taskbar won't change colors

[AnDNguyen]

hi. I couldn't change the taskbar to the colors I wanted, or the themes(the background change, but not the taskbar color that goes with it.) Everytime I click on the "Window Colors" it shows the "color and appearance box" and I don't know what to do. Any tips? Greatly Appreciate the help. Thanks.

 

[Ivo]

I was able to change the taskbar color like this:
1) Enable custom themes by running VistaGlazz 2.0 or other theme patching tool: http://www.codegazer.com/2009/11/11/vistaglazz2/
2) Make a copy of the aero theme by duplicating the C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\Aero folder. You need to rename the aero.msstyles file to the name of your custom theme.
3) Duplicate the C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme file. Edit it with notepad to point to the new theme folder
4) In the new msstyles file, edit the IMAGE resource with number 845. It is a PNG image for the taskbar when it's at the bottom. There are other images for taskbar on the left, right, or top. The image is 3 pixels high. The top 2 pixels form the top border and the 3rd pixel is used to fill the rest of the taskbar. Change that pixel to whatever color you want. I did this primarily to remove the transparency because I wanted an opaque taskbar. You can also add more pixels at the bottom to create a gradient. All the pixels except the first 2 will be stretched to fill the height of the taskbar.
5) From the theme settings activate your new theme.

 

[reghakr]

edit the IMAGE resource with number 845

Why don't you mention a resource editor?

 

[Ivo]

Why don't you mention a resource editor?

I don't know the technical level of the OP. Maybe this is obvious to him and will be offended by too much hand-holding If he needs more details he should ask.

But to answer your question, yes, you need a resource editor to modify the data in the msstyles file. I used ResHacker 3.4 from here: http://angusj.com/resourcehacker/. And you'll need an image editor to modify the PNG file. Something that understands opacity is preferable, like GIMP or Photoshop.

 

[reghakr]

It;;s too bad he stopped development on it.