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K-Johnson โ Clearscreen Sharp for Vista
by-nc-nd
Published: 2009-06-19 14:44:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 172758; Favourites: 464; Downloads: 30314
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Description
Hey all,
I've been working on these themes since last year. I redid 99% of the images in the .msstyles, support all the DPI's, and some optional extra's (navigation/shutdown buttons, userpicture, welcome center). Windows 7 is going to be released soon, and I have preordered it (Oct. 22) but will start working on it before the storewide release date.
INFO & DOWNLOAD
Clearscreen Sharp is the sharper and lighter version of Clearscreen Round.
This is the second of three themes.
* You can download all the versions in one easy link: *Uploading
* Or download the currently viewed theme by clicking "Download" to your top left.
--
Installation: Check out this great guide at WinMatrix -> [link]
You can also apply the themes without messing with any of your files by downloading StyleSelector (32-bit OS only), AveStyler (Shareware), Tuneup Utilities 2009 (Shareware), or UXStyle (Free & Shareware).
*** READ THE README FILE IN THE .ZIP FILE for THEME INSTALLATION! ***
KNOWN ISSUES
.PERSONAL NOTE
Thanks to: ~thepanda-x , Ave, ~ZEUSosX , =Satukoro , ~sweatyfish , ~GrzegorzJZD , ~invaderjohn , and everyone who commented and reported bugs!
/etc: I used Photoshop CS3 and Vista Style Builder to create these themes.
CHANGELOG
V4 (FINAL):
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Added 24px Taskbar option, Max Transparency option, and Userpicture option
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Support for 120 / 144 / 192 dpi (completed the high dpi graphics set)
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Re-enabled context menu seperators to prevent Tablet PC Input Panel menu's from breaking ([link] )
[Sharp] Fixed shadow to appear under titlebar on maximized windows (for Max Transparency version)
[Sharp] Fixed restore glyph clipping ([link] )
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed clock to display fully in heightened taskbar mode
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed tray icon tooltips and menus from overlaying taskbar
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed alignment issues in Group menu
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed tooltip to appear correctly (You may have seen the double-shadow bug while hovering over a button in Firefox)
[Round] Fixed styling of disabled menu entries to 'normal' instead of bold
[Round] Fixed the taskbar stretching margins
[Shellstyle.dll] Redirected dtb() method of the Control Panel Folderband BG image to pull image from CommandBar instead of the rebar BG as it was probably intended. Read about the goof-up here: [link]
[Shellstyle.dll] Changed Folderband font styling to match other areas
[Shellstyle.dll] Fixed text alignment of hotlink "Show more details..." in the details pane when more than 15 files are highlighted
[explorer.exe] Added custom shutdown buttons and userpicture option
[shell32.dll] Removed overlaying design on Control Panel navigation
[browseui.dll] Added custom navigation buttons
[oobefldr.dll] Modified Welcome Center to fit the theme
V3.5 (MORE BUG FIXES & POLISHING):
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Swapped solid bordering on buttons with transparent ones
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed text clipping in menu's for longer/wide-character languages (like Chinese)
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed text clipping in Windows Security Center
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed text clipping with Toolbar button text
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed CommandLink button to retain fidelity on its bottom edge when stretched vertically
[Round/Basic] Fixed gradient banding on the gloss of the Start menu & Taskbar on clsRound and clsBasic, much thanks to ~sweatyfish
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed unreadable Help window and Alternate Toolbar area ([link] ) to match the other toolbars for a consistent look
[Round/Basic] Aligned group menu icons with the icon on the grouped taskbar button
[Sharp/Basic] Added matching vertical progressbars
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed x64 graphical glitches (seperator, indeterminate progress bar, explorer navigation pane, disabled button, commandlink)!
Hopefully these are the last of the major bugs. Perfection and compatability with everything is an impossible task with custom msstyles on Vista, but I want to get as close to it as possible!
The reason why it is impossible: Some programs use their own code along with code pulled from the msstyles -- that can spawn problems as the programmer created the program to work with the default Vista Aero theme. Also, because Vista msstyles does a lot of sharing with global properties. I had to implement many properties in many different parts and states for custom styling! xD So let's hope this version goes smoothly so we can get some variations going for V4!V3 (BUG FIXES & POLISHING):
[Sharp] Fixed Breadcrumb bar vertical seperators to match Round (how it was originally supposed to be)
[Sharp] Changed TreeItem hot state to match the sharp corners of others
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Redid Scrollbars for better contrast, redid slider trackbars for a sharper look.
