What's the point of XP's Visual Styles engine?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

Why did Microsoft create a Visual Styles engine for Windows XP and
then lock it down so nobody can use it without hacking uxtheme.dll?
What's the point?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

I think he's asking why there aren't more themes so the dll doesn't have to
be changed or using a 3rd party app.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

> I think he's asking why there aren't more themes so the dll doesn't have to
> be changed or using a 3rd party app.

Exactly.

I know about StyleXP and the uxtheme patch, but it seems ridiculous to
me that Microsoft would create a skinning engine for XP and then only
offer one skin in three colors, with no officially sanctioned way to
create or customize skins. You have to hack the OS or buy third-party
software in order to exploit the feature.

I just noticed the "More themes online..." selection in display
properties, which, despite its name, does not take you to where you
can find more themes online. Instead, it takes you to an ad page for
the XP Plus Pack. I suppose the real reason themes are locked down is
that Microsoft thinks the $hundreds you paid for XP wasn't enough.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

Yeap it is odd for sure.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (More info?)

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 03:02:37 GMT, Black Baptist <pray@the.church.com>
wrote:

>I think he's asking why there aren't more themes so the dll doesn't have to
>be changed or using a 3rd party app.

Don't you know already that M$ is notorious for Beta-Testing
"features" on their customers?

The Theme Engine is "capable" of doing lots of great things, but
nobody said they were going to go and spend the time making it
available to the end-user.



---Atreju---