SkinStudio 5.01

SkinStudio 5.01 is essential for anyone who want to design your own Windows GUI with SkinStudio. SkinStudio lets you create your own Start bar, Start button, title bar buttons, push buttons, scrollbars, toolbar icons, progress bars, and much more. Your new interface can then be applied by popular programs such as WindowBlinds to change the look and feel of the entire Windows GUI.

SkinStudio 4.5 enables you import MSStyles into WindowBlinds seamlessly. It also allows users to create visual styles with semi-transparent Start menu elements (per pixel alpha blending).

• Supports Universal Skin Format (USF)

• Create a skin from a pre-made image

• Create WindowBlinds Skins

• Import .msstyles into USF

SkinStudio is free. The free version supports Universal Skin Format (USF), creating a skin from a pre-made image, creating a WindowBlinds skin and importing .msstyles into USF.

Version 5.01 is a maintenance release over 5.0 which was released last November. It includes performance enhancements, further support for other languages, and better skin previewing.

An enhanced version is also available for $19.95, which adds additional features such as using pre-made GUI widgets, importing parts from other skins and advanced skin colorizing. The Pro version  allows you to create Media Player Skins. The Pro version is part of Object Desktop, Stardock’s premiere suite of desktop enhancement programs that let you customize Windows to look, feel and function how you want it to. Object Desktop is only $49.95 and includes IconDeveloper, WindowBlinds, DesktopX, IconPackager, ObjectBar, WindowFX, SkinStudio and much more! For more information visit: http://www.stardock.com/products/icondeveloper/.

Major Features:

1. Support for glass menu bars on Windows Vista.
2. Support for a different mouseover image on the right hand side of the Start Menu.
3. Control over the background color of the Start Menu "Programs" list.
4. Added additional glass explorer sections. These will show up in future
5. Double clicking the top left of a per pixel window will now close it on Windows Vista.
6. Control over the search box text colour & font.
7. Better control over the Start Menu fonts & colors.
8. New section to allow a custom mouseover image used on the "Programs" link on Vista versus the legacy solid color.
9. Start button overlay now supports animation.
10. Added support for animated please wait
11. Added layer support
12. Added NWA compression for animation [ED: Yes that stands for Neil WindowBlinds Animation)
13. Per pixel borders support layers & glyphs
14. Skin re-coloring
15. Task Oriented Design
16. Clean New Interface
17. Sidebar support
18. Vista Start Menu Buttons
19. Edit Vista Control Panel and navigation parts
20. Support for Internet Explorer 7
21. Taskdialog controls
22. Vista Explorer: Command Bar, Information Pane, List View, Please Wait screen, etc.
23. Explorer background
24. Theme Part Details tab that visually displays components of the skin for easy access
25. Improved support for title bar buttons. Easily change the per-pixel settings
26. Improved support for adding glow effects
27. Improved support for making sub-styles
28. Vista Explorer: Command Bar, Information Pane, List View, Please Wait screen, etc.
29. Explorer background
30. Theme Part Details tab that visually displays components of the skin for easy access
31. Improved support for title bar buttons. Easily change the per-pixel settings
32. Improved support for adding glow effects
    

Enhancements: Version 5.01

Requirements:

• Windows XP (32 bit)/Vista
• Minimum screen resolution: 1024 width and 768 height
• 1GHz or faster processor recommended
• 120MB free drive space
• 512MB RAM