Custom Themes, Icons and Start Buttons.

Mr GRiM said:

Your welcome.



I'm using Firefox version 3.012 and I can see them all.

Just checked the whole thread and i can see all the photos in it, beside the ones in the guide

sergiogarcia9 said:

Just checked the whole thread and i can see all the photos in it, beside the ones in the guide

I used Mr. Grim's instruction on page 5 of this thread to change the start orb. I'm using win7 7600 x64, my explorer.exe was in my C:\windows not in system32 or syswow64.

sergiogarcia9 said:

Just checked the whole thread and i can see all the photos in it, beside the ones in the guide

You mean this guide?

killercat said:

Alright, here’s a quick how-to:

The only file you need to modify for this is explorer.exe. In there you’ll need the files 6801.bmp – 6812.bmp.

Which images you need to edit depends on the Taskbar location/icon size of your desire:
(Note: tested under 1280x800, 1024x768, 800x480 maybe other resolutions require different files)

Large Icons:

No matter where the Taskbar is located, you only need 6805.bmp

Small Icons:

top: 6809.bmp
left: 6805.bmp
right: 6805.bmp
bottom:680 1.bmp

(If you find out where the other files are used, please let me know.)

Preparation:

1. Install necessary tools (if not already installed)
2. Take ownership of explorer.exe (so you can overwrite it)
3. Create a backup of explorer.exe

How to edit:

1. Open your explorer.exe backup with Resource Tuner (or a comparable tool)
2. Extract the image files
3. Modify the file(s) to your likes
4. In Resource Tuner select “Edit Resource” to add the edited image. (Important: the filename has to be the same as the original file)
5. Select “Save File as…” and create a copy of explorer.exe somewhere
6. Make sure all explorer windows are closed
7. In Task Manager, kill explorer.exe
8. Replace the old file with the newly created one
9. In Task Manager restart explorer.exe (File --> new task --> explorer)

Repeat steps 3 -9 untill you’re satisfied. Enjoy!

Notes:

1. Black (outside the icon) = transparent
2. Topmost Icon = inactive, middle = mouse hover, lowest = clicked.
   
   
3. If there is either a lot of black inside the “orb-area” or non-black stuff outside of it, windows will adjust the color/brightness of the icon to the underlying Taskbar color / wallpaper. So you might do the “fitting” with a window color / wallpaper you are planning to use with the icon. (Unless this effect is what you desire)
   
   OK (desired effect)
   
   Not OK (at least for me)
   
4. If you’ve done that, but the colors are still (way) off, reduce/increase brightness or adjust colors for that item
5. If you have edited the above mentioned images, but nothing changes, you might need to edit different files than I did.
   (Tip: Create an explorer.exe with pictures where you simply put numbers (1-12) on the standard globe and load it,
   that’s how I figured out which file is used where.)

That's it for now, I hope it's helpful :) If you've got any more questions, just ask.

Also, please post back your experiences/problems if you try it, so I can add them to the list. If I forgot something, I'll add it as well.

And of course, feel free to post your own creations. I’m sure there’s a bunch of people around here that are way better at graphic design than I’ll ever be

YupYup said:

You mean this guide?

Okay this is really wierd Now i see them.

sergiogarcia9 said:

Okay this is really wierd Now i see them.

Don't worry your not losing your mind, i corrected the links.

YupYup said:

Don't worry your not losing your mind, i corrected the links.

Thanks, but i cant get it to work how do you take ownership of explorer.exe? :s

Need some help getting the libraries folder to change on the taskbar. When I try to pin the computer of Library icon to the taskbar I only get the original yellow folder. Any ideas?

sergiogarcia9 said:

Thanks, but i cant get it to work how do you take ownership of explorer.exe? :s

Per Mr Grim: Right click on explorer and select properties and then go to the security tab, on the security tab click on advanced and the select owner and then select edit, choose your Administrator user account and hit OK and OK again, now you are back on the security Tab select edit and choose your Administrator account and tick the box that says full control and hit OK and your done.

APorter said:

Per Mr Grim: Right click on explorer and select properties and then go to the security tab, on the security tab click on advanced and the select owner and then select edit, choose your Administrator user account and hit OK and OK again, now you are back on the security Tab select edit and choose your Administrator account and tick the box that says full control and hit OK and your done.

I cant do that...Access denied