Aquos (Vista Revamped V3)



*****TOP SHELL MOD NOT COMPATIBLE WITH SERVICE PACK 1!*****

DO NOT INSTALL THE PATCHED SHELL32.DLL IF YOU ARE RUNNING ON SERVICE PACK 1! THIS MOD WILL SEVERELY DAMAGE YOUR COMPUTER!


After long months of fixing and waiting, I finally present to you my third theme for Windows Vista. This project - just like V1 - is hugely inspired by the "Satin2" theme by Michael (known to the dA community as Michel8170). About 99% of this theme IS NOT originally made by me. I gathered resources from many other themes and mashed them all together into one theme (of course with permission approvals). Making this theme was not an easy task because I really wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to create a theme where a lot of people can enjoy the elegance of what a clear theme is meant to be, CLEAN. The versatility of Michael's theme allowed me to do this.

Changes Made From V1:

- Start Button
- Shell Style
- Windows Explorer (Stream Image)
- Address Bar
- Search Field
- Start Menu
- Navigation Image For Start Menu
- Alert Image For Start Taskbar
- Clicked Image For Start Taskbar
- Min-Max-Close Buttons
- OK-CANCEL Buttons
- Drop Down Menu
- Scroll Bar

Requirements for applying this theme:

- Windows Vista 32-Bit (Home Premium or Business or Ultimate)
- You can verify whether your computer is running on a 32-Bit or 64-Bit. See "Instructions" for details
- VistaGlazz (The shortcut to enabling themes for Vista. See "Instructions" for the procedure)
- WinRAR (Used to open ZIP or RAR Files, which the package is under)

Additional Notes (PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU ASK QUESTIONS!):

#1 - The majority of this theme is not original. The resources you see came from themes from other people. I decided to gather some resources and mash them together to make a new theme - of course with their approval). I had to pull a lot of strings in order to make this theme.

#2 - The back-and-forward buttons you see is not included in this theme. They came from Pavlos (ZEUSosX). If you want them, you will have to download it from one of his themes. He does not allow redistribution of his resources, period.

#3 - The wallpaper is also not included. If you want it, go support Michel8170 [link] by downloading it from his gallery.

#4 - Expect an update to this theme

#5 - If you are new to theme editing, when a person tells you to read the instructions..... THEY MEAN IT!

#6 - This theme is for PERSONAL use only. Redistribution of this theme is completely forbidden. All of the resources featured in this theme are not original. If you see something you like, you will have to talk to the deviants that I credited.

#7 - A lot of theme editors take a VERY long time to create something that they hope will appeal to the community. When you take something out of them, all they ask in return for their generosity is that you properly recognize them for their works. That's all. They're not asking for some big favor from you. They just want to be recognized because it took them blood, sweat, and tears making it.

#8 - I have included a file called "shell32.dll." This utility is used to patch the original shell32.dll found in the system32 folder. When patched (which includes a restart), the details pane will move to the top. WARNING: DOING THIS IS A VERY RISKY PROCEDURE! TWEAKING SHELL32.DLL IMPROPERLY WILL PREVENT YOU FROM LOGGING INTO WINDOWS! If you want to play it safe, I recommend you don't do it or find a different shell because the shell in my theme is meant to be for details pane moved to the top. I have included a separate document for this installation because the procedure may be tedious. When you read the instructions that I gave you, I recommend you get a second opinion from someone else. Check with them to see if the instructions that I gave you is accurate.

#9 - I did not include the .theme file for this theme. Part of this theme is a learning process. I want you to learn how to install themes without the use of a .theme file. I think my instructions should be able to cover you for that.

#10 - Please use WORDPAD to view the instructions.

#11 - The red image you see in the taskbar means you have an alert waiting for you. That red image is actually blinking.

Credits:

#1 - I would like to thank Michael (Michel8170) for allowing me to use his stream image and start taskbar from his "Satin2" theme. In addition, I would like to thank him for letting me use the hover image when navigating the start window. Third, I would like to thank him for the support and help he gave me when I needed help with editing themes. His generosity and good nature is very well appreciated to me.

