Using Themes in Vista

The good news is that Desktop Architect still works with Vista!  The bad news is that it only works in the 32 bit version, the first theme you apply through Desktop Architect may not apply the associated icons if you use a custom directory. Merrilyn Z reports that she created her own Theme directory (this can be anywhere on your hard drive) and then attempted to apply her theme with Desktop Architect. She also ran the compatibility wizard to use it as a XP-SP2 function. Everything applied perfectly except for the icons unless they were named exactly the same as the default icons. She then went to the Personalization screen and applied the icons manually using the browse function by browsing to the location of her theme.  After the icons were applied manually the first time from a custom location, they applied afterwards with theme changes.  Unfortunately there are no guarantees, good luck.

To get to the "Personalize" screen, right click on the desktop. It gives you the option to "personalize" instead of the old properties. The personalize window gives you Window color and appearance, Desktop Background, Screen Saver, Sounds, Mouse pointers, Theme, and Display Settings. You can also right click on the Start Button. You have a choice of the classic start menu. It has the choice of Windows Modified, My Current Theme, Windows Vista, Windows Classic, and Browse. Under the Heading of Themes it says, "Themes can change a wide range of visual and auditory elements at one time, including the appearance of menus, icons, backgrounds, screensavers, some computer sounds and mouse pointers." Thanks to Merrilyn for the info and to Debbie for putting this description together.