Unable to change application background
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 by Julian Sguera | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
I have used Windowblinds and a few other components of Object Desktop for a while, and purchased Windowblinds a few weeks ago, as it is really a top notch application which integrates seamlessly into Windows and has never once crashed or even displayed a minor glitch. A problem I have, however, is that I am unable to stop Windowblinds from choosing the application background for the program Finale 2003. I have tried changing this in the program itself, changed the color in the "advanced" tab in Display Properties, and even tried telling Windowblinds both not to use it's background in Finale and when that didn't work I checked the box which tells Windowblinds not to skin the application at all. While this prevented Finale from acquiring the look of the skin, the background color was still there, along with the skin colors applied to the Windows Classic skin. This is a big issue for me, as I am unable to use many of my favorite skins because I really need a light colored,preferably white. background in order to see the notes displayed in the application. I'm sorry if I was a bit long-winded, just wanted to paint a clear picture of my problem. Thanks in advance for taking time out of your busy schedules to help me with a problem which is probably created by me overlooking something. Julian Sguera
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Zodiaq~
Reply #2 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 2:22 PM
Reply #2 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 2:22 PM
Julian...Your best bet would be to open your skins in SkinStudio to make the 'Application Background' color stick. 
Julian Sguera
Reply #3 Friday, September 26, 2003 9:21 AM
Reply #3 Friday, September 26, 2003 9:21 AM
Guys, thanks for your input. To clarify the area of explorer I'm talking about, it's the same area as the one we use to type messages for this message board. I have tried every background override option in Windowblinds, with no luck. Zodiaq~, I'll try your suggestion, but if that's the only way this simple change can be accomplished, don't you agree that Stardock must fix this in an update? It is a very minor, yet important, issue, as some excellent skins render certain applications unusable. I don't know how exactly this would affect other applications, but to me it is disturbing to see white musical notes appear over a dark gray background, etc. I think this minor fix would greatly improve the usability of Windowblinds in general, and make ALL the skins usable for all applications. Thanks again guys for taking time to answer my question.
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Fuzzy Logic
Reply #4 Friday, September 26, 2003 11:47 AM
Reply #4 Friday, September 26, 2003 11:47 AM
It's not a fault in Windowblinds. The skinner chooses the 'Window' colour when making the skin. The skin can be edited in SkinStudio to give you whatever colour you want. I usually make my skins have a white window for useability, some people prefer darker colours.
If you have SkinStudio it can be found in Miscellaneous>Colours>Window>Background-Window.
If you have SkinStudio it can be found in Miscellaneous>Colours>Window>Background-Window.
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #5 Saturday, September 27, 2003 2:55 PM
Reply #5 Saturday, September 27, 2003 2:55 PM
Bright white window backgrounds hurt my eyes.I tend to go with light grey. 
Julian Sguera
Reply #6 Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:27 AM
Reply #6 Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:27 AM
I am not criticizing Stardock since they have created a great program which truly brings new value and interest to the computing experience. I am not saying it is a "fault" in Windowblinds per se, but being that there are so many aspects of the skin which can be modified directly from Windowblinds, I do not see how one should have to open the skin up in another program just to change this simple a thing. I would consider this more of an oversight, and with all the things those who write programs have to think about, it is inevitable that some detail will be missed. I have begun to wonder, however, if my copy of the program is functioning correctly, since there seem to be options in Windowblinds concerning the background, but changing these did nothing for me. What happens when you guys alter these settings?
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I.R. Brainiac
Reply #7 Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:30 AM
Reply #7 Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:30 AM
I agree,I have been forced to edit many a skin for the same reason.You used to be able to do that within WB.Dont know why they took it out. 
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #8 Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:34 AM
Reply #8 Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:34 AM
There is an option in the WB config for 'use skins color scheme(recommended)'.Try unchecking that and setting your colors for bakground thru windows.
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Reply #1 Wednesday, September 24, 2003 12:59 PM
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