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General discussion

Vista sidebar

Oct 20, 2007 7:35AM PDT

hello ..
I have windows premium and the side bar doesn't have any styles more than just one this fade to blac one ..where can i get some styles ??

Discussion is locked

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You can download...
Oct 20, 2007 12:46PM PDT

...Vista Sidebar Styler at the following site:

http://www.stoyanoff.info/blog/code/styler/

This Styler program allows for resizing and customizing the appearance of Windows Sidebar so that it fits other UI elements, such as the Aero Glass colorization or an actual third party theme.

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Mmmm .
Oct 22, 2007 2:16PM PDT

Thanx for your reply , I tried it but it doesn;t have many options ..I prefer downloads for the sidebar itself not softwares because you know i don't wannna run more software on the startup .but thanx anyway , Any other suggestions ??

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Unfortunately limited...
Oct 23, 2007 1:47AM PDT

Microsoft has never supported much in the way of skins/themes, leaving it up to third-parties. Third-party visual styles are prevalent, provided you patch the three system files, but that's not an option for the Sidebar due to there being no centralized file or method of application. It's possible for you to close Sidebar and then replace each individual file yourself, but it's a bit tedious and few people have put forth effort to creating skins for it. That leaves Styler as the best option, and the only decent one I know of.

Aside from that, you're left with replacing Sidebar with third-party freebies such as Desktop Sidebar and Vista Sidebar, which offer more advanced functionality, though they are incompatible with Sidebar's gadgets. There's also Stardock's DesktopX option if you want to take a more extreme approach to redesigning your desktop, but it's a bit much for just replacing the Sidebar.

John