Make it Personal:
- Apply custom skins to your Windows 10 and 11 desktop
- Add backgrounds, textures, and colors to skins
- Choose your own skin fonts
- Design your own skins with SkinStudio
- Browse thousands of custom skins within the app
New to WindowBlinds 11:
- Automatic dark mode
- Enhanced high-DPI support for new skins
- Marketplace browser for skin library
- Autoscaling for legacy skins to improve visual fidelity
- Designed for Windows 10 and 11
Features
Make your Windows 10 and 11 desktops unique with WindowBlinds 11! Customize the Start menu*, taskbar, window frames, and control buttons on up to five devices. WindowBlinds lets you customize desktop interface themes called skins to personalize the look and feel of your desktop.
Stylize
Visual styles
Select a skin from the many included with WindowBlinds, or browse thousands of skins from WinCustomize.com right from within the app.
Alternative skins
Select skins have multiple sub-styles that can be applied to suit your personal tastes. You can also save your style combinations as presets for quick access later.
Better Together
When paired with Start11, you can theme your entire desktop to look like an alternative operating system such as Windows XP.
Customize
Add color
Personalize any skin by choosing from a huge array of color options.
Fonts
Add some character to your skins with unique fonts.
Transparency
Make your skins the center of attention, or allow them to blend into your backgrounds by increasing transparency.
Apply
Easy set-up
Quickly and intuitively navigate the configuration menu to easily personalize your desktop. Instantly preview your selections and adjustments before you apply them.
Presets
Save changes to your skins by creating a preset. Presets enable you to access previous customizations and apply them quickly. Love tweaking your creations? Presets can be updated and deleted.
Per application skinning
Choose skins for each of your application types. Make your word processing software stand out from your design programs by giving each one a unique look with a different skin or color scheme. Exclude applications from WindowBlinds or choose other compatibility settings to fit your style.
Create
Design your own skins
Each purchase includes SkinStudio, the powerful companion application for WindowBlinds 11 that enables you to create your own skins. Edit controls, Start menu*, taskbars, Explorer windows, fonts, colors backgrounds and more with SkinStudio.
Easy to use
Customize only the parts of the Windows interface you want to change and SkinStudio will do the rest! This makes it easy for inexperienced users to create a great skin quickly, while advanced users can still enjoy designing every aspect of the Windows interface.
Screenshots
Customize the look of your desktop today
Get it Now
Own prior versions of WindowBlinds? Upgrade today.
System Requirements
Windows 10/ Windows 11
*Start menu skinning requires Start11
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WindowBlinds
| Developer(s) | Stardock |
|---|---|
| Stable release |
11.02 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Size | 79 MB (setup size) |
| Type | Operating system customization |
| License | Trialware |
| Website | stardock |
WindowBlinds is a computer program that allows users to skin the Windows graphical user interface. It has been developed by Stardock since 1998, and is the most popular component of their flagship software suite, Object Desktop. It is also available separately, and as an ActiveX/COM component called DirectSkin. Introduced in its sixth version, it supports alpha blending effects similar to the compositing of Windows Vista, but on Windows XP.
WindowBlinds has been downloaded over 10 million times[1][2] and was voted «Best Vertical Market Program or Utility» in the 2006 Shareware Industry Awards Foundation People’s Choice Awards.[3] As of November 2009 there were 4448 WindowBlinds skins available at WinCustomize, with an average of nine being added per week.
WindowBlinds skins come in two formats: «Basic» (or «UIS1+») and «Advanced» (or «UIS2»).
Despite its name, the «Basic» skin format can be used to create fully featured skins, and it is still used today. The main limitation is that skin borders may only be «standard» sizes (four pixels wide for most of the side borders). This restriction was significantly relaxed when skin metrics—adjustments to using the standard Windows methods—were introduced, allowing changes to (among other things) the standard height of the titlebar. It is also only possible to put buttons on the titlebar, and scripting and titlebar background animation are not supported.
The advantages of UIS1+ are performance (Stardock has claimed that a UIS1+ version of the Windows XP «Luna» visual style is twice as fast as the original in repaint and resizing) and compatibility. Most msstyles can be converted to a UIS1+ skin.
The Advanced skin format is provided for when a skin design cannot fit into the above restrictions. Typically these skins may have wider borders in some places, or none at all. They may also feature titlebar background animation, or the use of scripting features.
