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Settings: Override Default Settings | 11 |
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This tab includes various options to override settings, naming just a few: show WindowBlinds in system tray vs. taskbar, play sounds in skin, change taskbar to a different skin, change action on title bar and much more. With exception of two options, everything is the same for both Windows Vista & XP (the differences are noted). With any changes made on any of the Setting tabs, after applying changes that affect windows or applications you may need to close the window (or application) and reopen it before you see the new changes. |
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Overriding WindowBlinds The WindowBlinds settings you can override include: |
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| Action | What it does |
| Show icon in the system tray for easy access to WindowBlinds settings (requires a reboot). |
Normally, when you close WindowBlinds by clicking the
 button,
you must locate WindowBlinds on the Start menu to run it again
(unless you have a shortcut on the desktop). An easier way it to
keep it running in the System Tray (lower, right corner near
clock). Double-clicking the icon will open WindowBlinds.
Right-clicking & selecting Unload, will stop WindowBlinds from running &
return your skin to the Windows classic style. Checked, WindowBlinds icon will appear in the System Tray (after you reboot). Unchecked, (default) WindowBlinds won't appear in System Tray.  |
| Controls in application which are not themeaware should not be skinned. | Checked, to stop applying a skin to applications that
have "Controls" (i.e. buttons, menus, pull-down menus, radio buttons,
...) that shouldn't be skinned. Unchecked, (default) WindowBlinds will attempt to apply a skin to controls that are not theme aware. |
| Play sounds defined by the skin (if any). | Checked,
(default) if the currently applied skin includes any
.WAV sounds for its titlebar actions, WindowBlinds will play them. Unchecked, WindowBlinds won't play any sounds included in the skin. |
| Apply the wallpaper included
with a skin (if any). |
Checked, if the skin (package) includes wallpaper,
WindowBlinds will display it. Unchecked, (default) WindowBlinds won't display any wallpaper included in a skin. |
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After making any changes, click on
The following options affect how WindowBlinds treats the skin you have applied to your desktop: |
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| Action | What it does |
| If a skin has a replacement user icon then replace the current user icon with the skin supplied icon. | Checked,
(default) the skin will use its icon(s) to skin icons you have (if the
skin includes them). Unchecked, WindowBlinds won't change your icons even if the skin includes new skins for icons. |
Ignore the taskbar and startmenu defined in the skin and use the one set
below: |
Checked,
allows you to change what skin gets applied to the Taskbar (bottom of
screen) and Start Menu, regardless of which skin is currently applied to
your desktop. Click on the pull-down menu to view & select from
the list of installed skins. Unchecked, (default) WindowBlinds will apply the current skin to the Taskbar & Start Menu. |
The taskbar should be sized as follows: |
"Skin
decides taskbar size", (default) the skin will set the size of the
taskbar. "Small taskbar size", the taskbar will appear smaller in size. "Large taskbar size", the taskbar will appear larger (easier to read). |
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In addition to the above options, Windows XP also includes: "Advanced.." performance options, and a Shellstyle option. These are located to the right of the Skinning Settings we just covered. (These two options are not visible on Windows Vista.) |
Clicking the
button will present you with the following performance related options. |
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| Action | What it does |
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Enable Hyperpaint (disabled if no hardware support). |
Checked,
turns Hyperpaint on which redraws windows (applications) as you move
them around the screen. More noticeable in complex applications
(i.e. MS Outlook). Depending on the size of your monitor and video
card, this may cause a noticeable lag (slowness) to your computer.
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Hyperpaint window resolution threshold (Smaller - Larger). |
"Larger",
Move the slider
icon towards "Larger" sets how large the window is.
The larger the window, the more memory WindowBlinds needs. Try
this at different positions to find what works best for your hardware.
Slower hardware may result in slow response.(Middle, default position), average size windows. "Smaller", for smaller windows, less memory needed. |
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Disable standard windows animation effects. |
Checked,
(default) disables the effect of seeing the animation of an application
window shrinking in size and minimizing to a place on the taskbar.
When restored, you won't see the animation of it growing larger. Unchecked, you will see the animation of a window minimizing/restoring from the taskbar. |
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Optimize resizing performance with ClearType. |
If using ClearType fonts, generally on notebooks/laptops, this will
improve the speed of resizing windows. Checked, optimize resizing performance with ClearType. Unchecked, (default) disables use of ClearType. |
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When checking the box for " Always use the shellstyle defined in.." and selecting a skin from the pull-down menu, this will apply the skin to an area such as the Task Sidebar in an Explorer type window. Below is an example of the Control Panel before & after the "Molten" skin overrides the current "Classic" skin that was applied to the desktop. As you can see, just the task sidebar was skinned, the title bar remains skinned yellow (Classic). |
 Shellstyle - current "Classic" skin applied to title bar & task sidebar (Control Panel). |
 Shellstyle - current "Classic" skin applied to title bar, but "Molten" skin overrides Classic in skinning the task sidebar. |
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Titlebar Settings These options affect the titlebar of any open window (i.e. applications, Explorer type, folders). 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). |
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| Action | What it does |
Windows should minimize to the system tray instead of the taskbar.  |
Checked,
when windows are minimized they will be placed as an icon in the
system tray (next to clock, lower, right-hand corner). A single
click will restore the application (open window). They will be in
order (left to right) as you use them, with most recent on the far left. Unchecked, (default) minimized applications will be placed on the taskbar, not the system tray. |
Action to take when double clicking on a titlebar: |
You can
change what happens when you double click on the titlebar for any window
(i.e. applications, folders, Explorer) open on your desktop. You
can either leave it to the skin to decide (default setting) or change it
to a number of choices: "Use Skin Setting" - (default) uses the skin setting (if any) otherwise uses Windows default. "Close Window" - closes the application. "Minimize Window" - minimizes application to taskbar (or system tray if you checked the previous option). "Maximize Window" - make the application window full-screen. "Rollup/Down Window" - Rollup makes only the titlebar remain on desktop, while Roll Down restores the window. "Set Always On Top" - makes the window stay in front of all other open applications/windows. "Show System Menu" - like clicking on the icon in the upper left-hand corner of a window, it will display the "Restore, Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize, Close" options unless an application presents a different menu. "Send to bottom" - makes the window stay in behind of all other open applications/windows. "Send to tray" - minimizes the window to the taskbar (or system tray if that option was selected). |
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Action to take when right clicking on a titlebar: |
You can
change what happens when you right click on the titlebar for any window
open on your desktop. You can either leave it to the skin to
decide (default setting) or change it to a number of choices: "Use Skin Setting" - (default) uses the skin setting (if any) otherwise uses Windows default. "Close Window" - closes the application. "Minimize Window" - minimizes application to taskbar (or system tray if you checked the previous option). "Maximize Window" - make the application window full-screen. "Rollup/Down Window" - Rollup makes only the titlebar remain on desktop, while Roll Down restores the window. "Set Always On Top" - makes the window stay in front of all other open applications/windows. "Show System Menu" - like clicking on the icon in the upper left-hand corner of a window, it will display the "Restore, Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize, Close" options unless an application presents a different menu. "Send to bottom" - makes the window stay in behind of all other open applications/windows. "Send to tray" - minimizes the window to the taskbar (or system tray if that option was selected). |
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menu option near the top of the window on the 
sub-menu.
for the changes to take effect. Only the first option requires a
reboot (Vista or XP).