[Threi]

Taking a Screenshot:

• Quickest way is to press the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard (sometimes labeled "PRNTSCRN"). This copies your entire desktop to your clipboard. Now, open up MSPaint in program files or any other image editing software you have on your system. Right click > Paste. Or CRTL+V. On a blank canvas . And there's your desktop. If it's too big resize it to a smaller size.
  
  Another way is to use the snipping tool (Windows Vista/7 only). In the start menu search bar, type in "snipping tool". Open it, and capture the entire screen area, from one corner to the other.

Resizing your desktop (optional):

• If you are posting multiple shots, or your desktop resolution is very large, please try thumbnailing your image before you post it (or just post the screen in [QUOTE] tags so that the forum software auto-resizes it) so that users can browse through the thread. How to do that, use one of the free image editing software listed below.

Free Image Editing Software:

• Not everyone wants to pay for photoshop, here are some free alternatives:
  
  Zoner Free *My personal pick*
  XNView
  Paint.NET
  GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Image Hosting Services:

• Here a couple image hosting services so that you can upload your image:
  
  Minus *My personal pick*
  Imgur
  Abload

Posting your pic in the thread.

• Please post sources If you can. Many users look to this thread to find cool wallpapers, it would be appreciated if you can post it. If not, try using tineye to see if you can find it (detailed below)

Someone didn't post their source

• Google Reverse Image Search. Something Google introduced recently, similar to tineye. How to use it? Well you see that little camera icon in the search bar? Click it.
  
  Chrome Plugin
  Firefox Plugin
  Opera Extension (works for both Tineye and Google Image Search)
  
  
• TINEYE - A VERY useful tool.. It is designed to reverse-search for images, so that you can find the original from partially obscured images. Works rather well, but of course isn't 100% accurate.
  
  Tineye Firefox Plugin
  Tineye Chrome Plugin
  Opera Extension (works for both Tineye and Google Image Search)

Best place to start, seeing as it's the most important part of your desktop, the Wallpaper. Something you stare at (when you don't have 15+ windows open working), you want it to be appealing. Windows 7 has some very, very nice ones by default (they are all hidden away in C:\Windows\Web), but if you want extra ones here are a couple sites to get you started (GAF members can add sites as well, just as long as they have good high-res images, and are "reasonably" SFW).

• WallpapersWide
  Interfacelift
  Deviantart Wallpapers
  Fiftyfootshadows - Site of one Photographer
  Wallbase.cc

The original. Functional, but maybe you want to spice it up a bit. If so, keep reading :)

Enabling 3rd-Party themes
Adding this part in because a lot of nifty apps have come out, so that you don't have to mess with the system like you did in previous versions of windows.

• Step 1 (follow >THIS< post or read below):
  To make windows reconize 3rd party themes, simply download a small app called UXSTYLE. It installs a small service that allows Windows to recognize 3rd party themes, much safer than what was required before.
  
  UXSTYLE (Click to download)
  
  *note* If you are having troubles installing it try disabling UAC temporarily*

**Does your system go to windows classic whenever you try to change themes? READ BELOW**
It's a minor bug in UXStyle, the service doesn't want to stay "enabled" for some reason, such that whenever you try to change to a custom theme you are met with the windows classic theme (essentially meaning that windows didn't recognize the theme properly). Instead of having to restart you can just restart the UxStyle "custom theme" service. Happens to me a lot too, here is the easiest solution I have found.

If you are met with a Windows 95 theme after installing UXStyle and trying to change themes don't worry too much, your system isn't broken or anything. Just go into task manager, press "show processes from all users", go to the "services" tab, scroll down and look for "unsigned themes", right click > stop service, right click again > start service. Voila. Theme should switch properly (switch to windows basic, and then your custom theme).

It's not perfect, but considering that this method has the least chance of screwing up your system (it doesn't mess with system files) It is the recommended method and the reason i put it in the OP. If you change themes alot and aren't afraid to do a little file replacing, then using the old UXTheme.dll patching method may be the better option to look at.

• Step 2:
  Well now you have UxStyle installed, time to get some themes! The best Windows Visual styles are at Deviantart.
  
  Click here to browse through their Windows 7 Visual styles (or here for vista, or here for XP) section and go wild.

• Step 3:
  Now you have your theme file downloaded, what now?
  
