[Announce] WindowBlinds 5.0

Publisher's Description:

WindowBlinds is a program that allows you to completely change the look and feel of Windows to however you want it to look like. It allows you to completely customize your desktop by changing the style of title bars, buttons, and toolbars. You can change the look of buttons and check boxes by assigning them skins, or personalities, and you can assign buttons that will launch programs to toolbars. You can create your own skins, choose from the four that are included in the program, or download additional ones. You can also choose to exclude certain programs from WindowBlinds if you don't want to change their appearances.

Latest Changes:

• WindowBlinds 5 can produce glass/alpha blended effects on Windows XP with virtually no slow-down (on a modern video card)
  
• Now makes use of some built in system APIs to manage WindowBlinds visual styles which allows for the elimination of wbload.exe
  
• WindowBlinds 5 is effectively a native part of Windows XP
  

http://www.windowblinds.net/

I wanted to be the 1st :cool:

#335404

Interesting. Thank you for bringing this fine application to my immediate attention.

#335412

Well the alpha-blending is good even if you're not into transparent windows and stuff... it's good for us becauwe can have rounded window corners (OS X style) that are nice, smooth, and anti-aliased.

Well WB5 now simply runs as a Windows service the same way Microsoft's Themes Service (msstyles) does. Windows are faster and more responsive than 4.6 and actually faster than msstyles when I went back and tested some releases that were done in both msstyles and WB.

#335424

- Previous version of WB will be overwritten

- You may (i say may) experience some bugs if you use some WB 4.x themes with WB5 (Niqu has no problem )

- Of course you will not lose any of your skins.

- It hasn't crashed with any program on my PC (been using WB5 since its first beta release)

#335429

Has been a diasaster for me. Showing up bugs in niqu and making window moving really slow on some apps. =x

#335451

And what graphics card do you have? And do you have hyperpaint disabled?

#335461

Restarted a second time and it is great. Much better than before.

#335468

i hope KoL will update his Tiger theme.

is it possible to include shadow and transparent effect on this version? so that it will look like a real tiger theme.

#335470

It was mentioned, shadow could actually be part of the skin itself, due to the alpha blending ability to create transparencies. Although, I personally haven't actually see one, that has shadows as part of the skin.

Yes, shadows can be made as part of the skin, check KoL's VistaXP skin for a screenie.

#335500

I've been using WB5 since first beta, and it really runs smooth on my PC (2 years old, with GeFeorce 5900XT). Stardock seems to have pulled off the trick of enabling hardware-accelerated window painting on the desktop, and it works like a charm. Much faster than msstyles rendering, and many of the incompatibilities from 4.x have been ironed out (Adobe and Macromedia programs, to name a few).

The old resource-hog label was gone even in the 4.x days, but now it's a very distant memory...

#335502

FWIW, I've read here a couple of times about incompatabilities between WinFX and WindowBlinds 5.0. If it makes any difference, I've been running every version of WB 5.0 since the first beta and have had no problems with WinFX. I'm using the 4.X Milk theme right now, and WinFX is tossing up shadows and running without problems.

#335516

FWIW, I've read here a couple of times about incompatabilities between WinFX and WindowBlinds 5.0. If it makes any difference, I've been running every version of WB 5.0 since the first beta and have had no problems with WinFX. I'm using the 4.X Milk theme right now, and WinFX is tossing up shadows and running without problems.

If so, kinda confusing methinks, If your current WindowsFx works with the new WB5, then what's the point in stardock mentioning you need a new version of wFX that'll be out mid-december? Of will the new wFx be having new features?

#335525

Well, technodawg is using a Milk theme design for WB4 with WindowsFX, so that may explain a few things.

I can guarantee for sure that if you try to use WindowsFX with any sort of alpha-blended skins, you WILL see problems which Stardock does know about and plans to fix with a new WindowsFX in December.

#335537

ok...this has to do with speed issue...

i used to hate wb...i seen that know they give a 60 day trial...so i installed it

when my pc first rebooted(WB required it) it took a smidge longer...but after that...it know boots faster and i have done nothing to it

is windows fx the shadow program...if soo....wb is pre set(as a sub theme type) up for it in certain themes

#335549

Im currently using Te DreamLand WB Theme with Yz Shadow and no isues so far.

#335601

I finally got my email to let me upgrade today and it's been perfect so far and as has been mentioned, it's a big improvement in performance

#335632

I used Yz Shadow and you can't see right click menu's while it is open, I shut it down and you could see it. It showed for a second, then changed to black. Maybe that is also the error with wFX? I'm using KoL's Vista theme with transparency, on the beta.

#335645

Question: What version of WindowFX do you use?

I'm using version 2.21, dated June 3, which is the most recent one available according to Stardock Central.

I notice now that Stardock Central says it's a beta, so any issues might be specific to their last full release. At any rate, I've had no problems with it.

#335672

No, when running both WB5 and Y'z Shadow, right click menus appear then immediately turn black, rendering them unreadable and useless. In order to see the menus, you have to turn Y'z Shadow off.

#335746

well..it's the first time I'm tempted to purchase WB over my good old MSStyles....hmm, I'll have to put some toughts into this

#335763

yeah and it's more ressource friendly than WindowFX...but then in Windowblind 5, you can make the shadow in the theme....hmmm...

#335777

@all:

no probs usin´yzshadow -right klick ok -wb5 installed properly-

but had prob on other machine with styler, yz and flyakiteosx - shadow of splahscreens hang on desktop-had to unload yz and use shadow of styler......

love kol´s vista - pärfäct

#335880

yeah and it's more ressource friendly than WindowFX...but then in Windowblind 5, you can make the shadow in the theme....hmmm...

Yeah, but I dont find the shadows to be as smooth............(yzshadow)

#335881

I just upgraded, I can finally run the Glass Vista theme! This is a good one, guys.

#336019

i stop using yzshadow since i purchased an amd 64bit processor. even windowfx have a problem with that processor. that is why i love the KoL tiger theme to have a trans and shadow on it included.

#336029