This format offers maximum flexibility at the cost of slightly reduced performance (as compared to UIS1+), and potentially more chance of incompatibility with applications. Some UIS2 skins include a UIS1+ subskin; if problems occur, this subskin may be substituted as a «per-app» skin.
WindowBlinds started in 1998 when lead developer Neil Banfield teamed up with Stardock. Stardock was looking for a developer to create a window skinning application, and Banfield had already created an application that he called «Window Blinds» in 1997. Previous attempts by Stardock had included «Object Look», a minimal skinning application, and «WindowFX», an application written in Delphi. That name would later be reused for WindowFX, also created by Banfield. For a short time there was also a scaled-back version of the original Window Blinds called «WBLiteFX», a name which was still present in WindowBlinds registry settings as of May 2006.
WindowBlinds (now re-branded as one word) quickly made its way to a 1.0 release, driven by the requests of users to add «freeform skinning» (customizable window border shapes), sounds, and animation. Scrollbars, the task bar, the start button, menu items, the menu itself, and other GUI elements were added later.[4]
WindowBlinds 2 was a major redesign in C++ that added the following features:
- The «Basic» (UIS1+) format, which offered greater program compatibility in exchange for a restricted feature set.[5]
- Compound skins (later known as «subskins») which made it easier to provide alternative versions of a skin. For example, a Macintosh skin could now have two subskins to offer control buttons at the left or right of the window.
- User skin recoloring.
- Scripting, though this was not widely used.
- Font and color sections for specific controls and states.
- Support for additional controls.
At this time, «BuilderBlinds»—re-branded as SkinStudio in February 2001—became a popular tool, as it enabled artists to create skins without spending a deal of time learning the intricacies of the UIS format. It also allowed experienced users to avoid trivial errors.
WindowBlinds 3 accompanied the release of Windows XP, which contained its own skinning system called «visual styles». It was thought that visual styles might deal a blow to commercial skinning systems. This proved not to be the case; in fact, sales of WindowBlinds rose, buoyed by a new set of users who had seen the changes offered by visual styles and wanted more. Even after modifications known as «uxtheme hacks» (named after the file they modified, uxtheme.dll) became available, WindowBlinds remained popular, since it had additional features that visual styles did not.
However, the program still contained flaws. WindowBlinds 3 had many new features, but with new features came new bugs, including compatibility problems. Additionally, performance was suboptimal. Interim releases addressed these issues and provided for those areas of the Windows XP user interface that could not initially be skinned.
By the time WindowBlinds 4 arrived, there were fewer problems, due in part to an increased focus on stability for DirectSkin clients. In addition, SkinStudio now provided a method to import the Microsoft msstyles format.
WindowBlinds 4.6 was released in August 2005,[6] with the addition of mouseover «translucent glow» effects for the titlebar buttons, push buttons and other controls. Windowblinds 4.6 has now been renamed «WindowBlinds Classic», and is meant for non-XP Windows versions, which cannot run the new Windowblinds 5.
WindowBlinds 5, released in November 2005, extends translucency through per pixel alpha blending to the entire window frame, including the borders and taskbar.
WindowBlinds 6, released end 2007, adds Windows Vista-like blur effects on XP (although Microsoft said that such per-pixel alpha blending with blur is impossible to work on XP [citation needed]), later also Windows Sidebar skinning and more additional features. The configuration GUI was redesigned to a completely horizontal look.
WindowBlinds 7, released in late 2009, added native support for Windows 7. Amongst its new features is the ability to «skin Aero» by using colors and textures. Other new features include a new user interface, and various tweaks.
WindowBlinds 8, released in June 2013, added native support for Windows 8 while officially dropping support for Windows XP and Vista. The most prominent change was to its user interface, streamlining its layout while portraying a more minimalistic, Metro-like feel. In addition, version 8 updated the bundled themes and refined the corresponding preview mode.
WindowBlinds 10, released in March 2016, added native support for Windows 10 and some minor new features.
Windowblinds 11, released in November 2022, updated the UI to fit the design language of Windows 11, added a Windows 9x styled theme to the collection of default themes and improved support for dark mode and HDR.[7]
WindowBlinds has had many competitors over the years. Initially, it was not clear which skinning program would be the most popular, and there was active competition between the programs from 1999 to early 2001. Most are still around, but they have generally faded in popularity, since WindowBlinds can alter more GUI elements. Examples of these competitors are eFX, Illumination, Chroma and CustomEyes and ShellWM.
