting skins, though visually a bit limited by the vector gfx. But again, very much a minority interest. And you contradict yourself there, now claiming 'many' people are still interested in eye-candy. It's a diminishing interest. It even applies in Linux - with some very long-standing Linux users going so far as to do a manual install that lets them boot straight into the Terminal (aka the Bash shell). Being a fairly long time predominantly Linux user myself, I love Bash and use it a lot too. (But then I go back with it, having used a native version under OS/2, its 'parent' the Bourne shell under various *nix and BSD systems, and Bash under early Linux, which I explored fairly frequently from early days.)

Well good for you if that floats your boat. I wouldn't like using Windows, when I have to use it, without Winstep. However, I have my own themes that are minimalist, and no anims of any kind except the recycler mod (an old 'hang-over' from my NeXT days).

Yes, there are some old mainly minor issues that really need addressing, and the Taskbar does need a good bit of TLC, esp. the vertical one. More themes will come along bit by bit I suppose. Don't see though how in the absence of Jorge's input 'the quality of support suffers.'

Well, I meant I expect to be paid that sum for my pronunciations. Maybe I'm an optimist after all. Maybe in future I should just put a tiny fraction of a Bitcoin.

As for Emoticons, not keen on them either so they're disabled here. I do however find that proper smileys do have their use and been using them since the good old BBS days where they came into existence.

But have to disagree strongly that Windows is customizable the way you want. From way back it's always thrown obstacles into the way of that, and it's becoming less and less so with each new version. Just look for instance at the problems wrt the systray in Win 11!

Regarding Linux, it's reached a point where a) it doesn't really need customisation, and b) the majority of ordinary users wouldn't even want it. The majority just want everything just working straight 'out of the box' without having to do anything. Which in many respects is unfortunate of course.

I had heard the same stories about WindowBlinds for years. I started using it along with Start11, and IconPackager about 6 months ago while testing Windows 11 on another drive. I found all three programs to be extremely stable. The only issue I found was WindowBlinds and Winstep Xtreme did not get along. I turned off Winstep Xtreme and didn't have an issue for the three months that I continued to test Windows 11. WindowBlinds also had no issues with the Windows 11 system tray. Stardock's forums are also very noob friendly. It couldn't be easier to to customize Windows. It's been working great for several months now on my Windows 10 install.

Visual Styles are risky, but a simple system restore point created before trying one solved that problem.



I don't think so. Those older systems are useless for the internet and modern applications. I don't know if any anti-virus programs or browsers even support them anymore. The few instances that I have seen them in use, the users are running the stock interface and just using the older OS to keep an outdated program running. If they still want to run Winstep Xtreme, just don't use a modern theme. I have tried a couple of much older Winstep themes that don't work on Windows 10 or 11. I just decided not to try and use them.



I find it very interesting that experienced Linux users such as yourself, for whatever reasons - no criticism intended, are moving away from GUI's and customization, even to the point of sometimes criticizing those who would never abandon them. I've used Linux off and on since the creation of Ubuntu, and would have no interest in Linux without them. I started using Linux because of themes, and continued because the GUI's got better over time. I never liked DOS either. I guess my brain just doesn't work that way.



Sorry. I often get Emoticons and Emojis mixed up. I don't like Emojis but for some reason I found Emoticons clever.

I remember once you said that to you a computer was just a tool. I know a lot of people who feel the same way. They wouldn't waste a penny or a moment customizing anything. I also know a lot of people who look at computers as a hobby. They enjoy using and customizing them, and will greatly miss themes if they go away.

WB seriously messes with your registry. Try getting rid of a skin and restoring Windows defaults. F***s up fonts and all sorts - a nightmare! Even restore point doesn't tidy that up again. Only restoring a clean full backup partially solves the problem. And you shouldn't have to do either for this.

Your lucky. Came across some real horror stories even in recent times.

Now you're being downright arrogant. There are people who have no choice but to use very old hardware - and consequently, of course, software - going way back, simply because they can't afford more recent hardware. And when that hardware dies, they can't have any computer again. The US in particular has the most appalling poverty in the industrialised world. Europe isn't good either.

Personally I haven't abandoned GUIs, far from it, but for a lot of things it's far more expedient to use a Terminal, and some things simply have to be done in it, and it is a joy indeed using it when you have half a clue about it. Incidentally, Bash is very easy to learn, and at a push you can always just type "Help". DOS has always been one big pile of shite for crap machines. Far better to use a Unix/BSD box - if you could afford one - or an Amiga (which had a pretty decent CLI as well) or at a push a Mac.

As regards customisation, I consider Xtreme essential for Windows, for the functionality it offers. But in Linux, I - and most other users - have little or no use for customisation these days. There are some pretty decent WM/DE nowadays - not that they couldn't be bettered, and in any case there are far too many, just as there are far too many distros.

LOL! Join the club. I keep getting them mixed up all the time myself.

Indeed, to me computers are just a tool - and at heart I have to add I'd rather they'd never been invented in the first place! - and that's it. Doesn't mean I don't use customisation where it's useful in making life easier and/or provide a better/more pleasant interface. However, sooner rather than later I fully expect that skinning/theming will die entirely, if only because Windows throws more and more spanners in the works. And the number of new skins/themes for the handful or less apps that still use it is diminishing steadily. Very few people are still interested in producing them.

So it goes.

(Nezbit) .....


[Moderator's note] This post by user Nezbit had to be redacted in its entirety. This is on account of it not only having gone entirely off topic but more so for spouting extreme right wing political propaganda in its entirety, which violates Board Rules and could provoke equally extreme responses and even a flame war.

While personally I'm on the side of Voltaire where free speech is concerned, on this board - and for that matter almost all others - political propaganda and advocacy of any kind are not permitted precisely because of the reasons given above.

An official warning is issued. Any discussion or disputing of the matter may result in further disciplinary action. [/Moderator's note] - nexter

It really is too sad when someone not only goes entirely off topic but spouts a whole lot of extremist political propaganda. This violates Board Rules and will not and cannot be tolerated.

While the rules do not ban political discussion outright, it is certainly discouraged and best avoided if possible, and certainly only has a place in the 'Off Topic' forum, not here. And extremism of any kind, whether political or religious, will never be tolerated, full stop.

Any further posts in this thread would be well advised to remain on topic.

Some people evidently can't take a hint, or read properly. The user chose to ignore the warnings and threw a rather offensive wobbly by PM instead. I ignored this of course and issued a one month temporary ban. Let's hope that will allow him to cool off and come to his senses.