InfoSYS Guide A Tech Blog
Everyone wants to make their desktop screen elegant and colorful. Theme does so we see amazing look in verities of color combination. Here, we explain how to make better UX of desktop screen using desktop architect and its feature to customize theme ourselves.
Play with themes
Desktop Architect: If you’ve installed hundreds of themes, managing them can be a nuisance. Desktop Architect provides a great interface through which you can manage themes better-the main window lists all themes installed on your system. Click on the ‘Apply’ icon to apply the selected theme to the Windows environment. You’ll find a group of four icons next to the ‘Apply’ button, while the main window displays a preview of the currently selected theme. Clicking on these icons will let you hide or reveal wallpapers, icons and windows, or see the status of the Recycle bin. This helps you view the individual components of the theme and decide whether to apply the same to your Windows environment or not.
Make your own theme
Desktop Architect: Desktop Architect does not provide you with options to create a new theme. But, once you have the wallpapers, startup or shutdown screens and screensavers of your choice, you can pack them together as a theme. Select any theme from the drop-down list in the main window. The preview window on the right of the main window shows you the basic visual components of the theme such as icons, mouse pointers, logos, desktop, appearance and sounds. Click on the ‘Desktop’ tab and browse to select the screensaver and wallpaper that you’ve created. The ‘Appearance’ tab lists all the colour schemes installed on your PC. The ‘Item’ drop-down list shows all the components for which parameters such as font, colour, size, etc, are required. You can select the item of your choice and set its parameters. Clicking on the ‘Sounds’ tab displays the current sound theme-if you’ve made your own WAV files, use them in place of the current sound theme. You can also use the sound recorder to record some snazzy captions in your voice; but make sure the WAV files are small. The ‘Logos’ tab displays the default startup or shutdown screens. Use the logos or images you created for these screens. Browse to select the appropriate logos for the appropriate screens. From your collection of downloaded and accumulated icons and pointers, select the best ones and pack them in your theme. The final step is the simplest-choose ‘Save’ from the File menu. You will be prompted for a name and a path for the theme you’ve created. Enter the filename and the path, and it will be saved as a .theme file.
Package your own theme
Desktop Architect: The .theme file, that you created under ‘Make your own theme’, has references to all the objects such as wallpapers, screensavers, etc., within it. If you wish to create a whole theme package-which includes your theme files for distribution-use the package tool available with Desktop Architect. Click on the globe icon, in the main window of Desktop Architect. This opens an interactive window, which prompts you to choose the theme to be packaged. Choose the ‘.theme’ file that you created. Click on the ‘Next’ button and choose the type of file that you would like to create. Choose the ‘Zip file/self-installing package’ option from the list. Click ‘Next’ to proceed. Finally click ‘Finish’. Your theme is packaged and ready for distribution. You can also e-mail to your friends or upload it to your site.
Randomizing themes
Desktop Architect: It’s fun if themes randomly change at a specified frequency. Desktop Architect allows you to randomize wallpapers and themes. Go to Tools > Scheduler and in the window that comes up, click on Add. Next, click on ‘Item’ and enter a name for your scheduled task. Select the frequency of the scheduled task, in the ‘Schedule Item’ dialog box. Now, click on the ‘Advanced’ button, and set the start date for the event, in the ‘Start date’ dialog box. Select the ‘Repeat item’ checkbox and set the frequency of the event. The ‘Files’ tab allows you to add themes and wallpapers. From the ‘Type’ list, choose ‘Themes’. You can add single files or an entire folder, by clicking on the ‘Add’ button. In the ‘Order’ dialog box, set the cycling mode as Sequential or Random. Click ‘OK’ and close all the pop-up windows. Your scheduled event will now be triggered at the present time, and your theme will automatically change. To test this, right-click on the Desktop Architect icon on the system tray, choose the ‘Schedule’ option, and click on ‘Apply random theme now’. This triggers the event, and you will see that the theme changes automatically.