The popularity of various designs has changed along with the skinning community. Initially, remakes (or «ports») of older operating systems like BeOS and AmigaOS were very popular. Users then began to explore the potential of such features as freeform skinning, titlebar animation, and scripting, resulting in a number of unique skins.
SkinStudio is a popular software tool by Stardock used to create skins for WindowBlinds, as well as programs such as ObjectBar, WebBlinds, PocketBlinds, Koala Player and Windows Media Player. It is a component of Object Desktop, but is also sold separately, and a version is available as a free download. SkinStudio uses a Universal Skin Format (USF) that can be used to create one skin and export it to multiple skin formats. In practice, skins often need further editing after being created from this template, but it can be of use when developing a suite of skins. msstyle files are imported into USF before being converted to one of the WindowBlinds skin formats.
Stardock WindowBlinds generally has had a bad reputation within the Windows modification community due to various parts of the software being poorly optimized. For example, when titlebar transparency is enabled, window titlebars become very laggy when several windows are opened, regardless of whether they’re shown on the screen or not. This is due to the software constantly refreshing the blurred areas, creating a needlessly heavy load on both the CPU and the GPU. Even when titlebar transparency is not enabled, performance still significantly suffers, with programs often taking up to one to two seconds longer to open due to the way the software hooks running processes. Users have also reported font preferences being ignored, and a small version of the Segoe UI font being forcibly used in Windows Explorer.
When Mac OS X was announced, its Aqua visual style was the subject of numerous ports, some of a high quality. This undermined Apple’s marketing and they felt it infringed on their look and feel. Several skins were taken down at the company’s request, notably the skin «WinAqua» by Dangeruss. Similarly, the run-up to the release of Windows XP resulted in many Luna skins. Skins with «XP» in the title were very popular that year. Prior to the release of Windows Vista, numerous skins were created that replicated Vista’s GUI. Microsoft has sent a cease and desist letter to the creator of at least one of these themes.[8]
- ^ WindowBlinds reaches 10 million download mark!, Stardock News, 28 March 2006
- ^ WindowBlinds at Download.com
- ^ Shareware Spotlight Featuring People’s Choice Awards Winners, Tucows, 19 July 2006
- ^ WindowBlinds 2 Overview – describes WB 1 and WB 2 features
- ^ WindowBlinds Skin Formats – UIS1+ and UIS2
- ^ WindowBlinds 4.6 released! – An Article by Frogboy
- ^ WindowBlinds 11 Changelog
- ^ Microsoft: All your themes are belong to us, Neowin, 14 July 2005
- WindowBlinds Official Website
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Release Trailer
Important Pages |
About WindowBlindsWindowBlinds helps you organize your PC by automatically placing your shortcuts and icons into resizable shaded areas on your desktop called WindowBlinds. Its many customization features are what make WindowBlinds the world’s most popular Windows desktop enhancement. Make it Personal:
New to WindowBlinds 11:
FeaturesMake your Windows 10 and 11 desktops unique with WindowBlinds 11! Customize the Start menu (when used with Start11), taskbar, window frames, and control buttons on up to five devices. WindowBlinds lets you customize desktop interface themes called skins to personalize the look and feel of your desktop. Download additional animated wallpapers from our WinCustomize.com community.
StylizeVisual stylesSelect a skin from the many included with WindowBlinds, or browse thousands of skins from WinCustomize.com right from within the app. Alternative skinsSelect skins have multiple sub-styles that can be applied to suit your personal tastes. You can also save your style combinations as presets for quick access later. Better TogetherWhen paired with Start11, you can theme your entire desktop to look like an alternative operating system such as Windows XP.
CustomizeAdd colorPersonalize any skin by choosing from a huge array of color options. FontsAdd some character to your skins with unique fonts. TransparencyMake your skins the center of attention, or allow them to blend into your backgrounds by increasing transparency.
ApplyEasy set-upQuickly and intuitively navigate the configuration menu to easily personalize your desktop. Instantly preview your selections and adjustments before you apply them. PresetsSave changes to your skins by creating a preset. Presets enable you to access previous customizations and apply them quickly. Love tweaking your creations? Presets can be updated and deleted. Per application skinningChoose skins for each of your application types. Make your word processing software stand out from your design programs by giving each one a unique look with a different skin or color scheme. Exclude applications from WindowBlinds or choose other compatibility settings to fit your style.