  You take your theme folder and the xxx.theme file and put it in C:\Windows\Resources\Themes. If you did it correctly, it should show up under "Installed Themes" when you right click your desktop > personalize. (Desktop > Properties > appearance in WinXP)

• Step 4:
  My start orb and icons still don't look slick though!
  
  A new annoyance in windows 7 is the fact that themes can no longer change the start orb. XP and Vista have the themes handle the orb, but in 7 the orb glyph is in explorer.exe. No worries though, there is a nifty little app to change it to whatever you want (Make a backup of explorer.exe first! If something goes wrong you can easily restore the system if you have a backup file!)
  Click to download the start orb Changer
  
  If by some rare freak accident it doesn't work and you can't recover explorer.exe, hit ctrl+shift+esc. When the task manager pops up, click File tab > New Task > Type cmd > Click Run. In the command prompt which opens, type sfc /scannow and hit enter. Restart when asked to.
  
  
  ...and my icons?
  Easiest thing to do. Just get an icon pack from anywhere (once again I suggest either deviantart [listed under customization > icons > dock icons] or customize.org), extract it to somewhere, make sure the icons are in .ico format (if not no worries, you can use a little converter [CLICK HERE]), and make shortcuts to whatever you want pinned on your desktop. Go into shortcut properties and change the icon, pin it to the taskbar, then delete the shortcut off your desktop.
  
  
  ...i want my superbar icons centered, dock style!
  Windows 7 doesn't have that option, but can do a small trick to make it appear centered.
  
  1. right click the taskbar > unlock
  2. make a new empty folder somewhere where you won't care about it
  3. right click the taskbar again > toolbars > new toolbar
  4. make it point to the empty folder
  5. right click that toolbar and untick both "show text" and "show title"
  6. rearrange it so that it's to the left of the icons
  7. drag back the icons so that they are in the center
  8. lock the taskbar
  
  any new open windows go to the left, so it's technically not "centered" unless you only use the apps you have pinned.

Windows 7 Visual Styles (CLICK PREVIEWS TO DOWNLOAD!)

• There are many, MANY themes available, these are just a couple of my personal favorites.
  
  *Note* Most of these themes have extra customization on them, requiring you to change system files, but I'm not a fan of that, nor do i recommend it. So the previews show how it looks with just the bare skin active.

Icon Packs (CLICK PREVIEWS TO DOWNLOAD!)

• As with visual styles, there are many, MANY icons available, these are just a couple of my personal favorites. I advise you to browse deviantart's icon sections (here and here) to find one that suits you.

*note* Here is the explorer icon in that style, and the Windows Media Player icon can be found here (made by yours truly :D)

• RAIMETER (Click here to download)
  
  The most-used customization tool you will see in this thread. Has come a long way from the older versions, the skins are much more refined.

• As mentioned, there are many skins avaliable, however the more popular ones tend to be easier to set up. The three "official" skin suites (as shown here) are Gnometer, Enigma, and ABP. Here are some of my favorites:

*NEW* Roots & Seeds by ~reb70

Weatherwall by White-Baron

.Png Suit by torque89

Eker_lina by hpluslabels

Elegance 2 by lilshizzy

Encoded by lilshizzy

WordClock2 by brbk

Simplicity by easy-art

WRMZ by Gordanj

Minimal by elite343

Defiant by Varelse42

Omnimo UI by fediaFedia

ABP by toastbrotpascal

Gnometer by poiru

Rainify by poiru

Enigma by kaelri

Obsidian by macro-love

Sharp by macro-love

Hero by minhtrimatrix

MacBar 3.0 by vit-ok

...and many, many more....



Customization without Rainmeter

• You're still covered. Although not as popular as rainmeter, skins for other programs (including the gadgets that come with windows) are avaliable.

XWidgets and XLaunchpad

• The new kids on the block for desktop widgets and customization. Very nice and a worthy alternative to Rainmeter. Give it a couple months and I'm sure it will catch up in skin selection as well. Doesn't have a section on deviantart yet but you can find it there by searching for "Xwidget". It also has it's own in-app gallery.
  
  XLaunchpad is a nifty little app launcher, which clears your desktop and gives you an IOS-style app launcher when you touch the mouse to the upper left corner of the screen. Works surprisingly well.
  
  Download both here.

