Windows Shell Replicas
Oct 24, 2024 12:16:48 GMT -8
Post by kutor on Oct 24, 2024 12:16:48 GMT -8
This might be a stupid question, but:
for all the File Explorer customisations, isn't it a possibility to just... make older Windows shell replicas as standalone programs, instead of modding Windows itself?
The idea came to me when I saw ex_plorer by Spitfire_x86, which is completely standalone (though not fully functional) and has the Classic theme + clientedge by default, without any kind of modding required from the user. Of course it's not a shell, it's just a File Explorer with limited functionality, but hey. We could have the complete 95/XP/7/etc Explorer like that. There already explorers like XYplorer, Explorer++ etc which actually have more functionality than the default Windows one, so I guess creating the default one would be easier.
Basically, this could be a combination of RetroBar, StartAllBack, 7tsp, cursors, sound themes, plus a File Explorer with settings to switch between different Windows versions + themes (classic/Luna/Aero/etc), including icons. It could have the good ol' Appearance settings for the Classic theme. In a modular fashion, so it could work with just, like, the '95 Explorer in the beginning and new stuff added as it gets done. It would be a completely self-dependent portable thing, not depending on any external Windows files and doing this all without injecting stuff, changing existing files and whatever.
Now, I do have a feeling that this idea is so straightforward that everyone before me has thought about it and then realised why it's not doable. But if there is a chance it is, I don't want my fear of being educated about that to be the reason for this not happening lol.
for all the File Explorer customisations, isn't it a possibility to just... make older Windows shell replicas as standalone programs, instead of modding Windows itself?
The idea came to me when I saw ex_plorer by Spitfire_x86, which is completely standalone (though not fully functional) and has the Classic theme + clientedge by default, without any kind of modding required from the user. Of course it's not a shell, it's just a File Explorer with limited functionality, but hey. We could have the complete 95/XP/7/etc Explorer like that. There already explorers like XYplorer, Explorer++ etc which actually have more functionality than the default Windows one, so I guess creating the default one would be easier.
Basically, this could be a combination of RetroBar, StartAllBack, 7tsp, cursors, sound themes, plus a File Explorer with settings to switch between different Windows versions + themes (classic/Luna/Aero/etc), including icons. It could have the good ol' Appearance settings for the Classic theme. In a modular fashion, so it could work with just, like, the '95 Explorer in the beginning and new stuff added as it gets done. It would be a completely self-dependent portable thing, not depending on any external Windows files and doing this all without injecting stuff, changing existing files and whatever.
All this together requiring just downloading ONE file and installation, would be highly desired by a lot of people who are not hardcore into stuff like a pixel-perfect Windows 2000 experience or a restored Control Panel, but just want some nostalgia and wouldn't delve into stuff like Windhawk, SecureUxTheme or modifying dll's with ResourceHacker. Also it would (probably) not get broken every time Microsoft updates something because it relies on its own files.
Yes, what I described is probably kinda like Windowblinds, just open-source, I guess?
Now, I do have a feeling that this idea is so straightforward that everyone before me has thought about it and then realised why it's not doable. But if there is a chance it is, I don't want my fear of being educated about that to be the reason for this not happening lol.
