It's time for the 4th installment of my Desktop Customizing Essentials series.  This time we'll be looking over Logon Studio a freeware program by stardock.  But before we get started be sure to check out the previous three articles.

Desktop Customizing Essentials, IconX

Desktop Customizing Essentials Part II, IconPackager

Desktop Customizing Essentials Part III, WindowBlinds

Now on to Logon Studio, This Cool little program allows you to change the graphics of the logon screen in WindowsXP.  Stardock has this to say about it, "Stardock LogonStudio allows Windows XP users to edit, change, and apply new logon screens. LogonStudio comes built with a visual editor to make it easy to create your own logons which can then be uploaded to websites to be used by others users.  LogonStudio uses .logonxp files rather than requiring users to replace their actual logonui.exe."   That's it in a nutshell.

Changing Logon screens is easy enough with Logon Studio simply start the program and select the logon from the list of available logons and click apply.

From the main user interface (above) you can:

• Load a logon file that you have downloaded.

• Delete a logon

• Create a new logon.

• Import a LgonUI.exe file and convert it to the *.logon format.

• Export your creations to *.logon files so you can share them on the internet.

• Restore your system to use the Default Windows XP logon screen.

Next we have the options screen:

The most interesting thing here is the ability to create a random logon list that will display a different logon each time you reboot ( turn of and back on) your computer.

Here's a sample of the Logon's that are available:

Top: GT3 By Tiggs

Middle: My Halloween By: Xav73

Bottom: A_67 Blue By: Apocalypse_67

From the users perspective that's really all there is to Logon Studio, it is a simple and effective program that allows you to change your logon screens without messing with your system files.

Problems:

Logon Studio files are resolution specific and from what I can tell there is no way to let the user know what resolutions a file will work with unless the author puts it in the file name.   

For the User:  BE SURE to check to see if a logon you are about to download is the right size for your screen or is resolution Independent.  Your system Resolution which, can be found setting tab of the display properties window. ( Right click on the desktop and choose properties)

Links:

Logon Studio Website

Stardock's Website

Desktop Customizing Essentials, IconX

Desktop Customizing Essentials Part II, IconPackager

Desktop Customizing Essentials Part III, WindowBlinds

A little about me:  I have been in the desktop customization community for 5+ years (My Wincustomize Site).  In that time I have beta tested and skinned many of Stardocks products along with some others.  I do not claim to be unbiased in my review of Stardocks products, they are what I have learned to skin with and will continue to use.  I will not, however intentionally lie to you about the features or anything else related to the products.  If something irritates me with a product  I will write it in my articles. ( how else would I get it fixed ;p )

Here we go with part III in this series so far we have covered IconPackager and IconX next up is WindowBlinds.  But first here's the links to the first two articles in the series.

Desktop Customizing Essentials, IconX

Desktop Customizing Essentials Part II, IconPackager

Now on with WindowBlinds. In my opinion it is the most powerful way to make a change in the Windows Desktop.  It allows almost every part of the Windows GUI ( Graphical User Interface) to have it's graphics changed (to be skinned).  Stardock simply states "WindowBlinds is a program that enables users to safely add thousands of new visual styles to Windows to change the look and feel of your computer." While this is true it's also only the surface of what can be done with WindowBlinds.  We'll explore some of the other  things as we go along, but first lets look at the difference between windows XP in it's stock form and Windows XP with WindowBlinds.

The standard Windows XP Visual Styles	A few of the WindowBlinds Skins ( Visual Styles)

 As you can see WindowBlinds gives you a vast amount of choices about how your Windows Interface looks.  Currently there are over 3000 Skins for WindowBlinds on Wincustomize.com.  In that vast amount of skins you'll find everything from simple skins such as Slim_Ttx (shown above to wild stuff such as FauxS-TOON (also shown above) and everything in-between. The program gives the skin author complete control over the look and feel of the desktop. It even skins the taskbar and start menu.

Kewk-HoE By: Erik Holmer shown with a compact Start menu.

So you may be thinking that all we have here is a way to add new visual styles to Windows XP.  Windowblinds is much more than that, to start with It not only works with WindowsXP it also works with all version of Windows from Windows 98 up.  There are limitations in skinning on the older versions of windows most notably the task bar doesn't get fully skinned.  However the taskbar buttons and the start button are skinned in all supported versions of windows.

