ObjectDock - StyleXP & Related Questions

[Guest]

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

Hi Everyone - I'm interested in changing the look of my desktop, however I
have a few questions.

I first tried replacing as many icons as possible with Axialis, however I
was not able to change icons of associated files with that program. For
example....if I changed an icon for my WMP desktop icon, all AVI/MPG files
associated with WMP still had the same old WMP icon, so I was forced to
change those individually via: FOLDER OPTIONS>FILE TYPES>ADVANCED which
became very time consuming. However I since had to do a system restore and
lost everything.

Now I'm considering doing that again, however I want more of a change than
just the icons to my computer. I came across a sweet looking program by
StarDock called ObjectDock ... and I really like the idea of that look.
However, I was also interested in ObjectBar in terms of the menu changing
possibilities with that program.

Since looking around, I've also come across StyleXP, SkinStudio & Window
Blinds.


My questions are as follows:

1) - Is ObjectDock & ObjectBar possible to be used together at the same
time?

2) - Are any of these programs I've mentioned unstable from your experiences
or from what you've heard?

3) - Which of the above programs are memory hogs? If changing the look of
my desktop with one of these programs will cost me a lot of memory, then I
would much rather not use them.

4) - When manually changing my program folder icons & associated file types
before, I couldn't find a way to change the system tray icons for various
programs. Is this even possible manually? What about with one of the
programs listed above?

5) - If none of these programs are recommended, what's the best way of
altering styles/icons manually without having to lose memory doing it. Is
there a program similar to Axialis that will change my program's associated
icons to the icon I chose?

6) - Did I miss listing any good program that I should consider? I really
like the look objectdock seems to give.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Guest]

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

> 1) - Is ObjectDock & ObjectBar possible to be used together at the same
> time?

Yes you can use them both at the same time. ObjectDock simulates the
objectdock found in OSX from Apple and ObjectBar makes it possible to
customize the start bar and desktop to make it look like whatever you want.

> 2) - Are any of these programs I've mentioned unstable from your experiences
> or from what you've heard?

I've used ObjectDock but not the other program. Object dock is extremely
stable, all it really does is provide a place to store icons.

> 3) - Which of the above programs are memory hogs? If changing the look of
> my desktop with one of these programs will cost me a lot of memory, then I
> would much rather not use them.

I'm sure that ObjectBar is going to use more memory than ObjectDock, it's
skinning the OS as well as customizing the look of it, if you are running
only 128 or 256 you might think about not running this program but anything
over 512 you should be just fine.

> 4) - When manually changing my program folder icons & associated file types
> before, I couldn't find a way to change the system tray icons for various
> programs. Is this even possible manually? What about with one of the
> programs listed above?

I'm sure there's a way, programs like Winamp support this built into the
program it's not external but I'm sure there is a way to customize it.

> 5) - If none of these programs are recommended, what's the best way of
> altering styles/icons manually without having to lose memory doing it. Is
> there a program similar to Axialis that will change my program's associated
> icons to the icon I chose?

Any of the ObjectDesktop programs found in that suite are excellent they do
require more memory than the minimum that XP requires for install.

> 6) - Did I miss listing any good program that I should consider? I really
> like the look objectdock seems to give.

Object* is the way to go I think personally if you are looking to change the
look and feel of windows.

 

[Guest]

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

"Millzy" <Millzy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>> 4) - When manually changing my program folder icons & associated file
>> types
>> before, I couldn't find a way to change the system tray icons for various
>> programs. Is this even possible manually? What about with one of the
>> programs listed above?
>
> I'm sure there's a way, programs like Winamp support this built into the
> program it's not external but I'm sure there is a way to customize it.

It would be great if someone could give me more info on this question.

However thank you very much for all the answers you've given me! I think I
will go the route you suggested. I have 512megs of ram...so hopefully this
will be fine on a 2.2ghz Celeron

Cheers!

 

[Guest]

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

"Millzy" <Millzy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
> I've used ObjectDock but not the other program. Object dock is extremely
> stable, all it really does is provide a place to store icons.


Hey Millzy, or someone familiar with objectdock

I just installed it and it's GREAT! I just have a few questions.
In terms of adding icons/themes & docklets. Do they only have to be
unzipped into the program's theme/icon/docklet folder in any format?

And by this I mean, if I unzip 4 sets of themes or docklets, and they are
grouped into the docklet folder in their own folders, however I unzip 2
other themes or docklets, but they weren't in folder format, so they end up
being unzipped into the docklet folder, however not in sub folders, just
right into the docklet folder. Is the program smart enough to see any
themes/docklets/icons that are unzipped into the folder specified,
regardless of what folder tree format?

Thanks!