CreateDesign your own skinsEach purchase includes SkinStudio, the powerful companion application for WindowBlinds 11 that enables you to create your own skins. Edit controls, Start menu*, taskbars, Explorer windows, fonts, colors backgrounds and more with SkinStudio. Easy to useCustomize only the parts of the Windows interface you want to change and SkinStudio will do the rest! This makes it easy for inexperienced users to create a great skin quickly, while advanced users can still enjoy designing every aspect of the Windows interface.
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WindowBlinds – это программа, которая была разработана для системы Windows, она позволяет пользователям изменять внешний вид интерфейса системы. Под изменением внешнего вида имеется ввиду изменение заголовка окон, меню Пуск, различных кнопок, ползунков для прокручивания страниц и любого другого элемента интерфейса Windows. Эти изменения также внедряются в программы, которые запущены на вашем компьютере.
WindowBlinds меняет внешний вид, используя скины (или визуальные стили), которые могут быть сделаны кем угодно с помощью бесплатной программы под названием SkinStudio (skinstudio.net). Существуют тысячи этих визуальных стилей, которые доступны для закачки с таких сайтов, как: WinCustomize.com, deviantART.com, SkinBase.org, Customize.org и вообще повсюду.
WindowBlinds работает с операционными системами Windows Vista и Windows XP. Также имеется особая модификация программы – WindowBlinds Classic. Она была разработана для Windows 2000 и более ранних систем.
WindowBlinds в действии
WindowBlinds использует скины, которые меняют вид любого элемента на ваше собственное усмотрение. В отличие от Windows, программа также меняет и другие приложения, которые, как считается, не поддерживают различные темы и скины. Вы могли заметить, что применив какую-либо тему в Windows, некоторые программы все равно остаются без изменений. Это происходит, из-за того, что они не поддерживают эти самые темы. WindowBlinds может изменять внешний вид даже таких программ.
Еще одно преимущество WindowBlinds в том, что оно использует DirectX акселерацию. Это позволяет двигать окна, менять их размер быстрее, чем в обычной Windows.
Применяем скины в Windows XP
WindowBlinds не только может изменить основной вид Windows XP, но также программа добавляет поддержку технологии alpha blending. Это означает, что некоторые элементы интерфейса будут выглядеть как стекло, то есть вы сможете видеть то, что будет находиться за ними. Например, вы сможете наблюдать свой рабочий стол через окно заголовка, кнопочки также станут прозрачными, а углы окон перестанут быть «зубчатыми». И все это стало возможным благодаря alpha blending.
WindowBlinds использует скин, который делает XP похожей на Vista.
Такие компании как Alienware, среди многих других, используют WindowBlinds, чтобы создавать особые скины для рабочих столов. Этот скин из темы «Звездные войны» поставлялся вместе с компьютерами от фирмы Alienware. Взгляните насколько уникальны и элегантны окна заголовков и другие части интерфейса. Эта программа позволяет компаниям делать себе свой собственный уникальный бренд, предлагая пользователям увидеть и испытать что-то новое и интересное.
В сети существуют тысячи самых разнообразных скинов для WindowBlinds. Большинство из них сделаны самими пользователями. Некоторые пользователи стараются сделать Windows похожей на другие операционные системы.
WindowBlinds позволяет пользователям изменять значки панели инструментов в Explorer и Internet Explorer
Пользователи могут изменить анимацию при выполнении различных действий (например, копировании)
Загрузили скин, но не нравится цвет? Нет проблем, WindowBlinds поддерживает изменение цвета
Опции для продвинутых пользователей
Программа также может кое-что предложить и для продвинутых пользователей. Если вас не волнует внешний вид, WindowBlinds можно использовать как довольно мощный инструмент для производительности.
Программу можно настроить таким образом, чтобы окно приложения сворачивалось по щелчку правой кнопкой на его заголовке. Также можно использовать скины, которые имеют дополнительные возможности, например: кнопки для сворачивания окон и кнопка «всегда поверх остальных окон».
Пользователи могут привязать отдельному приложению отдельный скин (или наоборот, заставить WindowBlinds полностью игнорировать какие-то приложения). Если у вас имеется особое приложение, которое лучше работает с конкретным скином, вы можете установить его с помощью WindowBlinds.
В программе имеется встроенная поддержка различных языков, в том числе и русского
WindowBlinds также может заменять обои рабочего стола.
Пользователи могут заставить программу изменять обои автоматически в различное время дня. Более того, можно составить свою собственную коллекцию обоев для рабочего стола, собрав их со всего компьютера. Это делает WindowBlinds более удобным решением для управления изображениями, чем стандартная программа просмотра изображений.