Previous Page.   Introducing WindowBlinds Configuration  1  Next Page.

To run WindowBlinds, locate the Icon on start menu. icon on your Start Menu (under (All) Programs, then Stardock, then Object Desktop) and click on it.

You will see the WindowBlinds Configuration window open, which consists of: a menu along the top (Look & Feel), a sub-menu underneath that (Visual Styles), a menu down the left side (Change visual style colour), a preview area to the right of that and a selection of styles (skins) along the bottom.  The preview area displays what visual style your desktop is wearing, currently it's set to Windows Aero.  The preview shows what that looks like on your Start Menu, a sample window (seen with folders inside), wallpaper and task bar (bottom of screen).

Visual Styles tab. 

The menu running along the top of the window allows you to navigate between: Look & Feel, Wallpapers, Settings, System info and an About screen.  Most of the menu items have a sub-menu, which will be covered in-depth later in this document.
 
Main Menu. 
What is a Visual Style?
In WindowBlinds, the computer graphics (i.e. colour (color), style) is referred to as any of the following: Visual Style, Skin, or Personality.  These terms all refer to the same thing and are used interchangeably in WindowBlinds and this documentation.  Though the term "Skin" is the most common.  The term Texture is also used to refer to the colouring & pattern of the skin graphics.

Terminology Used in WindowBlinds
Your Windows desktop is made up of a number of separate items that WindowBlinds and this documentation will refer too.  To help you understand the terms used, here are some of the most common ones.

Default (as used in this documentation) means that when an option (i.e. checkbox, menu choice) is set to say, "Play sounds defined by the skin (if any)".  And it has a checked box, that means that this option was set that way when WindowBlinds was installed (or how Windows is setup when new).  This is handy, in case you want to return a setting to the default.

A Dialog Box asks you do something, such as this "Delete tag" box.  It's a simple Yes or No (or Close) and includes: window frame, titlebar, and buttons that can be skinned:

Delete Tag?
 
The System Tray is (by default) in the lower, right-hand corner of your screen with the clock.

System Tray.
The Taskbar is (by default) located on the bottom on your desktop and may include minimized applications / windows.  The Start button (to open the Start menu) is located on the far left.

Sample Taskbar.
The Titlebar is the top most frame of a window, and typically includes: an icon (far left) that if you click will open the system menu, title of the application or window, and buttons (minimize, maximize, close).

Sample Titlebar from Notepad.

The User Interface (UI) is what you see on the screen when an application runs, such as: window, frame, title bar, buttons, various types of menus, etc..

The Wallpaper is the graphic image (or color) of the background on your desktop (monitor).

The Window Frame is around each window, each skin can change the colour and style of this frame.

Notepad - sample of frames.
Differences Between Windows Vista and XP
There are some options in WindowBlinds that are only available (visible) in Windows Vista and others only in Windows XP. This manual will notify you if a feature is for one operating system (Vista) or the other (XP), otherwise assume it's available for both versions of Windows.

 

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