Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | [WIN8] Registry help to change this ugly blue color I LIKE Windows 8 in many ways (which surprises me) but I am stunned to learn Microsoft's cruelty that to change colors, and other things like caption buttons size that controls how small you can make the systray and taskbar icons in Windows 8, can ONLY be done in the Registry!
I found this article »www.askvg.com/how-to-access-adva···ndows-8/.
But I don't have Windows 7 to look at to help me make these extremely confusing changes in the Registry! I do have Vista Ultimate on a virtual machine running on ancient Microsoft Virtual PC but it is plain Vista no service pack. So, if I start it up on my XP Pro machine and take a backup of the registry keys will that work? Only thing is I don't know if Windows 8 will see that computer so I can share the file...Windows 8 sees itself twice in Networking but cannot see my Host XP physical machine yet does see a virtual machine on the Host machine. So, I don't know if I start the Vista virtual machine if it will see it for sharing files. If I copy the registry keys from Vista it those will reflect the colors for my current Vista theme which would are not hideous blue (no blue anywhere) but might not be the best colors.
I desperately need to get rid of the hideous blue color that Windows 8 uses for any highlighting. (See in the screen shot the words I highlighted are in a hideous blue? You should see that hideous blue when highlighting on yellow background when typing an Instant Message here...really awful. I just don't understand why Microsoft would be this cruel regarding making some color changes, font changes so I can easily read things...(Segue is very difficult to read - all fonts except Verdana are difficult to read), and caption buttons sizing on Windows 8 Desktop. It is just unbelievable to me. I believe Microsoft is in violation of ADA by making it this difficult to make changes to Windows 8 appearance so that it is easier to see and use Windows 8. This blue font Microsoft is trying to force on everyone is extremely harsh on my eyes ....they are watering and clouding up because of this color that is so hard to look at. I am encountering this harsh blue font all over in Windows 8. I really need to know which items to change in the Registry to make it a nice, pleasing to the eyes, green or most any color (except very pale colors) but this harsh on the eyes garish blue. I also need to be able to change the color of the vertical scroll bar on the right. It is way too pale..white with pale gray...that is too hard to see.
I sure wish that people had not told me here, and in other forums, that it was easy to make appearance changes in Windows 8. It is not hard to make SOME changes but MANY extremely importance appearance settings can, in Windows 8, be changed ONLY in the registry. If people had told me this, I would not have gotten Windows 8.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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art22ggPremium
join:2005-02-16
Courtenay, BC
kudos:5 | Have you got the Win help files installed for Win 8?....If not,get them here...»www.microsoft.com/en-us/download···id=35449 |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | Help comes up when you call it...it is internet based and Microsoft forces cookies every time...anyway, what I need is NOT in Help. Microsoft has decided to force certain colors and other Windows display settings on users for the first time ever..in Win 8. The only recourse one has to changing these settings is in the Registry and I am asking for help in doing that. Microsoft wants to prevent me from having display settings that I like.
Did you read the article I linked to? I don't think you did because you would know if you had that the Registry is the ONLY place now to make many display changes. I think Microsoft has shot themselves in the foot over this dramatic change in Win 8. Eventually, someone will probably make some software to allow users to do what we have done from Win 95 on using Advanced display/Items list to make changes in the display. But until someone has mercy on us and does this the ONLY way to make these changes is in the Registry because Microsoft has removed Item list in Win 8 and has put pieces of it strewn about in various areas but has TOTALLY LEFT OUT many of the adjustable settings in Item list from Win 8.
Folks kept telling me Win 8 has Item list. It does NOT and had beta users/and those with new Win 8 machines told me the truth I would never have gotten Win 8 even though there are some very nice things about it. But Microsoft deciding to refuse me the right to make needed changes in Display, except in the Registry, makes me strongly wish that Microsoft goes bankrupt.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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 plencnerbPremium
join:2000-09-25
Elgin, IL
kudos:2 | reply to Mele20
Mele20  ,
I took a look at the article that you posted. I'm not sure if I'm reading it different then you, or maybe I don't totally understand it.