    Here's a Chart of the Features of WindowBlinds free version and WindowBlinds enhanced.**

Feature WindowBlinds FREE WindowBlinds Enhanced Allows Windows XP users to add more visual styles Visual Styles support Changing XP Theme Aware controls Number of Native Visual Styles ~3000 ~3000 Visual Styles support Changing XP Start Bar Supports .MSStyles visual style format * * Supports .UIS visual style format Supports adding more controls to the title bar/border (roll-ups) Supports multiple border/title bar sizes   Supports per-application skinning   Works on Windows 98, ME, 2000 Visual styles support animation Visual styles support sound Visual styles are scriptable Visual styles support enhanced hardware acceleration Users can control what mouse button clicks on title bar do Certified by Microsoft Visual styles can be made grayscale or have their brightness/contrast changed on the fly   Visual styles can have their color changed on the fly   Visual styles can change Windows program dialog animations (copy, move, delete, etc.)   Visual styles can change Windows toolbar icons   Visual styles can skin the Windows XP command prompt   Visual Styles can also skin changing XP NON-Theme Aware controls     Purchase N/A $19.95 Download   Download Update

* Requires SkinStudio to convert .msstyles to .UIS
** This chart was taken from an article by Draginol the original can be found here.  Draginol's original Chart also included the MSStyles UXtheme.dll hack which has been removed because it did not pertain to this article.

As you can see from the chart there are some advantages to the $19.95 version.  However the free version is not limited to the point of not working like most shareware and there is no time limit.

---

Now Lets look at some of the special features of WindowBlinds:

WindowBlinds allows you to add buttons beyond close, minimize and maximize to your titlebar. here are some of the neat ones.

• Rollup - This button lets the user "rollup" the window or in other words when clicked the window shows only the titlebar and the window border. See Below:

 

 Seer by: Essorant

Rolling up a window allows you to keep in on the desktop while only taking up a little screen space.  I use it to quickly look at a window that is under the one that I'm using.

• Pin To Desktop - This button allows the user  to make a window stay in place against the desktop background.  Some people find this very useful for keeping a window with important information always available and easy to get to.

• Transparency - Another neat one it allows you to make individual  windows Semitransparent.  

This feature works only on Windows 2000 and XP. So unfortunately not too many skins have this extra function. Hopefully in the future we will see it added to a skin's sub style more frequently.

WindowBlinds and System Speed.

I can attest that on my computers Running WindowsXP that I notice no slowdown when using Windows XP.  That covers computers from From a Celeron 400mhz up to current hardware.  Here's what Stardock has to say about it:

I know that that doesn't mean anything to most people.  In plain English it says that WindowBlinds won't slow your computer down and could even speed up the response of windows.

My last thought for now on Windowblinds is that it also has the ability to set Per Application Skins.  What this means is that you can set any program to have the same skin applied every time that you run it while the rest of your windows are skinned with the skin you have set to be system wide.

This Review of Windowblinds is nowhere near near a complete review of the program, It's just intended to give you a taste of the power of  it so that you might give it a try.  In the near future I plan to start writing a full tutorial on WindowBlinds from the users perspective.  There are lots of little features here and there in the program that I'm sure many people have not ever touched and probably don't know about.

In the mean time get over to the WindowBlinds website for more information and to download the free version.  It has all the basics you'll need to get started and the only annoyance is a popup screen when you start your computer.  If you want the extra features or the Startup popup annoys you the enhanced version is only $20 and well worth it. 

One last little tidbit, WindowBlinds also carries this logo:

To my knowledge Microsoft has not awarded the ability to display the "Designed for" logo to any other 3rd party program that applies Visual Styles to the Windows Environment. 

Links:

WindowBlinds Website

Stardock's Website

Desktop Customizing Essentials, IconX

Desktop Customizing Essentials Part II, IconPackager

A little about me:  I have been in the desktop customization community for 5+ years (My Wincustomize Site).  In that time I have beta tested and skinned many of Stardocks products along with some others.  I do not claim to be unbiased in my review of Stardocks products, they are what I have learned to skin with and will continue to use.  I will not, however intentionally lie to you about the features or anything else related to the products.  If something irritates me with a product  I will write it in my articles. ( how else would I get it fixed ;p )

The next program in my series of Customizing Essentials is IconPackager.  Another one of the neat little programs from Stardock.  IconPackager has a simple mission in life to let you change all your system Icons easily.  It does this really well.  Here's an example:

Windows standard icons	Icons from the Xtoon Icon package.

This is only one example, there are currently over 500 Icon packages in the IconPackager section of Wincustomize.  