[Sharp] Changed Padded Border Width to 1 from 0 to prevent dialog window frames from breaking.
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Placeslist images reworked (truesize value now set to stretched to fit other languages with more/wider characters)
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed taskbar 1px bottom row of inactivity
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Fixed start menu program name clipping
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Made Folderband/Communications/Media/Toolbar buttons transparent -- Help menu now visible
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Recolored indeterminate progress bar to match normal progressbar and saved as 32-bit PNG
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Centered Scrollbar Gripper on bottom scrollbar
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Darkened disabled checkboxes and radio buttons a bit
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Made flashing taskbar window button's orange glow more vibrant
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Made transparent tab area solid -- no more black gaps in some apps in the filter sort
[Sharp/Round/Basic] Changed contentmargins to fit the icons within the addressbar and searchbar (seen in FireFox default skin), thanks to Sweatyfish
V2:
- No more third party theme changer needed (hopefully)!
- Packed in "No Folderband Autohide" shellstyle
Clearscreen Sharp (currently viewing)
Clearscreen Round
Clearscreen Basic
Related content
Comments: 350
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Nice VS. Added it to favorites. How do you get the back and forward buttons on the Windows explorer?
๐: 0 โฉ: 1
Ah never mind about the explorer buttons. None the less it is a nice and clean VS. Are you thinking about making icons and dock themes to compliment this VS?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
There is a slight problem. Nothing major, but it can really deduct form the theme. If you're on a full-screen window (like Google Chrome), it changes the theme and makes it less transparent. The toolbar almost seems to become solid black.
Still, truly awesome
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Ya know, I've been on Win7 since it came out and I've been using your Clearscreen theme for 7 since you released it, but sometimes I feel like reinstalling Vista just because this version of the skin feels much more polished for some reason.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
u have to have vista home premium or ultimate. now if its not transparent, right clic on ur desktop > personalize>Windows color and apearance. There will be a list of things choose "vista aero" for transparency. u will also notice that there are no names for the themes and that they are all called the same thing.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Just wanted to say that this is a very good theme. It's sleek simple and customisable with all the variations you have provided. Thanks for all the work you've put into this
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
very nice theme
but... maybe you can set the header color changeable? :S
but great theme
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hi it's very great !
Can you modify it a little bit and make the progress bar blue plz?
Thx !
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Okay, now i read the whole read-me, but im not going to do it as i cant risk losing all my data, but your theme is the best and will stay in my computer until windows 8 comes out : D
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Great job, although i have a small problem, the theme works and its beautiful, but my shutdown and back/forward buttons are still the same, where am i supposed to put the files in the theme to work?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hey where can I get the backgrounds? They look freaking amazing just like your theme
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
i just love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is the best theme.
good luck.
keep giving better results.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I really loved your Round Version. It was awesome. I think this is awesome too. More comment after download.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hey!
I use this theme for now more than 6 months, but... I've got a big issue with it : the taskbar is noway as transparent as windows edges. When using a plain, sharp color background, this is fine, but could we have a version with the top half of the taskbar totaly transparent and the low part as transparent as the top part is actually?
That would be lovely, and hopefully usefull for you too
Thanks a lot for your great work!
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Absolutly love it! Looking for something like this for a while, a big improvement from using Aero. The instructions were also great for hopeless people like me
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I need help!
I tried step 3! And I did something wrong! I cant get my start menu or explorer to work? Can you please help me restore my computer as it was before the theme?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hi there mate!
Your theme looks absolutely awesome! On the preview.. I cant get it to work on my PC though.
I followed the readme. I copied the "clsSharp_TU30" folder into Windows/Resources/Themes. I then I copied and pasted the "Shell_AutoHide" folder into the "clsSharp_TU30" folder which i assume was the "clearscreen theme folder" you referred to in the readme. (and renamed it to only "shell") I also copied the files
browseui.dll, explorer.exe, oobefldr.dll and shell32.dll
And now what? I tried to start the theme by launching the windows visual style file. Nothing happened. What am I doing wrong here?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
This is a great theme though I can't quite customize the color.