While I have used Windows 8, I am far from someone who has used a lot on a day to day basis. I've really just played around in it.
It appears that what you are upset about (and what the article appears to provide a solution for) is the removal of a function of Windows 8 (that was in Windows 7 and earlier versions), which is the ability to modify specific items such as background color, border padding, caption buttons size, icon size, icon spacing, and scrollbar size.
The way I read the article, if you go onto a running Windows 7 system, export a few registry keys, and then import them into a system running Windows 8, you will get that functionally back.
Again, I've not tried it myself, but from the way I read it, if you do the registry export / import, however you were able to modify specific things in Windows 7, you would be able to do so in Windows 8 in the same way.
If your issue is that you don't have access to a Windows 7 system anymore to get the reg files, I would be willing to export them from my system (Windows 7 Enterprise, x64) and pass them on to you if that would help.
However, if in the end I totally mis-understood what was said in the article, and its much more complicated then that...then I'm sorry for my post, and I hope you figure things out.
--Brian
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--Brian Plencner
E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | You understood the article. I don't have a Windows 7 computer to do the export. But even if I did, Items list is not necessarily static. You have to adjust Items list items with every new theme you install on earlier versions of Windows. Maybe that has changed also in Win 8 though.
There is another problem. I am using an old Dell UltraSharp LCD 19" monitor in 5:4 ratio. When I get a new 24" widescreen monitor I will have to change many settings in Items list (not colors or bolding) to work right on the new size monitor.
I know that with my Vista Ultimate virtual machine that my settings in Advanced Display/Items list (except for bolding) is quite different from what I have on the Host XP computer and those settings in Vista are different for every theme I have for Vista. So, it is not clear to me how making the changes in the registry accomplishes what I need unless all Win 8 themes are not really themes but just wallpaper...UGH if that is true. I want to be able to use old themes on Win 8...you can on Vista and Win 7 so why not on Win 8? I plan to ignore the garish Metro tiles...those are hideous...extremely garish colors and gigantic fonts. (What is the gigantic clock that pops up if I move my mouse much in the desktop...I am NOT blind...I find the gigantic things like that clock to be ridiculous unless I was near blindness. I can easily read the clock in the systray...why would I want a gigantic one popping up constantly)?
I would really like someone to tell me how to change the high-lite color from this garish blue Microsoft has forced on me to a nice green or reddish purple or even red...but not garish yellow either. Microsoft picks extremely garish colors.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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plencnerbPremium
join:2000-09-25
Elgin, IL
kudos:2
2 edits | reply to Mele20
So that we are on the same page, is the screen I posted the one that you cannot get at anymore in Windows 8, because Microsoft removed the functionally?
And I just re-read the article again (was going to export the reg keys for you), and I get it now. What they want you to do is go on a Windows 7 system. Make the changes on the screen I posted, THEN export the reg keys, and import them onto your Windows 8 system. Doing this will then "force" the changes that you made to show up the same way they did in Windows 7, just as if you had the option in Windows 8.
Ugh..that's a PITA! :mad:
I did some research, and found out that the following command, when typed into the run box and you hit enter, will open the dialog box that I posted above (on a Windows 7 system).
desk.cpl ,5
What happens if you do that on a Windows 8 system?
--Brian |
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OZOPremium
join:2003-01-17
kudos:2 | reply to Mele20
Mele20 , you know how to run virtual machines. Run WXP or W7 virtual machine, adjust its theme as you need. Run W8 in virtual machine. Export those 3 registry keys, mentioned in the article, from both machines. Print them and compare. Make your conclusion what's different. Make changes in W8 virtual machine registry. See if it's what you need. Apply registry changes to your main machine. Enjoy the W8 experience now. You've just got a small part of it so far...