    IconPackager lets you install a whole package of icons that generally cover all your system icons.  To do this all you have to do is start up IconPackager and Click on the Icon package that you want to load.  The Click load and Apply.  In a few seconds all of your system Icons will change.  Here's a screenshot of the interface:

It's really that simple, you can change your icons with only a couple of clicks.  Here's a shot showing a preview of a few icon packages that are available at Wincustomize:

IconPackager doesn't stop there.  If you are really serious about customizing your desktop it will also allow you to change each icon individually.  From a simple user interface using the Icons and cursors section of the program.

The setting section lets you do many things that are either hard to find or do in the standard windows environment.  Things such as set your default Icon size. ( I use 48x48 pixels)  You can also adjust the size of the icon cache and many other settings.

The last but certainly not least part of Icon packager is the Icon Explorer. This program lets you view and extract Icon and cursors from various file formats including exe, icl and others.

Stardock has had a long time to polish IconPackager and there is only one little thing that bugs me about the program.  To apply a package I have to click load and apply, WHY is this necessary?  Shouldn't clicking Apply invoke the package to load and apply it's self?  I think so,  I have watched other people use the program that are used to the Windows way of apply then OK and this load, apply and then OK really confuses them. 

Now for the people that upload IconPackages.  Here we have a problem, most people upload the icon package with extra icons or an .ICL file to go along with it.  This is great for those of us who don't mind unzipping the file and then installing it to Iconpackager but, for those either new or lazy( like me) this is a real pain.  My suggestion is that if you upload to the Iconpackager section of a skinning website you upload the .ip file so that it will auto install for those of us who either don't know how to install it otherwise or are just too lazy.  If you want to share that .icl file or extra icons we need to get Stardock to add a new section for them.

Give Iconpackager a try and see what you think.

Links:

Stardocks Website - The company that makes Iconpackager and other cool software.

IconPackager Website - Get IconPackager here.

WinCustomize - Go to the IconPackager section to get new packages.

Customizing Essentials part I, IconX

A little about me:  I have been in the desktop customization community for 5+ years (My Wincustomize Site).  In that time I have beta tested and skinned many of Stardocks products along with some others.  I do not claim to be unbiased in my review of Stardocks products, they are what I have learned to skin with and will continue to use.  I will not, however intentionally lie to you about the features or anything else related to the products.  If something irritates me with a product  I will write it in my article. ( how else would I get it fixed ;p )

    Are you still looking at the plain WindowsXP or 2000 Icons?  You know, those little picture on your desktop that do nothing.  I mean really, everything else reacts to your mouse or mouse clicks if you're running XP but those Icons do nothing.  They just sit there waiting to be clicked on and even then nothing really happens.  It seems to me that Microsoft would have done something about this.  Unfortunately they didn't.  So what can we do to improve the look and feel of the Icons?  You could use DesktopX and find a Zoomer ( A Desktop Icon for DesktopX that Smoothy Grows from 48x48 pixels to 128x128 pixels or so on mouse over) for each and every program you want to have on your desktop, but believe me this is too much trouble.

    Recently Stardock release IconX which makes setting up your desktop icons to be animated easy.  But not only that it allows you to add sounds and special effects to mouse overs, clicks and double Clicks.  The program is really awesome and has become a staple of my desktop customization.  It's not only for the pretty Factor though, the most important thing for me is that the program allows that Icons to give me feedback when I run the mouse over them or click on them.

Without IconX Note: The Icons used are not the standard WindowsXP Icons they are an Icon package by Paul Boyer.  They are however using the default Windows settings.	With IconX

    As you can see from the above screen shots IconX makes quite the difference even without the animations, or special effects.  In the without IconX screen shot the standard Windows XP Icons are 32x32 pixels and kinda small and bland.  Now look at the with IconX screenshot again, notice the shadows that make the Icons appear to float above the screen!  Also the Icons are set at 48x48 pixels which is another feature of IconX it allows you to set your icons to be what ever size you want.

Pretty neat so far but wait, It gets better:

Here's where it really gets good.  

    First let's look at the top set of Icons.  When sitting on the desktop the icon is 48x48 pixels but as you run your cursor over it , it grows to 72x72.  Not only does it grow to that size but it does it in a smooth animation.  This is the way I have my desktop set up, it you wanted to you could have the Icons double or even triple in size or just to the larger size with no animation.

    Now let's look at the lower set.  It's the same icon but I have it set to be semitransparent while just sitting around on the desktop.  When you run your mouse over it it not only grows but it also looses it's transparency to become completely visible.  This is how my desktop runs most all the time.

Here's a small video file that will give you an example of  IconX in action.  Link

There are several other neat options that you can use in IconX here is a shot of the configuration screen. Don't let this scare you though, notice the preset box at the bottom.  that's where Stardock has provided a handful of configurations for you to use and modify. 