Here's a port of the 10 Foot HUD/Weather for plain ol' Windows 7 Gadgets: click and click (US only for weather)

And an all-in-one pack of matching dark glass desktop gadgets: Chameleon glass by gersma

Also, here's some cool little windows gadgets, no external apps required. Basically an app launcher, you choose your launcher colour, the icon it should use, the app/folder location and you're good to go.

iLauncher 7 by franchu

Shortcut7 by franchu


Skinnable Media players
- Winamp (skins can be found on deviantart, customize.org, or winamp's main site): CLICK
- Foobar2000 (skins can be found on deviantar or customize.org): CLICK
- Winyl (New player, extremely lightweight, a bit buggy, only 4 [nice] skins.) CLICK

Want a nifty little recycle bin in your system tray?

Get Minibin

• Here's also a great source of Desktop apps and other software applications:
  www.Lifehacker.com

Tired of looking at the same desktop all day or having to change it manually?

Then you need Desktop Juggler!

It can change your wallpaper to any picture you wish at intervals of 1 minute to 500 hours, and it has detailed options like centering or stretching the picture if it doesn't fit.

You can also use it to download thousands of wallpapers from WallpaperStock or InterfaceLIFT.

• Don't worry there's stuff for you too!

100% thanks to GAF's own Jasoco for bringing it up :

• GeekTool: http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/geektool/ (Click here for a video tutorial)
• There is a (Buggy) version for OSX Lion avaliable here: http://projects.tynsoe.org/phpBB3/vi....php?f=4&t=229
• BowTie: http://bowtieapp.com/

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All Smartphone Desktops are welcome as well!

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• Once again Please POST SOURCES. If you can't post your source for some reason. Say it in your post and GAF detective work will find source if enough requests are made.

• It would also be great if you could post sources for your icon sets. If this isn't possible. Don't worry too much about it. Anything you bring up will be added to the OP.

So please! Show us what your desktop looks like!

[WalkMan]

wallpaper

[chickdigger802]

hmmm... might give this a poke around. Haven't really played around with how my desktop looked since XP though.

How is the resource usage for UxStyle?

[Canis lupus]

Great thread, are there htpc friendly skins? Like bigger icons, everything is so little and hard to click in 1080p on a 50" screen.

[BGBW]

Thinking of making a new theme. Yes, I'm still using my Windows themed OS X.

[Antiwhippy]

Still want to tackle making my own rainmeter skin, but I'm just keeping it nice and simple for now.



Wallpaper.

[Gav]

Wallpaper is a photo i took when we were in Vegas the other week. If anyone want the source, let me know.

Click to enlarge!

[BGBW]

Are you sure you have enough icons in that dock? Have you considered using Spotlight or Alfred?

[rouken]

still rocking my hong kong rainmeter theme. i just can't get the urge to change it. it's so awesome. :)

[Gav]

Are you sure you have enough icons in that dock? Have you considered using Spotlight or Alfred?

Eh, it works well enough for what i use. I know where things are for super quick access.
24" iMac too, so they really dont take up much space physically.

[Threi]

hmmm... might give this a poke around. Haven't really played around with how my desktop looked since XP though. How is the resource usage for UxStyle?

Essentially nothing.

Great thread, are there htpc friendly skins? Like bigger icons, everything is so little and hard to click in 1080p on a 50" screen.

Well most icon sets have sizes up to 128x128 pixels, it's just up to you to choose them.

[strafer]

Mine as of last week.

[mblitek]

still rocking my hong kong rainmeter theme. i just can't get the urge to change it. it's so awesome. :)

Whoah, I have to go but I will come back later and ask where to get that!

Definitely subscribed!

[Biscuits]

Hey guys! This is mine for now. Love Nude + Token.

[lunch]

My wallpapers rotate every five minutes, but other than that, my Mac desktop is pretty boring. The desktop on my Windows computer is literally just the default Windows 7 theme, so there's nothing to post.

[megarockexe]

Mine as of last week.

I could never get used to faces on the desktop. It's even more pronounced with no icons. Where do people keep their things if it's not within quick access?

I'll post mine as soon as I clean it up.

[HiResDes]

Source equals Mary Winstead Grindhouse

[HiResDes]

I could never get used to faces on the desktop. It's even more pronounced with no icons. Where do people keep their things if it's not within quick access? I'll post mine as soon as I clean it up.

Organize stuff, for example the apps I most use are on the desktop, everything else I need is easily accessed by pressing the icon with my username...There I have such folders as a utility folder, download folder, picture folder,music folder, etc.