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Keep it simple, it'll become complex by itself... |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | reply to plencnerb
Yes, that is the Item list in Advanced Display settings that has been available for every version of Windows from 95 though Windows 7. It has been ripped out of Windows 8. I believe Microsoft will rue the day they did this. I also think Microsoft will return it to Window 8 in the first Service Pack (or certainly in the next version of Windows). Until then though...I think NO ONE should move to Windows 8 especially if on a desktop. If we all (well, those of us who bought Win 8 Pro) tell the OEMs that we wish to exercise our downgrade rights to Win 7 Pro until Microsoft returns Item list to Win 8...I think a fire can be lit under Microsoft's butt.
I also think that as more people get win 8 and realize the Item list is gone they will complain. I have already seen IT folks saying they are getting a lot of complaints about the Item list being missing and Win 8 has only been out for a few weeks. Parts of that list are available for changing in Win 8 but not everything on the list and what is changeable is not neatly gathered in one list but strewn all over the Control Panel. I've changed what Microsoft has allowed in Win 8 but that is not enough. I want to change everything on the list to suit my needs.
I tried that command in Win8 Run box and it brought up a window where I can change the recyle bin icon to a different one. Ugh.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | reply to OZO
said by OZO: Mele20 , you know how to run virtual machines. Run WXP or W7 virtual machine, adjust its theme as you need. Run W8 in virtual machine. Export those 3 registry keys, mentioned in the article, from both machines. Print them and compare. Make your conclusion what's different. Make changes in W8 virtual machine registry. See if it's what you need. Apply registry changes to your main machine. Enjoy the W8 experience now. You've just got a small part of it so far...
It is not that simple. I don't have Win 7 and I am not about to purchase it so I can install it on a virtual machine. (I did the public beta of Win 7 for 3 of the 6 months on a virtual machine but never actually had Win 7). I do have Vista Ultimate which probably would work but it has no service packs on it...probably need the service packs and it is on Microsoft's old Virtual PC from 2007. I own both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Vista Ultimate so I could install the 64 bit version on VMWare workstation 7 that I have (or on new Microsoft Virtual PC that I could not use on my old machine that does not have hardware virtualization) but I have do all that on this Win 8 computer and can't until I get all my programs and stuff on here. I don't even have an email client yet. My old computer is dying and Win 8 doesn't see it on the network but was seeing yesterday a virtual machine running on the old XP host machine but Win 8 doesn't see it today. I have only one monitor at the moment and to access the old machine since Win 8 doesn't see it on the network, I have to unscrew the monitor and screw it to the old computer. I plan to buy a new big monitor but only after Dell sends my gift card (worth about $100).
The additional problem is that every time you change themes in Win 8 you have to go through the Registry torture ...that's crazy. Microsoft should be hogtied, quartered and strung up for making this sort of insane mess. Also, if you buy a new monitor or change DPI AT ALL on your current monitor you will have to play the registry game again. I believe this is a deal breaker for anyone who has been using that Item list in earlier versions of Windows. I never allowed themes to change items list unless I liked the changes. I went in with each theme and altered the theme in Items list to work for me and then saved the changes to that theme. On Win 8 that can't be done except in the registry.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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SipSizzurpFo' ShizzlePremium
join:2005-12-28
Houston, TX
kudos:4 | Mele, I let my test machine get away again, but I'm pretty sure that the desktop backgound color could be changed from the W8 GUI. I think I remember seeing it in the same place as W7 had it, under "Personalize" if you right click the desktop. The advanced options with icon and font size are gone, but that is where the background color was still at. ( I could be remembering something else ). |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | Yes, I can change background color but I want to change that horrible blue highlight color. That is not background. |
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davePremium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
kudos:8 | reply to Mele20
If the question is, how do I change the text highlight colour, the answer appears to be that you change the values named 'Hilight' and 'HilightText'.
The values on my Win7 system are '51 153 255' and '255 255 255', which seem about right for white-on-light-blue.
If your concern is how to know RGB values that are pleasant to you, likely any image-editing program will allow you to mix a colour and then read its RGB values. Maybe even Paint, but I have not checked. |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | Where do I change it? In the registry? It is utterly absurd for Microsoft to expect me to have to jump through six million hoops to get display to be decent on Win 8.
