Have you ever wondered how people, people like me, create really cool desktops such as this one? J Look no further because well…I will show you how to do it.
System Requirements
- Microsoft Windows 98 / XP OS
- 512MB Ram (Minimum)
- 64MB Video Card (Minimum)
- 2.0GHz Processor (Minimum)
- Mouse + Keyboard J
- Avedesk
- Avescripter
- RK Launcher
- iColorFolder
- UXTheme Multi Patcher 5.0
Download Avedesk by clicking on this link. Unzip Avedesk to a new folder in your C drive; preferably, C:\Desktop Enhancements. Now run avedesk.exe. You should see some of the default icons loading for you. From then on, you can download external widgets for Avedesk by clicking on this link. If you would like to take full advantage of Avedesk, then download Avescripter, which is an addon for Avedesk. Avescripter should come with a small help guide that will answer most of your questions concerning that program.
+How to add hard drive information to your desktop by using Avedesk
First enter the Avedesk control panel. Then go to Desklets > Add… > PidlShortcut > My Computer. Then press the OK button to add. Now you should see a new My Computer icon on your desktop. Right click on it, and view its properties. Once you are viewing its properties, go to the tab Label Format. Copy and paste the following in the input box;
Used: %pU%% Percent Left: %pF%% Left: %3
3. RK Launcher
RK Launcher is a program which can enable you to add dock icons to your desktop. It is what gives your desktop that "mac" feeling. Click here to download RK Launcher. Unzip RK Launcher to your previous directory, C:\Desktop Enhancements. Next run RKLauncher.exe. You should see a new dock on your desktop. Editing / adding icons is rather straight forward. Right click on any icon for more options. If you would like to add new icons, just drag and drop shortcuts to the dock. If you ever come into the need of adding more custom icons, please visit this DeviantART page.
Any questions so far? It's pretty easy as of now, and will continue to still be.
4. iColorFolder
iColorFolder allows you to change your normal folder icons to other colors. If you view the first thumbnail of my desktop in this topic, you will notice I have a grey folder rather than the default pale – yellow theme. iColorFolder comes in many colors and can be downloaded here.
5. UXTheme Multi Patcher 5.0
Please visit this page to download UXTheme Multi Patcher. Once you begin installing, Windows will alert you that some system files are being modified. Ignore the messages, and continue with the installation. A restart is required for best performances. Oh wait, you don't know what this program does, huh? Well, what this program does is that it patches your default explorer.exe with a new one that will allow multiple visual styles rather than using the plain blue Windows XP theme.
+Now that you patched explorer.exe, you will need custom styles
You will need to download some visual styles. DeviantART has a rich gallery of visual styles for you to choose from. Now let's say you just downloaded OrangeStyle.zip. Unzip OrangeStyle.zip and see what files are in there. You should see a .msstyle file. If you do, then you are viewing the correct folder. Check to see if the .msstyle has the same name as the folder. In this case, it should be named OrangeStyle.msstyle because the folder is named OrangeStyle. Now you will need to pay a little visit to your Windows directory. Go to the following directory;
C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes
Copy and paste the folder OrangeStyler to that directory. So if you were to view the following address, C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\OrangeStyle, you will see a .msstyle file called OrangeStyle.msstyle. Once you have done that, go back to your desktop. Right click any where on your desktop and go to properties. Then go to the tab Appearance. In the first drop down menu, you should see OrangeStyle because you have just installed that visual style. Now taking what you have just learned from this small Visual Style guide, try downloading a real style and test it out yourself.
Extras
Wallpapers
Good wallpaper is a must. It should always match with the current styles you are using, such as your visual style, or dock icons. If I am looking for wallpapers, I would go to the following sites;
- DeviantART
- Wallpaperstock
- InterfaceLIFT
It's very important that you master the art of invisible folder names. Please view the first thumbnail I have provided in this topic. You will see a grey folder on the top right corner with an invisible folder name. Most of you will think, wait you can't have a folder without a name! Well you are perfectly correct, you can't. And I never said you can. Here is what I have done.
Whenever I right click on a folder and go to rename, I don't enter any text. Instead I use ALT+255. What that means is you are using your alt key with the combination of your number pad to create special text and symbols. Please note, you must hold the alt key, and then press 2, 2, 5. Once you do that, let go of the alt key. You should see a "space" appear. The computer reads this as text, while humans read it as, well, nothing…its invisible.
And that's about it folks.
Here is my new desktop as of August 22, 2006; The day I posted this tutorial.
Edited by Zenom, 22 August 2006 - 02:05 PM.