Windows Vista Sidebar Themes - Customize Your Desktop
Customizing the Windows Vista Sidebar
The default appearance of the Windows Vista Sidebar can appear somewhat plain. Unfortunately, Vista doesn’t offer built-in tools for extensive customization. However, third-party developers have addressed this limitation by creating applications designed to allow users to change the sidebar’s theme.
Important: A restart of the Windows Vista sidebar is required after installing and launching this application for the changes to take effect.
Using Windows Sidebar Styler
Upon launching the Windows Sidebar Styler application, a dialog box will appear. This box presents a comprehensive list of all theme elements. You can select individual items to view a live preview on the right side of the window.
To apply a chosen style, press the prominent Play button. Before this, however, you must first load the desired style by clicking the "Load a Windows Sidebar Style" button. This action will open a file selection window, enabling you to browse and choose from available themes.
The application includes a selection of pre-installed themes. Additionally, a wider variety of themes can be discovered and downloaded from the WinCustomize gallery.
Resizable Sidebar Option
Clicking the "More" button within the dialog reveals an option to enable sidebar resizing. Selecting this feature allows you to adjust the sidebar’s dimensions just like any standard window.
A new "Lock" option will become available, preventing further resizing once your preferred size is achieved. This ensures the sidebar remains at the desired width.
Enhanced Gadget Support
This tool also provides the capability to load more sophisticated gadgets that utilize WPF (Windows Presentation Framework). You can obtain Windows Sidebar Styler from stoyanoff.info.