I will call Dell tomorrow to see how to exercise my downgrade rights. This supposedly nice, midstream video card doesn't even have the ability to do transparency of the taskbar and Windows! I hate opaque taskbar and haven't had one since Windows 98...until Windows 8...which is going way backwards...with no way to make Windows and taskbar transparent! I feel like I have installed Windows 98 or Windows 95...Windows 8 is a very CRUDE version of Windows (except search is good in it and terrible in Vista and Win 7). Nothing the least bit sophisticated about it....especially insulting users intelligence with childish names like "charms bar" and making a gigantic black clock that is monstrously hideous pop up constantly as though I can't look at the clock in the systray for the time!
Windows 8 is highly insulting of anyone with any intelligence. Dell pushed it on me and wouldn't sell me Win 7 Pro with an nVidia card. Dell's stupid. They should be pushing Win 7 machines and be eager to sell Win 7 machines with the video card one wants. Win 8 is much worse than Vista in many ways and the OEMs were pushing XP instead of Vista and they should be pushing Win 7 now even though it is not nearly as good as XP but a lot better than Win 8. Win 8 without Metro would be ok...not good, but acceptable, but it would need a video card that could put back transparency. It is probably not the fault of my video card as much as just the awfulness of display with Win 8. Everything is flat and blah looking and colors are not vibrant even with vibrancy on the card put to 100%. I have digital vibrance on XP set to 50% and my colors and display are rich and wonderful. On Win 8 the colors and feel is blah, flat and depressing. And this is on the same monitor on both computers. I've blamed the nvidia660 GTX card but I suspect it is actually the fault of this Win 8 OS for its ugliness. Even Win 8 themes from Microsoft are flat looking and I don't go "wow"! like I should and like I do when I switch this monitor to XP and and nvidia card from 2005.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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davePremium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
kudos:8 | said by Mele20:Where do I change it? In the registry? In the location that you posted the screen-shot of.
The rest of your posting I ignored. I'm offering a practical solution to your originally-posted issue. I don't really care to read about how your intelligence is being insulted, etc. |
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 HallPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
kudos:2 | reply to Mele20
said by Mele20: I believe Microsoft will rue the day they did this. I also think Microsoft will return it to Window 8 in the first Service Pack (or certainly in the next version of Windows Do you really think the average user changes that stuff ? If so, you're wrong. You know why MS removed it ? Because soooo few people do in fact use it (they know, you don't), they decided the fallout from it would be inconsequential. |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | reply to dave
said by dave:said by Mele20:Where do I change it? In the registry? In the location that you posted the screen-shot of. The rest of your posting I ignored. I'm offering a practical solution to your originally-posted issue. I don't really care to read about how your intelligence is being insulted, etc. Huh? I posted a screen shot of Desktop Icon. I want to change the color of highlight not change the recycle bin icon to some other icon. So, I don't understand what you are saying.
I don't know where you change it except in Item list which has been ripped out of Win 8.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | reply to Hall
So, Microsoft spies on all users since forever and tabulates which users and how many users use Item list? I don't believe that. You are claiming that Microsoft knows that I (and knows my name, etc) use Item list since Win 95 and knows that my next door neighbor named xxxxxx does not use Item list. Yeah...uh huh. 
Just google...there is already a lot of fallout.
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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davePremium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
kudos:8 | reply to Mele20
said by Mele20:I posted a screen shot of Desktop Icon. You posted a shot of the registry editor open to HKCU\Control Panel\Colors. The values you should modify are in HKCU\control Panel\Colors. Find the named values there or create 'em there.
This may not in fact be the right place -- I am simply making an educated guess -- but it should be easy enough to check.
You could try 'Desktop\Colors' as well. |
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Mele20Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
kudos:4 | reply to dave
Re: [WIN8] Registry help to change this ugly blue color Ahh..the screen shot from that article. Now I understand. But I need Win 7 to get the values from and I only have XP. 
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When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson |
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