[lunch]

I could never get used to faces on the desktop. It's even more pronounced with no icons. Where do people keep their things if it's not within quick access? I'll post mine as soon as I clean it up.

It depends on what you're using your computer for. My Windows computer has Steam, Chrome, and foobar set to the taskbar, and and I have my desktop icons hidden because I think they look ugly, and Rainmeter's not my thing. Of course, Chrome, Steam, and foobar are the only applications I really use, so I never had the need for anything else. If I needed to launch another application or open My Documents, I could live with the extra click.

[SeriousApes]

nvm

[SeriousApes]

How do I remove the Recycle Bin icon?

[CRS]

Right click desktop -> View -> Show desktop icons

[revolverjgw]

I'll be rocking the Windows 98 look until the day I die

[abunai]

Nothing fancy, waiting for my replacement 2nd monitor to arrive.

wallpaper 1
wallpaper 2
CD art display (i modified it a little in the skin editor, changed font etc)
XWidget
Visual style

[SteeloDMZ]

[The Chef]

Nothing fancy, waiting for my replacement 2nd monitor to arrive.

src?

[Sentry]

Rocking simplicity lately. (or i'm trying, anyway)

[eravulgaris]

People still don't source their stuff and it annoys me to no end.

[Sylver]

Sauce

[lunch]

Rocking simplicity lately. (or i'm trying, anyway)

What are all the icons in the menu bar for? I can't name a single program.

[BGBW]

What are all the icons in the menu bar for? I can't name a single program.

Left to right:
1.Better Touch Tools (which I'm sure can be hidden)
2. Cloud
6. Caffeine
8. Volume Control (also can be hidden)
10. Battery life
11. Time machine
15. Wifi
16. Date and Time
18. Spotlight

[SuperÑ]

[lunch]

Left to right: 1.Better Touch Tools (which I'm sure can be hidden) 2. Cloud 6. Caffeine 8. Volume Control (also can be hidden) 10. Battery life 11. Time machine 15. Wifi 16. Date and Time 18. Spotlight

I knew what the system icons were! And I don't think #6 is Caffeine. My Caffeine icon is a coffee cup, where as Sentry's looks like a half-full glass.

[Übermatik]

That's a sweet wallpaper... source?

[BGBW]

I knew what the system icons were! And I don't think #6 is Caffeine. My Caffeine icon is a coffee cup, where as Sentry's looks like a half-full glass.

Custom icon:
http://iandrew.deviantart.com/art/Me...d-SL-120653580

[lunch]

Custom icon: http://iandrew.deviantart.com/art/Me...d-SL-120653580

You're a wizard. Thanks.

[Thud]

Menger sponge lvl 9000

[Übermatik]

Menger sponge lvl 9000

Mad props for knowing this was a Menger Sponge fractal

[Bomber Bob]

Love it

[EvilMario]

Nothing too fancy. Source.

[Sentry]

What are all the icons in the menu bar for? I can't name a single program.

BTT, CloudApp, Moom, VideoStream, Pastebot, Caffeine, iMessages, system Volume, iStat Menus CPU, system Battery, iStat Menus Battery, Time Machine, system Modem, iStat Menus Network Data, system VPN, system Wifi, system date/time, iStat Menus Date, and Spotlight.

[lunch]

BTT, CloudApp, Moom, VideoStream, Pastebot, Caffeine, iMessages, system Volume, iStat Menus CPU, system Battery, iStat Menus Battery, Time Machine, system Modem, iStat Menus Network Data, system VPN, system Wifi, system date/time, iStat Menus Date, and Spotlight.

Thanks. I'm always on the lookout for new Mac applications.

[ThaneKrios]

Source

[Threi]

source

source
Jaku Clock for UCCW

[The Chef]

Nothing fancy, waiting for my replacement 2nd monitor to arrive. wallpaper 1 wallpaper 2 CD art display (i modified it a little in the skin editor, changed font etc) XWidget Visual style

Awesome, thanks for this one.

[MrBig]

Anyone know how to decrease the window chrome size in W8 RP?

[EGM92]

Source

[megarockexe]

Meh. Kinda messy compared to the ones posted here but it looks better than before and it works for me.

[upandaway]

My wallpaper changes every restart randomly but here are the 3 newest ones I've added to the pile (dock is hidden to the left if anyone cares)

source

source

source

[SarcasticD]

Plan on changing it around a bit later