The question having been asked in the "post your seven desktop" thread, i thought it was maybe interesting to deepen that with a new and clear post...
So, the subject here is how to change icons and type/color of font in a windows gadget to make it match better with your own style...
IMPORTANT NOTE : If you wanna follow these steps, remember that it's for personal use ONLY, please never share a customized gadget without the owner/creator permission!!! Thanks...
I could not be responsible for any exceed due to the use of this tutorial...
For the icons change, i choose the "BandwidthMeter" gadget, credits for this are for "RolRain".
For the font change, i used "PrestoHDMonitor_1.54" gadget, credits to "Preston Hunt" for the gadget and "SFKilla" for styles and graphics.
So here we go! First : how to change icon(s)...
Note : my system is in French but i'll explain with English terms, really easy to follow...
You need to have "7-zip" installed for these operations, Winrar doesn't show needed actions in the contextual menu...
So we're gonna make "up" become "down"
1- Create a new folder and name it as your original gadget.
To make it more distinctive, add something to the name...
My original is "BandwidthMeter" and i just added "2" :
2- Copy your original gadget in this folder (always back up the original, of course...), then right clic the gadget file > 7-zip > extract here
You obtain all the folders contained in your gadget.
You can delete the original now, we won't need it anymore.
3- Find the "images" folder and then the icon(s) you wanna change and check the size.
I made here a red selection of two icons, they are the icon of the gadget and the icon for the gadget management window (the one with all your installed gadgets)
4- Choose now new icon(s), with the same size (! - if needed, cut & resize with any image editor you want) and rename them as the original ones
As you can see, i had to copy my choosen icon twice...
5 - Replace the original icons by the new ones
6- To have the new name of the gadget after installation, you have to change it in the "xml" file, so right clic on it > modify
then change the name, close the windows and accept the modification
7- We have now to re-pack all the files;
So, select all of them, right clic > 7-zip > add to "BandwidthMeter2.zip"
Finally, rename the extension "zip" to "gadget" (to make appear the extension, go to "folder options" and uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types")
And that's it; you have now a new personal custom ready-to-use gadget!
Here is now how to change font style/color, much easier again...
Really useful if you want to use clear gadget theme, for exemple..
So, to make "up" become "down"
Follow the steps described in the first post for extracting the gadget files, then find the "css" one and change font and colors where i've marked (note : you can write colors in words, "black", "red", orange" for exemple). You can also change "bold" to "italic", and so on... But i didn't here...
Of course, according to the gadget you wanna customize, "css" file can be a bit different but i think it's easy to find what to change, and if it doesn't work at the first time, just try again...!
When it's done, re-pack as described above...
This is it!
I hope this is clear enough and it will help someone...!
In that case, i will be happy and motivated for, maybe, a new tuto, one day...
Enjoy and, please, let me know if you liked it and find it helpful...
Thanks!!!
Last edited by scoopeeedoo; 15 Feb 2010 at 02:06 PM..
System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom OS Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit CPU Pentium 4 HT 3.2Ghz (@3.8Ghz) Motherboard Biostar P4M800CE-8237 Memory 2x 1GB DDR 200Mhz (3-3-3-8) Graphics Card ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 512MB Sound Card Sound Blaster Audigy Monitor(s) Displays Acer S231HL Screen Resolution 1920x1080
Keyboard Microsoft wireless keyboard 800 Mouse Microsoft wireless mouse 1000 PSU 650 watt Cooling 2x 80mm fan, 2x 140mm fan Hard Drives 120GB 7200RPM WD
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Most of the storage is delegated to a file server. Internet Speed 25Mbps download, 4Mbps upload Other Info My average idle for the Pentium 4 is 20c, praise to Type 44 Heatsink Compound.
Wow man.. you went all that far because i asked a simple question!! haha your a start! thank you so much... Ill edit my gadget now and put a pic on here soon showing it to you!
System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom Built OS Windows 7 Pro 32bit CPU AMD Phenom 8650 Triple-Core Motherboard ASUS M3A78 Memory Kingston 4gb DDR2 Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 (512mb) Monitor(s) Displays Acer Screen Resolution 1440 x 900
Wow man.. you went all that far because i asked a simple question!! haha your a start! thank you so much... Ill edit my gadget now and put a pic on here soon showing it to you!
Lol ok im stuck! haha... just trying this out but i dont get this part you said:
Quote:
Finally, rename the extension "zip" to "gadget" (you need for this to uncheck "mask known extension" in the folder options)
Ive looked and cant find 'mask known extension' though i saved it .Gadget and it saved! but when i try to install it it says 'this is not a valid package' lol ... Help!
System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom Built OS Windows 7 Pro 32bit CPU AMD Phenom 8650 Triple-Core Motherboard ASUS M3A78 Memory Kingston 4gb DDR2 Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 (512mb) Monitor(s) Displays Acer Screen Resolution 1440 x 900
System Manufacturer/Model Number D3f's Customs OS Win 7 Ultimate SP1 x64 CPU Intel Pentium Dual Core E5300 OC'd @ 3GHz Motherboard Asus P5G41-M LE Memory Kingston 2x2GB DDR2-800 Dual Channel SDRAM Graphics Card Integrated Intel GMA X4500 Sound Card Realtek 5.1 HD Audio (ALC887) Monitor(s) Displays LG Flatron W1943S @ 60Hz Screen Resolution 1360 x 768
Keyboard Logitech K120 Mouse Logitech LS1 Laser Mouse PSU Headway 450w PSU Case Pixxo Slim Black mATX Case Cooling Stock Cpu Fan, 1 x Top Case Fan Hard Drives Internal - WD Caviar Blue 500GB, External - WD My Passport Essential 500GB Internet Speed 17.66Mb/s Down, 0.82Mb/s Up Other Info Creative SBS A300 2.1 Speaker System, LG GH22NS50 22x Internal Super-Multi DVD-RW, 2Wire 5012NV Wireless Modem Router
Lol ok im stuck! haha... just trying this out but i dont get this part you said:
Quote:
Finally, rename the extension "zip" to "gadget" (you need for this to uncheck "mask known extension" in the folder options)
Ive looked and cant find 'mask known extension' though i saved it .Gadget and it saved! but when i try to install it it says 'this is not a valid package' lol ... Help!
If you did not uncheck the option, you will have a double extension... not good that!!!
See this : (sorry for French, this must be, in your window explorer : options > folders options > display > mask the file type extension known, or something like that...). I hope it will fix your prob'...
to make it match better with your own style...
Quote: Originally Posted by Prisoner 