    I have been using IconX since it's inception as part of DesktopX and it has become an essential part of my desktop experience.  When I am forced to work on a computer that doesn't have IconX it just seems wrong for the icons to not react to mouse overs and clicks.  To me it comes in right behind WindowBlinds as essential for customizing the desktop.

    Another Feature that I almost forgot is one of the neatest.  If you have an icon on your desktop that is just ugly or maybe you just don't like it, you can right click on the icon and change it with another icon file or a .png file.  There are excellent icons for most every commonly used program in the Object Dock section of Wincustomize.com

I have however found some problems with the program, nothing that is a show stopper, mostly just annoyances.

1.  You Can't export/import your settings.  For instance I wanted to set my laptop up to have the same settings as my desktop.  To achieve this I had to hunt the configuration file down and copy it to the laptop.  Once I had it on the lap top I couldn't just double click it to get it to work.  I even tried to manually associate it with IconX which didn't work either.  I had to once again go to the file manager and drop the file in the appropriate folder in the IconX directory.  I know that this wouldn't be a problem for most but, what if I wanted to share my configuration with someone?  Isn't that part of the whole skinning community thing? 

2.  When loading a preset, why do I have to first click load and then apply.  shouldn't clicking apply be enough?  I think so.

3.  There are not enough Presets.  If we can't share them then there needs to be a dozen or more presets so that someone that doesn't want to dive into the settings can have a few more choices.

    You really can't understand how neat this little program is until you use it. No words or picture can really explain it fully so, I suggest that you download the evaluation copy and give it a whirl.

IconX Website

Stardock Website

I was just pointed to another review of IconX by BlueDev that you will want to look over also.  Link

A little about me:  I have been in the desktop customization community for 5+ years (My Wincustomize Site).  In that time I have beta tested and skinned many of Stardocks products along with some others.  I do not claim to be unbiased in my review of Stardocks products, they are what I have learned to skin with and will continue to use.  I will not, however intentionally lie to you about the features or anything else related to the products.  If something irritates me with a product  I will write it in my article. ( how else would I get it fixed ;p )

In the world of desktop customization the easiest thing to change and also the easiest thing to create is the wallpaper, everyone can use them and just about any one with a image editor can make one. In this article I will try to help the newcomer avoid many of the little accidents that I have made and that I have watched others make.

Frst a note about myself. I am not an expert in the production of wallpapers or application skins. However I have been a part of the community since 1999 and even built walls and cursors for windows 95 and 98. My Wincustomize gallery is here Link.

As you read through this remember that it is guide for someone who is new to desktop customization and not a set of hard rules I'm trying to impose. I have, however learned in the past few year that if you follow these guidelines life will be easier. With that let's get goin'.

What is a wallpaper?

What makes a good wallpaper?

That can only be answered by the user. However there are some thing that an author can do to ensure that a wallpaper is good. Notice that I said good, a wall can be awesome to you but be only average to the rest of us.

Things for the author to do.

Create the wallpaper for yourself.

If you create the wallpaper for you own use then you will always do your best and probably be more critical of your work. (if I have to look at it everyday I 'd better do a good job :p .) Also if you create that wall for yourself and are satisfied with it no comment that someone might make should bother you.

Use the wallpaper yourself.

The most important thing, in my opinion, is to use the wallpaper for a few days before uploading it. I know that it's hard not to finish and upload so that you can get feedback from others, but I have trashed or reworked many a wallpaper after looking at it for a day or two. Bottom line here is if your still happy with the wallpaper after a day or two others will be also. As pointed out to me in a forum, your mileage may vary here, some like to use a wall for a week or more before releasing it for public consumption.

Watch the edges.

On the edges of a wallpaper be careful how busy it is. Especially the left edge where most people's icons end up. There's nothing worse than an awesome wallpaper that makes it impossible to read or see the icons easily. Note: Many people such as myself also have Icons on 2 or even all edges of the screen such as link.

Take criticism well.

If you create wallpapers or skins of any sort there will be some negative comments. (the comments may even be from me ) Don't get upset most people are trying to help you learn or do better. However the wallpaper was created by you, for you, so changing it is also up to you. I rarely ever change a wallpaper after it has been released, maybe additional colors if requested.


Guys I don't profess to be an expert wallpaper designer and never will be but I do try to follow these guidelines for all the wallpapers that I upload and trust me it keeps you guys from having to look at a lot of crap that I might upload if I didn't follow them.

Thanks you all for reading.