USING DESKTOP themes WITH Vista

Have been receiving more and more emails from people who have Windows Vista on their computer and need help getting my themes to work. So have prepared this page to assist you with using them with this operating system. I hope you find it helpful.

The following directions are based on the assumption that my themes will be installed to the default directories included in the exe file created by Desktop Architect. Since I have no way of testing this to be 100% sure, I'd appreciate feedback from anyone who finds out differently. For example, themes created expressly for Windows XP store the various elements entirely differently. The theme files are created in C:\Windows\Resources\Themes and other theme elements are put in several different directories under Windows (i.e. Media, Web\Wallpaper, etc.) Don't know if Vista might somehow be capable of changing the default parameters built into the Desktop Architect software and install them in a similar manner.

If you are still having problems installing one of my themes under Vista after following the directions below, feel free to send me an email. I'll be glad to help in any way possible. You can send a message by clicking below.

SPECIAL NOTE:  The following directions were written specifically for the themes I've created. While many theme creators use Desktop Architect to package their themes, not all set the default directories the same. Some directions may not work as indicated with these themes. And other theme creators use only a zip file to distribute their work. Getting themes distributed in this manner to work properly, whether on Vista or XP or Windows 2000 or . . . is a whole different ballgame!

Installing Themes

VISTA 32-BIT VERSIONS

Double click on the exe file included in all my zip files. Click Next. A preview of the theme appears. Click Next again and a short message will appear in the window. Click Next once more and a dialogue box will appear notifying you where the theme will be installed. DO NOT CLICK BROWSE OR TYPE IN A NAME. Continue to click on Next until the dialogue box indicates the process is finished. Click Finish to close the dialogue box. The theme has now been installed on your computer.

Under Vista, the startup sound will not work and the Network Neighborhood icon will not change. Other than that, things should work great. To change the Network Neighborhood icon, go to Personalize. On the far left side, click on Change Desktop Icons. Then browse to C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes\ and click on the subdirectory with the name of the theme you just installed; this is where all the various theme elements are located. Select the Network icon and apply it manually.

If you like the "glass" bars (Windows Aero) and don't want to use the theme colors, go to the Personalize area and choose Windows Aero. This will reinstall your smoky bars. You will lose all the color information for the theme, but wallpaper, icons, cursors, and sounds will remain. Windows Aero is only available on Vista Home Premium and above.

VISTA ULTIMATE (64-BIT)

You must run the theme exe file while signed on as an administrator. This will create the following directories:  C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes\Name Of Theme on your hard drive. You can then access the theme by clicking Desktop/Personalize/Theme. As noted above, the startup sound will not work and the Network Neighborhood icon will not change. Follow instructions above for changing the icon manually.

Once you have the theme exactly how you want it, go to Personalize, choose Themes and Save As. Browse to C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes, choose the applicable theme name and overwrite the existing theme file with the settings you just entered. The next time you apply the theme, the wallpaper, icons, cursors, sounds (except for startup) and Windows Aero will be there (or not... depending on your preferences).

Uninstalling Themes

Since my themes do not "install" in the same way as a software program, none of them will appear in the Add/Remove Programs listing of installed programs. (This is true for most themes by other creators as well.) Uninstalling has to be done manually by opening the file management program (is it still called Windows Explorer?), browsing to C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes\ on your hard drive and deleting the applicable  ".Theme" file and theme subdirectory. Unless you are in need of hard drive space or are sure you will never want to use a particular theme again, there's really no need to delete a theme. Simply choose another one and apply it. I currently have a total of 124 themes on my computer, with plenty of room for more on my 250GB hard drive.

USING Desktop Architect Theme Management Program

Personally, I use Desktop Architect to manage all my themes as well as package them for downloading by others on my computer running Windows XP Pro. It's a great little FREE program that, while no longer supported by it's developer, continues to perform well. That's pretty amazing considering it was originally developed in the good old days of Windows 98! Naturally, the Win 98 sections of the program and the startup and shutdown screens no longer apply, but it works great otherwise. It's available for downloading at many sites if you'd like to give it a try.

Have heard that Desktop Architect is not compatible with Windows Vista. However, there is a way to get around this problem. Go to THIS LINK at Microsoft's site and follow the directions to set the Compatibility features. Have heard back from someone who emailed me for help with this program that this worked. In some versions of Vista, you may need to install this program while signed on as an administrator.

Once the compatibility features have been set, most of the DA features will work with Vista, except as noted above for the Windows 98 elements. Have no information about any other theme management programs which work with Vista.

If you've decided to give Desktop Architect a try, when you first launch the program, it automatically loads any theme files stored in C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes and will bring up a screen that looks like this:

It displays an alphabetical list of the themes it's found in a drop down format. As you browse through the list, a preview of each theme will appear in the window. Once you decide on one to use, click on Apply.

NOTE:  If you've chosen to keep your Aero settings, you must uncheck the box at the right under Settings/Colors BEFORE hitting Apply. Click on the disc icon to save it without the theme colors. The next time you use that specific theme, it will retain the Aero settings.

This program allows you to change many of the settings for themes. You can change the colors (unless you want to keep the Aero settings), fonts and font sizes, window sizes, cursors, sounds, icons, etc. That way if you don't like the way a particular theme looks as envisioned by its creator, you can make changes to suit you then save those changes in a new ".Theme" file. or just click on the disc icon to save over the original one. It's fun to play around with once you get the hang of how to use the various components. I've been known to mix and match the elements from different themes installed on my computer and then use File/Save As to create a whole new theme!