Desktop Modding Explained

In my previous post I had showcased my Desktop for the month. Since Anand posted a comment asking what software I had used, I decided to write a detailed article on Desktop Modding. There are several aspects to Desktop Modding. I have tried to cover each of them briefly in this article.

Shell

Shell is a term used to denote the user interface (in this case Graphical User Interface or GUI). The most important aspect to modding your desktop is modifying the basic user interface. You can either modify the appearence of the default shell, enhance it or replace it all together.

Shell Enhancement Software

These software modify and enhance the appearance of Windows shell to add that spark to your desktop.

MsStyle : Windows XP allows users to alter the appearance of the GUI out of the box (through MsStyles). You can skin various aspects of the Windows GUI like the title-bar, start-bar, start menu etc. But, don�t forget we are dealing with Microsoft here. They had to mess it up. Windows Xp only recognises visual styles that are digitally signed by Microsoft. This makes your choice very limited as till date Microsoft has released only a handful number of visual styles.
In order to overcome this restriction you need to patch the uxtheme.dll file. Don�t worry, its as simple as downloading and executing the UXTheme Patcher. You can now download and apply any Visual Style available on the web.

NextStart : NextStart is a GUI enhancement program which aims at increasing productivity apart from making your desktop look prettier. In terms of functionality it is one of the more powerful (if not the most powerful) shell enhancement program. It replaces the default windows taskbar, context menu and start menu with more functional versions. You can learn more about this software here. In short NextStart provides the functionalities of Shell Replacement software without actually replacing the shell.

WindowBlinds : WindowBlinds is probably the most popular 3rd party Windows Shell Modifier. It is created by Stardock, who also worked with Microsoft to create MsStyles discussed above. WindowBlinds integrates itself flawlessly with Windows XP and boasts of many features which are not present in MsStyles. Features like per-pixel alpha blending (makes skins look smoother) and Windows Vista like transparency makes it one of the best skinning software in the market. One of it’s biggest assests is the per application skinning system which allows you to set different skins for different applications or disable visual styles all together for certain applications. Like the Vista GUI WindowBlinds harnesses the power of modern day graphics cards to increase performance. The amount of resource used depends on the skin. if you use a no frills simplistic skin WindowBlinds would resource very little (sometimes even lesser than default the default skinning system). If you want to make your system look XP look truly out of this world go for WindowBlinds.

Shell Replacement Software

Instead of just skinning the Windows shell these software replaces it with their own. This allows the program to add new functionalities and alter the look and feel of Windows more drastically. The two best shell replacement software are AstonShell and Talisman.

AstonShell : AstonShell is one of the oldest and one of the most popular shell replacement software around. The biggest advantage of Aston is its low resource usage. This makes it suitable for a wide range of computer. Aston allows you to add sidebars, panels, clocks and more. Aston Shell manages to balance speed and funtionality with good looks. AstonShell costs $29.95.

Talisman Desktop : Although I am placing Talisman under Shell Replacement Software, it can also serve as a shell enhancer. A Talisman theme consists of modules or objects. You can add/remove/edit modules to tailor the theme according to your needs. These objects can be anything from clocks and calendars to calculators and docks. Thanks to support for transparency and alpha blending Talisman makes your desktop not only functional but also pretty. Talisman would set you back by $25.

There are tons of shell replacement software available in the market. Check out ShellShocked for more information on them.

Icons

There is no point in having fancy alpha blended themes without being able to change those ugly low resolution Windows XP native icons. Icon Packager by Stardock is by far the most popular icon replacement software. Icon Packager allows you to replace default icons with newer snazzier high quality icons with ease. Enhanced version of Icon Packager costs $14.95, but a shareware version is available. The enhanced version has some additional features like shell integration and the ability to change the ugly file type icons.
StyleXP and BeeIcons are two other options you can consider.

Cursors

Next up: Cursors. The software I recommend for replacing standard windows cursors is CursorXp which is again a Stardock product. CursorXp is also available in two packaged – one is the enhanced version other is the limited freeware version. CursorXp allows you to replace all windows cursors with a single click. Since, CursorXp uses makes use of png files, it�s cursors look much better. The enhanced version does a lot more than just replacing the cursor. It adds super cool special effects which are triggered by actions like clicking and dragging. For a more information check out this article on CursorXp.

Docks

Docks were first seen in NextStep OS and were made popular by Mac. Docks provide a convenient way to quickly launch frequently accessed applications and documents.
There are several software you can choose from. Among them I would recommend RocketDock and Object Dock. Features like support for png and alpha blended icons, zooming transition effects, running process indicator, drag and drop, autohide and show on hover, docklets are common to both. Object Dock charges you $19.95 for advanced features like multiple tabbed docks has some additional features like multiple docks with tabs and more effects.