#2 - I would like to thank Ryan (Vathanx) for allowing me to use his buttons, scrollbar, and drop down menu from his "NEXTLevel" theme. In my opinion, I thought that doing a crossover of Mac resources with Vista Resources was a bad idea. I felt that if a person wants to mash together Mac and Vista, they would have to create the illusion of a Mac OS in a Vista OS - for example Patrick's (patrickgs) and Pavlos (ZEUSosX) Mac To Vista Transformation Packs. I wanted to create something that still stayed true to Vista. His resources allowed me to do that and I would to thank him for that opportunity.

#3 - I would like to thank Jemaho for allowing me to use his toolbar background from his "Luxurious" theme so that I can incorporate it as the shell style for my theme. The main reason why Aquos was being stalled for so long is because I was really picky about how the shell should be. I have seen a lot of themes where editors would include some complex, fancy image - such as auroras and nature - that would not turn out well when they applied the theme. The main reason behind this is because when you stretch the window, the image of the shell style would be distorted and pixilated. So by sticking to a simple, at the same time fancy, shell style, you would be able to stretch the window and still not have the shell messed up.

#4 - I would like to thank KoKaine for allowing me to use the start window off of his "SexyBlueMonkey" theme. I wanted to include a start window where the right side of it was completely clear. His theme allowed me to do this because the details on it was similar to that of Michael's Satin2 theme. I would like to thank him for giving me the opportunity to incorporate it into my theme.

#5 - I would like to thank Rommel (Mheltin) for allowing me to use the clicked, hovered, and alert image for the start taskbar from his "Blue Aurora Shellstyle" theme. When I first saw it, I just had to have it because I thought that it would go well with the start flag that I have. In addition, I wanted to have an alert image where it would immediately catch your attention. I've seen a lot of alert images where it was just not bright enough to catch your attention. With this addition, you can easily see that you have an alert coming at you.

#6 - I would like to thank MireTank for allowing me to use his address bar and search field from his "Reanimero" theme. The fine use of the pseudoglow is what caught my attention. I thought that if you made the text of the address bar and search field white, black, or grey without the pseudoglow, it would be overlapped by a bright or dark background. So by adding the pseudoglow to the address bar and search field, it would strengthen the concept of clear themes. Finally, I think it's pretty much clear that this particular resource is becoming popular among the dA theme editing community. I see this resource in a lot of themes now.

#7 - I would like to thank Ralph (ralph1975) for allowing me to use the Min-Max-Close buttons. In the default Aero theme, I was turned off when I saw the frames that surrounded these buttons. So when I saw this particular resource off of his "Lucent" theme. I thought that it would be a great addition. I made a little twist to it though. When I removed the frames that Michael added, I thought it would provide something new that hadn't been done in the original themes of the previous Windows OS. In addition, I also removed the illumination that is emitted inside the frame and instead had the edges of the "invisible" frame illuminating when you hovered the mouse.

#8 - Last, but not least, I would like to thank Captain (CaptTechDude514) for allowing me to use his Vista Flag off of his "CapZune Vista Theme FINAL" theme. I thought about using a Vista Flag for a very long time and when I saw this, I just had to have it. I tried numerous times editing a Vista flag using GIMP, but I was unsuccessful. The image appeared flat white, distorted, and pixilated. So when I saw this, I felt that all I had to do was replace the clicked image with the original Vista flag because the positioning of the flags was already set. In addition, I did some minor editing with this resource. I would like to thank him for allowing me to use this opportunity for good purposes.

Resources used (Condensed):

- "Satin2" [link] and "Vista Breeze" [link] by Michel8170 (Approved Janruary 27, 2008)
- "Luxurious" [link] by Jemaho (Approved March 10, 2008)
- "NEXTLevel" [link] by Vathanx (Approved February 12, 2008)
- "SexyBlueMonkey" [link] by KoKaine (Approved January 27, 2008)
- "Lucent" [link] by ralph1975 (Approved January 27, 2008)
- "Blue Aurora Shellstyle" [link] by Mheltin (Approved February 2, 2008)
- "CapZune Vista Theme FINAL" [link] by CaptTechDude514 (Approved January 27, 2008)
- "Reanimaero VS for Vista" [link] by MireTank (Approved February 13, 2008)

If you leave me a comment and you are expecting a response, please leave me your first name. I find it funny when I have to refer to your user name while I am typing a comment.