Luna Element 5

By em3
in Tips, Tweaks & Customization

 Share

Recommended Posts

Explorer

PHARA0H

Posted
Posted

I did get a uxtheme patch to work for xp sp3.... I found it on here somewhere. But you can just as easily find it by googling xp sp3 uxtheme patch.

I've also figured out how to replace allll the system icons as well as regular icons for the entire system.

There's a modified shell32.dll file with nothing but vista icons available. Google: vista shell32.dll for xp

Download and save a program called Replacer. Use Replacer to switch the file. Reboot. it works. Then use IconPackager to tweak other miscellaneous icons that you don't want. After replacing this dll file, even the icons in the toolbars will change, the progress animations as well.

There's a cool program called Styler. It's free. I don't really like any of the toolbars that come with it or are available as I have found most them to be for Vista, but it gives you a look as if it's vista. Whatever. I don't like it. So I just use the normal toolbar, but what it can do for you is hide the top menu bar in Explorer (where it says File Edit View...). That makes it look nicer.

Next thing is Find a theme called Windows Aero. It looks almost identical to Vista. Few minor differences in the Start panel but who cares. Then download and run Ultimate Start Button and configure it to run with windows start. This gives you the look of the start button even over the edge of the taskbar.

I do like Luna Element Black... I don't know what all the deal is with this theme. But the black theme is much nicer.

Next, install true transparency. It works awesome. and pretty much, you have vista.

If anyone wants help or has questions about any of this feel free to ask. I've spent the last 3 weeks trying many many programs and have found no better way than to do most of it manually to get the best look.

Don't trust any transformation packs that do it for you. It's best to do it all manually.

When I finish doing all this for my system, perhaps I will take a screen shot or two of multiple elements to show it off.

No one I know will appreciate much so maybe some people here will. hehe :)

Explorer

PHARA0H

Posted
Posted

http://blajano.deviantart.com/art/Blaero-S...rb-2-0-37062859

Make sure you have extractnow to open the file (http://www.extractnow.com)

Save the folder in your c:\programs directory. Double click the Ultimate start button and position it where you want it. Right click on it and click preferences, then click Start with Windows.

It will close when you hit apply. Restart it and you're good.

Use PS Tray Factory to hide the original start button on your theme.

http://www.pssoftlab.com/

Rising Star

SakuraKira

Posted
Posted (edited)
However, I think that there are legal issues which prevent themers from doing this.

Not really. Many Visual Styles are built from Microsoft's Luna as a base. This is what Stylebuilder opens up as a default if I recall (it's been a couple of yrs since I've used Stylebuilder). Theme authors will change the images, the alignments in text files, and base colors, but many of them don't bother to change the original Luna theme information. It's unimportant really.

For example, one of the Clearlooks themes I have (for the Linux fans out there), the "Version Info" is as follows (blank fields have been left out):

 CompanyName - Microsoft
	  FileDescription - luna Theme for Windows
	  FileVersion - 1, 0, 0, 1
	  InternalName - luna.mst
	  LegalCopyright - Copyright ? 2000
	  OriginalFilename - luna.mst
	  ProductName - luna Theme for Windows
	  ProductVersion - 1, 0, 0, 1
	  Translation - 1033,1200

However, if I open up Kupo XP 2.0 Dark by Lassekongo, all of those fields are blank. So, a theme author can remove those things, it just isn't really necessary for theme appereance, functionality, or distribution, as no one other than the author or a theme modder will see them.

The fact remains that him saying he found it on his Windows OS CD is an outrightlie>, unless he got a pirated copy of Windows.

...

Btw Cap, thanks for uploading those start buttons. I had seen some of those rectangular ones in screenshot threads before, they're gorgeous.

[edit after reading further]

I do like Luna Element Black... I don't know what all the deal is with this theme. But the black theme is much nicer.

The Luna Element themes have been around for a long time now. Because of their quality and completeness, they are very popular. As a consequence of popularity, Luna Element has become the target of theme "rippers," people who take the theme, maybe change it slightly, and re-release it claiming it as their own. Or more commonly, releasing modifications of the original work, specificallydisregarding> the author's wishes for mods not to be released. Sure, mod all you want, just don't release the modded theme to the public.

I have been using visual styles for several years, and the Luna Element versions by EM, LE5 Black by Cap, and avery few> select other themers out there release complete, quality themes (here I refer to the technical aspects of themes, not style which is subjective). With the great majority of themes in existence, shortcuts are taken, elements are left unskinned, or aren't skinned properly... even with the originals by Microsoft (which is sad). Getting to that level of quality takes a lot of time and effort, and beta testing.

For some reason though, no one seems to understand all of this, and occasionally this thread is reignited by the debate of why mods are not allowed. That is the best way I can explain the "deal" with Luna Element.;))

I really like LE Black too btw, I was quite turned off by the orange at first, but I now enjoy the combination. And to think that years ago I used to abhore "dark" themes LOL.

Btw, is EM working on something new for Vista, or another version of LE on XP, or what? o_o I think it was mentioned a long time ago, but who knows where things stand now (which is why I ask again).

Edited by SakuraKira
Explorer

PHARA0H

Posted
Posted

Yes I do love the LE Black theme.

However on any of those themes, I don't understand why the Search Box Line is so thick. That I do NOT like.

Like when you open Google.com and where you type something to search for, the box, that line is so THICK.

I wish that was thinner.

I tried to use Stylebuilder and SkinStudio Pro which I own to MODify it (haha) but I could not). It uses a bitmap file for the image. I cropped it with Adobe PS 6.0 after zooming WAY in on it, but the line is as thick as 1 pixel!!! So it's weird that it appears so thick.

I'm so particular about details and this one little detail has caused me to not use this theme!!! GRR

Grand Master

Jamushroom Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

@SakuraKira: EM3 is still working on a new LE version. I'm also working on a new theme which has nothing to do with LE.

@pharaohpower: The reason why it's thicker is because it's being resized the wrong way. It's not really a bug which you can blame on the theme IMO. There is a solution though.. Just change it to a borderfill instead of an image.

Grand Master

Jamushroom Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

It didn't change into a solid line? You do know that I mean the setting for "BgType" right? You need to change that from "ImageFile" to "BorderFill". If it doesn't work then you're doing something wrong.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Neowinian

damalbert

Posted
Posted

can someone help me with this skin please correct me on the following steps that i've done

1. download the skin on page 1

2. extract file and put into themes folder

3. patch is using multi-patcher 4.0

4. when asked i put my xp disc in and restarted my computer.

when i was done doing this i couldn't get it to work. I've used this before and now it doesn't work after reformatting my computer.

Can someone please help me with this.

Grand Master

tsupersonic

Posted
Posted

^ If windows ask you to put the Windows disc in, hit cancel (this is windows file protection). Just use the multi patcher first, then reboot your computer (yes, you have to reboot), then right click on desktop, properites, go to appearance tab, and if everything is named right, this skin should be on the drop down

Neowinian

damalbert

Posted
Posted
^ If windows ask you to put the Windows disc in, hit cancel (this is windows file protection). Just use the multi patcher first, then reboot your computer (yes, you have to reboot), then right click on desktop, properites, go to appearance tab, and if everything is named right, this skin should be on the drop down

when i clicked cancel on the window disc option and restarted it the there was malfunctioning on some of the things so i had to unpatch it.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.