Widgets

Widgets are tiny applications that are meant to do a specific function e.g. clocks, calendars, countdown timers, simple media players, rss feed fetchers etc. There are tons of free widget platforms available. The ones are popular are Yahoo! Widget Engine (previously known as Konfabulator), AveDesk, DesktopX and Google Desktop. Microsoft has included its own Widgets engine in Windows Vista (vista sidebar).
DesktopX is the most functional and Avedesk is the lightest. Yahoo! Widget Engine and DesktopX leave Google Desktop and AveDesk far behind when it comes to number of downloadable widgets available. But, among these I personally prefer Yahoo! Widgets engine as it is the only one providing the combination of ease of use and functionality accompanied by relatively less memory usage.

Boot Screen and Logon Screen

By now you should have a well customised desktop. But, if you want to complete the transformation you should change the boot screen and login screen also.
Don’t worry skinning them is also very straight forward. I use BootSkin (Freeware) and LogonStudio (Freeware) by Stardock for this purpose. There are other more complicated ways to change the boot screen, but BootSkin makes it simple and safe. But, make sure you turn off BootSkin before installing ServicePack2 for Windows XP. It�s known to cause problems immediately after the installation of SP2. You can turn it back on once the installation has been completed

If you want something more fancy, you should try out FrontMotion Login which adds interactive Macromedia Flash based login screens. You can read my review of this software here.

More Eye Candy

Still not satisfied? Here are a few more things you can try out.

Not happy with a single taskbar? You can create as many bars as you like with Object Bar (Screenshot).
Add cool transition effects with WindowFX (click here for my review of WindowFX).
Add vista like glass effects to WindowsXp for free with FastAero or Vystal.
Replace the crappy Alt+Tab task switcher in WindowsXp with the more usefull and productive Expos� (used in Macs) or Flip 3D (used in Windows Vista). There are plenty of software which allows you to do this. In my opinion the best software is TopDesk. You can also use any of the software mentioned here.
Use DreamRender to replace your standard wallpaper with animated visuals (called dreams). This software is very similar to DreamScenes for Windows Vista Ultimate.
And if you want something that is really outrageous, you can replace your Wallpaper with a 3D environment using 3DNA or Rooms 3D. But be warned these applications are serious resource hogs.

Transformation Packs and Suites

If you are too lazy to customize various aspects of Windows one by one then transformation packs are for you. These packs change various elements like Wallpapers, Visual Styles, Cursors and Icons. The two most popular transformation packs are Vista Transformation Pack (emulates the look and feel of Windows Vista) and Flyakite (emulates the look and feel of Mac OSX). If you want something different check out CrystalXp.net which has some very nice Transformation Packs. But, just a warning. I recomend that you don�t patch the dll files (other than uxtheme.dll) while installing these softwares. This is because if the uninstaller screws up you would be left with the modified dll files. These files are patched only to change innocuous things like the “About” box.

If you are using products from Stardock, you can try the suites available at Wincustomize.com which allow you to change multiple aspects of your desktop with a single click. For this you would need to download Stardock Theme Manager.

Complete Desktop Modding Solutions

If you decide to purchase the utilities mentioned above one at a time it is going to cost a lot. If you find wanting to purchase many of these utilities it may make sense to go for bundles rather then buying one at a time. Some options to consider are StyleXP, WinStep and Object Desktop

StyleXP : At $19.95 StyleXp is the cheapest of them all. Style XP allows you to apply visual styles by patching the Uxtheme.dll file. A part from this StyleXP can change icons, Boot Screens, Logon Screens, Cursors and Explorer bar. It’s biggest plus point is support for and Icon Packager themes. However, a part from this most of the other funtionalities can be achieved easily through freeware utilities.

WinStep Xtreme : WinStep Xtreme costs $39.90 and includes NextStart, NeXus (dock program), WorkShelf(desktop organisation tool) and Font Browser.

ObjectDock : Priced at $49.95 Object Dock by Stardock is the most expensive program in this category. It includes WindowBlinds, IconPackager, WindowFX, SkinStudio, IconDeveloper, ObjectBar, Theme Manager, DesktopX, IconX, RightClick, Virtual Desktops, LogonStudio, Desktop Gadgets, Object Edit, Tab LaunchPad, Object Sweeper, Keyboard LaunchPad, Component Tray and Enhanced File Dialog.

Resources

You can download additional themes for the utilities mentioned above from deviantART, Wincustomize, Customize and Belchfire.

That’s it. Now, stop reading and start downloading. If you come up with something good post a screenshot in the comments section.
Happy Modding!