How did you get it to be green?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I have installed this long time ago, i have it yet...
Thanks hehe ^^
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
This theme looks absolutely stunning. The consistency and love for detail is overwhelming. Thank you for this wonderful piece of art!
Talking about consistency there is one or two things that could make it even better (in my humble opinion).
When you hover over the title bar buttons, a highlight appears that makes it look like a button from the basic theme. When the mouse doesn't hover over the buttons, you think these vertical lines separate the buttons. That makes it a little weird when a "button within the button" appears when hovering. I would find it better if the symbol you hover over would just start to glow around its edges.
Another thing is the buttons in the basic theme (which also show in non-Aero styled windows in the other themes). The title bar buttons sure look beautiful. But in comparison to the flat design of the Aero windows they somehow don't fit. I assume the non-Aero engine doesn't allow separators to be placed in between the buttons. Would it do any harm to just make the title bar buttons flat like in the Aero style and leave the separators out? The highlighting could be done with glow-effects, too. This would add even more consistency.
Much text about little things. Don't forget that this is just my humble opinion and that I find your theme absolutely beautiful. I just want to help you to possibly make it even better.
Kind regards
Merlin
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Awesome theme, but don't like some moments.
Changed and edited some. Can see and test here:
[link]
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I <3 this theme. . . However, how do you change the color of the borders?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Wonderful!! Very nice theme, i'm using it now
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
THE best theme I used in my life. Very clean, simple design!
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I would like this so much better if it didn't change all the highlighting colors to such and ugly gray.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I agree with pyrofyr, it would be great with a transparent bar. Also, installing the theme actually turns aero off on my computer, do you have any idea why?
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hey is there any way to make the bottom bars more transparent (like the windows are)? Looking for a theme that's perfectly transparent (or as close as possible without looking like crap). I love the look of yours butt he bottom bar and the start menu are a little too dark for me.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hi man, very nice work (sorry for my bad english, im a mexican xD)
I want to know if it's possible crash down my system by replacing the files: browseui.dll and the others .dll files whit yours.
Well, that's all, im using your skin but withouth the toolbar modified u.u i love it XD
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Really Nice, Do you have in plain transport this theme for WindowBlinds for XP / Vista version ?
๐: 0 โฉ: 1
I don't use or have Windowsblind, sorry.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Amazing work!
Just featured this at [link]
Dave
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
I love it! Aero made finally perfect
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Hey ! I haven't seen it until now... very good theme !
I have to say that I don't like a lot the squared angles (too bad for a pixel lover ^^) but the style is really great
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
Great VS, it's probably the best you can get for Vista
There are some things that could be improved imho, though:
โข Optional smaller font size (about 1pt or even 2pt smaller)
โข The small 'close' and 'minimize' buttons (you can see them on Photoshop CS2 Palettes) could be a lot more pleasing if you reduced the size of the symbols.
โข There seems to be some kind of bug with the font weight of the VS. There are some cases where text lines aren't bold, although they should be.
However, thanks a lot for this great Visual Style!
๐: 0 โฉ: 1
Hi, thanks for the critique.
Unfortunately I won't be updating Vista's Clearscreen much anymore, if at all. I have Windows 7 now and almost at completion with the port & polish.
I may revisit Vista at a later time, but I'd rather focus my attention on Windows 7 for now
* The small taskbar version has small font I think. 8pt Segoe UI. I want to stick to Segoe UI for this theme and if I remember correctly the anti-aliasing gets really ugly on anything below 8 for this font. Are you asking for size 7/6pt font or were you using the 30px taskbar version, which I believe uses 9pt Segoe UI?
* Can you show me an image of this? I don't have Photoshop CS2.
* There are lots of areas that are bold. Can you show me which area behaves erratically? Often it is the fault of the program for not acknowledging or pulling the font styling for a particular part. I remember the menu items not boldfacing over hover in Firefox. That is something I can't change as that interpretation is in the hands of Firefox.
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
DUDE YOU ARE A GENIUS!!!
THANKS THIS IS SO AMAZING!!
still can't believe how perfect this theme is *ยฌ*
seriously thank you so much!!
๐: 0 โฉ: 0
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