Taskbar - Customize Skin

How to Customize the Windows 7 Taskbar Skin​

   Information

Here’s something for those, who are stuck with the Basic skin, and don’t like the default Taskbar appearance...

...but would rather have it look different:

Unfortunately, the Basic Taskbar appearance can't be changed thru settings, but requires you to alter the image files it's based on. This said, as the images are only a few pixels big, it's not difficult at all.

STEP ONE

Preparation

1. Download the Uxtheme patch in order to use these modifications.
WARNING: Make sure you download the right files! As always, make backups of the files you alter, as there’s always a chance to break something. Especially when messing around with system files.

2. In there you’ll need the 829.png to 832.png and 990.png to 993.png files. For build 7229, you'll need the 841.png to 844.png and 1010.png to 1013.png files instead.
NOTE: I created a little overview. Here you can see, where the images are used.

3. Apply the Uxtheme patch (If not already done before).

4. Take ownership of aero.msstyles (so you can overwrite it).

5. Create a backup of aero.msstyles.

STEP TWO

How to Edit

1. Open your aero.msstyles backup with Resource Tuner (or a comparable tool)

2. Extract the image files.

3. Modify the file(s) to your liking.

4. In Resource Tuner select Edit Resource to add the edited image.
NOTE: The file name has to be the same as the original file.

5. Select Save File as and create a copy of aero.msstyles somewhere

6. Replace the old file with the newly created one

7. Change to a different Scheme and back to apply your settings
Enjoy!

   Tip

I have attached the plain black bar in a ZIP file below for those who want to see what it looks like without having to edit something. Click on the Download button below to download the ZIP file.

Download

 

[ebartolon]

Nice Guide Killer Kat. Just What I Was Looking For lol.

 

[Romulinx2]

Nice work.

 

[skunksmash]

great work...killercat

i shall have a toy with this later.....






SK

 

[m00m00]

Updated info for build 7068 ...

Hey

Thanks for the great post! However, I think the resources have changed for build 7068 upwards... the png's don't match those you mention in your tut.

Any chance of updating this for??

Thanks again!

 

[gordon]

Hello everyone

I think that png's are changing with build numbers. If I do something for 7100 I'll post it here but I'll be gratefull if someone posts some black basic skin (love ati 7500)

 

[kenium]

So anyone know resource numbers for RC 7100?

 

[edwardswolentoe]

Yeah does anyone know how to modify this for RC 7100? Trying to apply this causes explorer.exe not to work and force me to system restore.

Ive looked through the aero.msstyle for the actual .png file for the taskbar but can't find it. I can find and replace the skin for the start menu but alas not the most important one ~ the taskbar.

(BTW my comp can't run aero, no GFX card)

 

[Generator]

Regarding step 2,
for those struggling to find the resource's, the images for build 7229 are as follows:

841.png upto 844.png and then 1010.png upto 1013.png



This maybe the same for other builds.

 

[holo88]

resource editing.....system 32 files love it! (not really)
now there's a field of which i have A LOT of experience in. I semi-sucessfully modified most of the files in XP (a boredom project) with out (much) problem. good to know i can do it in 7 too.... just another part of my OCD w/ customizing things
or better yet...rip all the 7 resources, and add them to xp muhuhahahaha....sorry, got carried away. thanks for the info guys.

 

[Brink]

Regarding step 2,
for those struggling to find the resource's, the images for build 7229 are as follows:

841.png upto 844.png and then 1010.png upto 1013.png

This maybe the same for other builds.

Thank you Generator. I have updated the tutorial to include these.

 

[garbanzo]

thanks for the update Generator!

 

[Paitor]

Hi, just an update with my findings in windows 7 RTM. For the taskbar the images is the same as in 7229.

I also made a pic to display what numbers the pictures have for a window.

Finally you can use Universal Theme Patcher to patch windows 7
TCP-Z, Best TCP/IP Patch: Universal Theme Patcher (v1.5, Build 20090409)

 

[Antik]

??

i downloaded ux theme patch,, and when i open the dll file in resource tuner,, i cant find ne images? that match what you described,, ne help ?? plz

 

[Paitor]

i downloaded ux theme patch,, and when i open the dll file in resource tuner,, i cant find ne images? that match what you described,, ne help ?? plz

aero.msstyles is not a dll file. Please read the first post in this thread.

 

[Dobroslav]

Can someone attach files for blue start menu, windows 7 final?

 

[the squirells]

really really really new to this where do i find the files that i have to patch for the uxtheme patch ?

 

[Paitor]

You will get all the files and instructions you need in the zip file that contains the theme you have downloaded from deviantart.com.

Here is one black that I use:

Ultimate for Windows 7 Basic by ~MediaMyself on deviantART

But there is many, try to search for "windows 7 basic" on deviantart.

 

[nighthawkf117]

Windows 7 Basic Black Magic

Hi

I just made a black magic for the taskbar, when you are in basic mode.
And thx for the great advice here to do it.

 

[trouble1130]

Just upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit) today - but I'm confused... when I go into the Aero folder I have to go farther, into the en-US folder... and then I find aero.msstyles.mui ... and I don't know what an MUI file is. Tried replacing it, to no avail. Is this something that is occuring on newer releases of Windows 7? Or am I just too computer illiterate to know what's going on?