How Do I Change a Dark Background in MS Word, OE , etc. so I can see Text?
Monday, May 17, 2004 by GreyStone | Discussion: Stardock Software
I'm using a skin that applies a dark gray background to the document and work area in MS Word, the message pane and messages in Outlook Expres and some pages on the web like Yahoo. It makes the text very hard to read. I've fiddled with colors in SkinStudio and managed to get the folder pane in OE white but I can't find the items that effect the other apps mentioned. Help please. Thanks in advance.
Shameless Designs
Reply #3 Monday, May 17, 2004 7:21 PM
Reply #3 Monday, May 17, 2004 7:21 PM
If this is a common problem for you, there is a way to more or less fix it on every skin without editing any of the skins.
In MS Paint, or any other graphics program, create a bmp that is 150 x 150 pixels. paint the whole thing white or a light gray, or whatever color you would like to have as a background. Save it as MyWBbkgd.bmp or whatever else you want to call it as long as it''s a .bmp file. Save it into your C:\Programs\StardockObject Desktop\Windowblinds folder (your path may be slightly different).
Then open up the WB configuration dialogue. Click on Basic Settings. Over on the top right, click on the Backgrounds button. On the new window that opens, Make sure you check the box next to "Override the skin settings for background bitmaps". Then left click on each of the bitmaps you want to change, and in the new window that pops us, browse to the bitmap you just saved and Select it, then click Open. This will close the window and change the preview. When you have both windows showing the bitmap backgrounds you want to use, hit the close button. On the main WB config window, click Apply changes, then close the window.
Using this method will give you a consistent background that you can use with nearly any skin and be able to read it, without having to modify any actual skin files.
[Message Edited]
In MS Paint, or any other graphics program, create a bmp that is 150 x 150 pixels. paint the whole thing white or a light gray, or whatever color you would like to have as a background. Save it as MyWBbkgd.bmp or whatever else you want to call it as long as it''s a .bmp file. Save it into your C:\Programs\StardockObject Desktop\Windowblinds folder (your path may be slightly different).
Then open up the WB configuration dialogue. Click on Basic Settings. Over on the top right, click on the Backgrounds button. On the new window that opens, Make sure you check the box next to "Override the skin settings for background bitmaps". Then left click on each of the bitmaps you want to change, and in the new window that pops us, browse to the bitmap you just saved and Select it, then click Open. This will close the window and change the preview. When you have both windows showing the bitmap backgrounds you want to use, hit the close button. On the main WB config window, click Apply changes, then close the window.
Using this method will give you a consistent background that you can use with nearly any skin and be able to read it, without having to modify any actual skin files.
[Message Edited]
Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
- Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
- Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
- Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
- It's simple, and FREE!
Reply #1 Monday, May 17, 2004 1:58 PM
#1. Go to Explorer Right Tree Miscellaneous => Colors => Then on the Section Left Tree go to Windows => Background MDI Window.
#2. Go to Explorer Right Tree Miscellaneous => Personality => Then on the Section Left Tree go to Backgrounds => Window Background - MDI <= If there is a image here it overrides the color setting in #1. So you would have to change the color as in #1 then delete the attribute in #2. Make sure you save a copy of the original WBA file somewhere so you don't have to re-download it.
Whoops there is a #3. Whenever a skinner doesn't set classic colors in the color section, the loaded skin uses the colors from the previous skin or the default Windows colors.