Scan & Fix 50 registry issues FREECNET Editors' review
Skins let you totally change the look of apps like media players and image editors, but you can do the same and much more to Windows with Stardock's WindowBlinds. This program makes it easy to change the look of Windows without having to change everything manually in Appearance and Personalization. With preconfigured skins you can customize, WindowBlinds lets you create and customize Windows in ways the built-in tool could never match. WindowBlinds is free to try for 30 days, with a few options disabled.
WindowBlinds' user interface resembles a Windows feature, but with its own touches. It displays available skins with previews in a horizontally scrolling lower panel. The program opened with an introductory tour in the optional tool tip window. WindowBlinds comes with lots of available choices; although the Fonts and Explorer Background tabs were inactive, we could choose from numerous options on tabs for Styles, Colors, Textures, Wallpapers, and Transparency. Clicking on any choice applies it to the sample window borders, toolbar, and dialogs in the program's main window. We chose one Wallpaper style at random, a cool abstract design called Recycled. Clicking Apply Changes on the toolbar applied the design to our Windows desktop, and WindowBlinds followed with a small nag screen reminding us how much time remained in our 30-day trial. Returning to our skin job, we found we could customize the design in various ways, such as changing its primary color with the color picker or altering its transparency with slider controls. The Textures tab offers an impressive array of designs, too. A tab labeled 1-Click lets you add skins for quick changes.
You can spend a lot of time playing around with WindowBlinds before you find a look that suits your mood and style; we know because we did just that. It would take an array of tools to duplicate what it does with a few clicks. If you use it for 30 days and find you just can't give up its quick-change act, it's not expensive to buy. Thousands more skins are freely available online, too. WindowBlinds also works with a separate tool, SkinStudio, to create skins.
Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of WindowBlinds 7.4.
WindowBlinds - Change the look of your Windows - Download Video Previews:Publisher's Description
From Stardock:
WindowBlinds is a software utility that allows you to completely change the look and feel of Microsoft Windows. It works by applying new visual styles, also called skins, across the entire user interface of the operating system. As a result, you gain complete control over the way Windows looks.
WindowBlinds comes with a number of visual styles to get you started. From there you can modify them by changing the color, adding a texture, wallpaper, changing fonts, adjusting transparency, or blur. Create, edit and apply textures. Use UIS0 to apply textures to the Windows Aero visual style. Live previews of skins and transparencies. In addition, you can download thousands of free visual styles from the popular WinCustomize.com. With the addition of the separate SkinStudio, you can create your own skins for use with WindowBlinds.
What's new in this version: Version 7.40 includes fix for IE sizing issue, Opera repaint issue on scrolling, blurred borders on large bordered skins, and for UltraMon secondary taskbar.
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All versions:
3.6 starsout of 707 votes
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Current version:
4.5 starsout of 2 votes
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My rating:
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"Stuck with it"
Version: WindowBlinds 7.40
Pros
It's the only thing out there of it's kind really, besides much more confusing programs that require much more knowledge to use. It does make things beautiful though.
Cons
There aren't enough people making themes for it.
It doesn't run the best. It's too expensive, though Stardock offers a package deal with it, including Iconpackager and a couple other things that make it much more worth it. Iconpackager is ALSO the only thing out there of it's kind, and expensive on it's own. It also happens to be a great program though. -
"Very Entertaining and well made too"
Version: WindowBlinds 7.40
Pros
Enhances the desktop and allows you to choose the best look for the desktop and the windows controls. It is light on resources and needs absolutely no computer skills whatsoever to point and click at what you like and get it working.
Cheap to buy and also good value.
It's a program I started using way back when stardock first started out. I think that's more than a decade ago now.
So the company has a good history and a VERY DEVOTED following and loyal customer base. Plenty of help and support on their website and in the forums. 10/10Cons
If used properly and you take the time to understand why certain programs should not be themed (older games, programs that use their own theme plugins, and some software that is not theme-aware) then you will have absolutely no problems whatsoever.
No cons at allSummary
It's worth joining the forum at stardock, because although it will work without any fuss and without ruining your windows installation, it can APPEAR sometimes in rare cases to have been the cause of a problem. Notice the word "APPEAR", because appearances can be deceptive. Usually any problems are caused because people dont realise that some programs should not be themed. Having said that, however, you will not encounter many problems at all. Quite a lot of people complaining about windowblinds get a problem and assume it is the fault of windowblinds, they then try very unmethodical solutions to the problem and if only they had bothered to read a help file or go to the forums and do a quick search they would find very easy to understand help and get a solution very quickly.
Having read most of the reviews here, it's laughable that most people complaining about windowblinds installed the illegal cracked version which is infested by viruses and malware.
It's not an essential program to have, it's some fun, and well worth the money.
A reliable, honest, and dedicated company with a loyal following. Also just one last thing, anyone saying windowblinds interferes with essential windows tasks doesnt know what they are talking about. I would ignore the reviews where people say "oh it messed up my entire windows installation" because a simple mouseclick will restore windows to it's original theme.
As I said, buy, install, enjoy, and if by some bad stroke of luck you do get a problem just visit the forum, you will get a solution in minutes.
There are 1000's of designs to choose from and you can mix and match. you are now in control of how windows looks.
BUY IT!!!!! it's a great way to have computer fun
Updated on Oct 6, 2012
That is why you pay for software, because installing illegal software using a keygen (key generator) is stupid, the vast majority of the keygens are infested with adware, keyloggers and rootkits.
Ignore the reviews that say stardock windowblinds is a bad program, it isnt. Stardock is a reputable company with hundreds of thousands of devoted, loyal, and honest users. Their support and their dilligence is second to nobody else. They are excellent
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