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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 2, 2017 3:39:40 GMT -8
Since this topic went from "The Troubleshooting Wizards' Back Button" to discussing about running Classic Theme along with Aero Lite based themes (more specifically High Contrast themes) in order to eliminate transparent artifacts in some windows, the title has been changed. The original post is left here for reference.
It looks horribly stretched to some point and looks out of place. Look at the white space compared with the next image. It's actually more noticable if you have a lighter theme than this and if the button isn't 'greyed out'.
Regular (stretched button with white space):
What it should look like (this is without DWM running):
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Post by anixx on Feb 2, 2017 20:33:35 GMT -8
How did you make the titlebar not transparent? When I use high-contrast themes, it is still transparent.
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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 3, 2017 1:54:26 GMT -8
How did you make the titlebar not transparent? I mix it in with a high contrast theme, not a High Contrast Classic color theme in the legacy Windows and Metrics Color changer (deskn.cpl), but using the default High Contrast themes available or a high contrast theme already available elsewhere, such as this seemingly popular one (or in my case, I blend it with this high contrast theme and apply this Classic Theme with my own slight color modifications) then reapplying my Classic Theme's scheme using the legacy deskn.cpl or by using this program which works great for applying premade Classic Themes and also saving them as a individual file. I then re-save my theme altogether using the default Control Panel's Themes properties to finish up the mix. Not sure if removing DefaultColors in the Registry in Windows 8 will cause a problem, but I tested out when I was playing around with a Windows 8 Virtual Machine and seems to work fine. In Windows 10, I have to leave the DefaultColors in the Registry or else it'll forcibly revert to Aero when I resume logging in from the lock screen. So I basically:- Save current Classic color scheme using the deskn.cpl file or using that Windows 98 Plus themes tool
- Apply High Contrast Theme (not a High Contrast theme using the legacy Windows and Metrics changer)
- Reapply my preferred Classic Theme
- Re-save my current theme using the Themes properties in the Control Panel (NOT using the deskn.cpl)
- Log and log back in to see if my colors actually saves (not entirely sure on this, but it seems to be working okay for me when I tested it in both Windows 8 and my host machine using Windows 10)
- Guaranteed no transparency visual buggyness in things like Troubleshooting dialogs, but you'll have to deal with the flat UI portions of the High Contrast theme which is encountered in programs that use ribbons, such as Microsoft Word, WordPad and Paint and also some browsers like Opera and Firefox will adapt with the high contrast settings.
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 1:58:26 GMT -8
When I apply High Contrast theme from Win8.1, and then enable Classic Theme, the window captions are still transparent in some dialogs, as usual.
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 2:15:18 GMT -8
I even just tried with a theme from your link and the captions are still transparent.
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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 3, 2017 2:25:48 GMT -8
When I apply High Contrast theme from Win8.1, and then enable Classic Theme, the window captions are still transparent in some dialogs, as usual. That's strange, not entirely sure on the theme setup you got going. Are you sure you're applying it from this screen without the Classic Theme active and that the theme you have selected is labelled as a High Contrast theme (as seen with the black and white dialog icon in the theme's preview)? It won't work if is Aero Lite or any other Aero theme. Also, if your Themes service is disabled, changing themes won't work properly. Does logging off and logging back after applying the High Contrast theme make anything take effect? It can sometimes mess up and not apply properly. Can you share some screenshots just to get an idea of what it exactly is? The pictures below are just from using those Classic Theme files without any additional programs. Here's what it looks like with that Classic High Contrast theme along with the Windows Standard scheme applied, but not active yet (hence the white space): |
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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 3, 2017 2:34:08 GMT -8
When I apply High Contrast theme from Win8.1, and then enable Classic Theme, the window captions are still transparent in some dialogs, as usual. So I just deleted the DefaultColors in the Windows 8.1 Virtual Machine I'm messing with and it reverts the theme (upon resuming from the lock screen). I think I may have found the problem! It actually causes themes to not apply properly (which ironically happened to myself in the other thread). Not sure if this is the issue may be relevant to what you're encountering though. Here's the raw text (or here on ghostbin) from the Windows 8.1 Virtual Machine):Okay, so that quote thing didn't look too good in formatting. It's in that link or in this attachment here. Edit: I can't seem to get the achieve same effect you're having though, unless I use some Aero or Aero Lite theme. Edit 2: Kind of got something, I think it may be because of that DefaultColors thing. Edit 3: I placed back the DefaultColors key and re-did that saving stuff so it doesn't change colors from the Win + L lock screen, seems to be working fine. Edit 4: But apparently it's useless if you care about the taskbar since it leaves it with the white transparency stuff (from the non-resident method). If you delete DefaultColors, it temporarily fixes it but breaks everything upon logging back in from the lock screen. Edit 5: RIP. Seems like installing Classic Theme normally by using the 'Install' button messes up with the desktop and tries to change the theme somehow. Seems like this method is useful for those who use a black background or don't want to have the Classic Theme applied to the taskbar. DefaultColors.reg (1.06 KB) |
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 3:09:30 GMT -8
No, this does not work. I imported your file but it did not affect anything.
