Microsoft pays particular attention to customizing Windows 7, and provides a stunning collection of desktop wallpapers and themes. Windows 7 also makes it easy for all users to create their own custom themes and gives them the opportunity to share them with other people.
If you are still using an older version of Windows (like Windows XP or Vista) you can take advantage of these new Windows 7 desktop themes with a few simple tricks.
Firstly, it should be noted that Microsoft allows you to download themes and wallpapers for Windows 7
These visual styles can also be installed on Xp and Vista .
They have a single file with a .Themepack extension that simply a zip containing all the elements of a theme: the background images, the colors of Aero Glass, the sounds, the cursors, the icons, the screen savers, etc.
To use these files on an earlier version of Windows, you must first extract them from the Themepack archive using a program such as 7Zip (similar to Winzip or Winrar).
Once extracted, the theme file will be in a new folder that has the same name as the original themepack.
If your computer has Windows Vista that supports Aero, simply double-click on the .theme file that is present in the extracted folder. However, this background image disappears when you restart your computer, so you need to set it as a permanent background.
Windows XP does not support Aero Glass, but you can use the background images downloaded from the Windows 7 Theme package.
The backgrounds are inside the themepack folder or in a subfolder called desktopbackground.
On any image, right-click and select "Set as desktop background".
Most Windows 7 themes are made up of multiple background images that change daily or at regular intervals.
Windows Vista and XP do not support the desktop with slideshows but it is possible to automatically change the wallpaper at a certain frequency of time using external programs.
For XP only, you can download a Seven Remix theme, which is a software to install to make Windows XP equal to the graphics and appearance of Windows 7.
From the Deviant Art website we have the PDC Style theme for Vista 32 Bit SP2 with transparent Super Taskbar and the Windows 7 Complete theme for Xp.
To transform the appearance of Windows Vista into that of Windows 7, you must therefore apply a special theme for the desktop.
From the DeviantArt website you can download the complete visual style of themes and backgrounds for Windows 7 Pack for free.
Another beautiful Windows 7 theme for Xp is SevenVG Refresh, simple to install and with a very modern look.
As already seen for the other themes, remember that once downloaded and unzipped in the C: \ Windows \ Resources \ Themes folder you install it by clicking on the mssstyles file and you must put a patch to eliminate the protection of the uxtheme.dll file as described here.
Since the taskbar of Windows 7 is much thicker than that of Windows Vista, you can change the taskbar by unlocking it (right click on the bar and remove the flaf on "lock"), then right click on the space between the quick start icons (those near the start), go to view and set "big icons".
You can download entire collections of Windows 7 wallpapers and backgrounds from DeviantArt.
Also from Deviant Art there are new Windows 7 wallpapers on this page: from seascapes to desert views, desktop wallpapers of plants, rocks, flowers and butterflies, and much more.
The resolutions of the backgrounds contained in the Windows 7 6956 Wallpaperpack are 1920 × 1200 pixels.
As for the icons, there is an interesting collection of .ico files, called Windows 7 Icon folder Package, to be applied with programs such as iPhile.
To install the icons on Windows Vista, right click on the desktop, select Personalize and choose "Change desktop icons"; Select the items to be changed, click "Change icons" and select the location of the new ones.
For Windows XP, right click on the desktop, select Properties and choose "Customize Desktop" in the Desktop tab.
Some Windows 7 themes also contain screensavers, sounds, cursors and icons.
The positive part is that you can also use these elements on a pc with Vista / XP theme as well.
The audio files of the Windows default sounds (.Wav) are in the multimedia folder (C: \ Windows \ Media); with Vista, the sounds are automatically received, with Xp instead you have to go manually on the control panel.
The Windows 7 Screensavers are .src, the same ones used for Windows Xp and Vista and are usually found in C: \ Windows \ System32.
Cursors can be copied from the Windows 7 theme (.corr or .ani) to C: \ Windows \ Cursors on XP or Vista, and then apply the new series with mouse settings in the Control Panel.
With all these things, you can almost completely transform the system in Windows, in Windows 7, at least graphically.
In 2 other articles it was described how to change the appearance by applying a new theme or visual style to Windows XP or Vista and to change the appearance of Windows.