I still cannot apply high contrast themes. Even without Win Classic I have the captions of the windows transparent and with heavy garbage, and other controls from Win8 default theme.
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 3:18:47 GMT -8
Well, I found the problem, it was because I had Themes service disabled. It is required for high contrast themes.
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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 3, 2017 3:21:57 GMT -8
Well, I found the problem, it was because I had Themes service disabled. It is required for high contrast themes. Well, I kept messing around with this in Windows 8.1 and, it simply doesn't work very good for those who like to keep the taskbar with the Classic Theme applied as it breaks with the DefaultColors key removed upon restoring from the login screen (unless you never have your computer go to the lock screen) and the taskbar stays white with the non-resident method if you still have the DefaultColors Registry key in place. It messes up even with the Install method which basically tries to change the theme and breaks Explorer somehow. So this was a bit kinda pointless, but it works to some point as it works well for my current setup. |
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 3:30:04 GMT -8
For me ClassicThemeA does not work after applying any high-contrast theme.
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 3:44:14 GMT -8
Well, finally I succeeded. But * the taskbar is hued * it reset my UPMCalc settings (can be fixed) * it reset the logon screen color * something wrong with the site colors in Firefox But the window captions are non-transparent.  |
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 4:05:21 GMT -8
The taskbar can be fixed with
SetWindowCompositionAttribute.exe class Shell_TrayWnd blur false
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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 3, 2017 4:10:28 GMT -8
Firefox automatically recognises a high contrast theme is applied, so it inverts pages. Some programs respect high contrast settings which seems to be the case. You can change it so it doesn't do that for Firefox. Here's a thread on tenforums showing how to do that, works for me as well (the thumbnail preview is still possible to get an idea of where things are). From the about:preferences page, Click 'Content' > Colors... > In the 'Override the colors specified by the page with my selections above' dropdown box, change 'Only with Highcontrast Themes' to the 'Never' dropdown option instead. |
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 4:11:49 GMT -8
Regarding the Explorer menus it produced a Win95 style but with a bug: if to return from the extended menu bar, the menu item is not highlited, only text is white.
In Firefox still need Classic Theme Fix (otherwise transparent). Your suggestion to fix sites worked well.
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Post by Aesthetic Classic on Feb 3, 2017 4:48:46 GMT -8
The taskbar can be fixed with SetWindowCompositionAttribute.exe class Shell_TrayWnd blur false Oh alright, I haven't tried this out yet. I'll have to mess with this the next time I'm messing around with a Windows 8 VM. Regarding the Explorer menus it produced a Win95 style but with a bug: if to return from the extended menu bar, the menu item is not highlited, only text is white. In Firefox still need Classic Theme Fix (otherwise transparent). Your suggestion to fix sites worked well. Switched back to the default Firefox theme, trying it without the Resource Hacker method and just noticed this. Everything looks brokenly transparent even with R.O.B's Classic Theme fix. I still use the Resource Hacker method (and it also stops the titlebar flicker), with some other theme but that doesn't seem to play well with default themes now and makes the UI invisible. But in a empty profile Firefox works fine with the default theme with the Resource Hacker method, not sure what specifically is causing it to not display properly with my current configuration. |
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 5:25:13 GMT -8
I just managed to run Classic Theme over Aero-lite. This produces nearly the same environment as with running it over Aero (normal method) except there is no transparency in the titlebars and need SetWindowCompositionAttribute to fix taskbar (possibly can be fixed by transferring some registry values from Aero setup).
There is no problem in Firefox with high contrast theme.
I think "High contrast" attribute can be removed from any theme, including the "fake-classic". The "fake-classic" has an advantage over aero-lite in that the captions in dialogs are visible because the background is not black, and the ribbons are somewhat classic-looking.
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 5:35:49 GMT -8
Well, when running over Aero-Lite one can adjust the color of the taskbar the same way as when running over Aero. The same Control Panel applet is working, so SetWindowCompositionAttribute.exe is not even necessary!
Thus, no dasadvantages over usual method but the caption transparency is fixed!
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 5:39:57 GMT -8
I suggest to rename this topic to something "Running Classic Theme over Aero-Lite based themes"
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Post by anixx on Feb 3, 2017 5:49:43 GMT -8
...Well, Mobility center and possibly other apps still have problems when running over Aero-Lite. This fixes only dialogs (probably also Office, but I don't have it)
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