Windows 8 Desktop UI - Change Title Text Color?

tacohammer

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Anybody have any idea how to change the title text color on windows. The fact that it's always black makes it pretty useless on any dark colored theme... I would have thought they would have programmed this in. I thought wrong...

imgur: the simple image sharer
NETds.jpg


On vista/7 Aero put a 'glow' around the letters so it would always show, now that glow is gone, and dark themes are useless.
 

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    Windows 8
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interesting, looks like MS forgot something. Wooppss.
I can't find it either. Still searching.
 

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Nope — not yet, anyway. By the time of the public release in October hackers and customization utility publishers may have figured it out. Presumably Stardock's WindowsBlinds will present a version for 8 that solves this problem.

The many features of Windows in version 8 that have been removed sometimes makes it seem as though Microsoft is deliberately sabotaging the Desktop in favor of Metro. Happily, for those who want them, the Start button is back (with nearly direct booting into the 'legacy' Desktop), as is Sidebar (64-bit version), Window border control, etc. In the end, even if Surface rules, we Desktop denizens will win. Be patient!
 
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The color of items is located at the registry location below, and the data values use R G B binaries. For example: 0 0 0 = black, 255 255 255 = white

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Colors

The problem is that setting these values, log off/on or restarting, no longer seem to have any affect in Windows 8. Could be due to no Windows Classic theme in Windows 8?? :(

Colors.jpg mspaint.jpg
 
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Brink I read somewhere that those work under High Contrast Theme, i have not tested it though.
 

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I tested it using High Contrast themes, and it doesn't seem to do anything either. :(
 

My Computer

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    64-bit Windows 10
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    Custom self built
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    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
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    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
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    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
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    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
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    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
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    Logitech wireless K800
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    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Bummer
 

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    Win 8.1 Pro
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    EVGA GTX680 4GB
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    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
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    CORSAIR GS800
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    CORSAIR 600T
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    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
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    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
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Been trying too with no avails.

I think MS disabled the text color scheme as we can freely set the transparencies until the dark background allows the tittle text appear (with tiny bright shadows around the text).

Kevin
 

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This is an at your own Risk tutorial
Create a Restore Point

Then, go here

Dark theme for Windows8 RTM by ~Nighthawk-F22 on deviantART

Then you will also need this,,

Homepage M. Hoefs - Software

Run the UXTheme Patcher

Will patch the following files and append .backup to the originals...

uxinit.dll
uxtheme.dll
themeui.dll

If you uninstall UXThemePatcher it is supposed to replace the original files back.

Then try to copy the files from the Visual Style in the first link (I used Theme Without Thin White Inline Frame)
to
C:\Windows\Resources\Themes

And overwrite the files.

If you have to take Ownership of the Themes folder, that is fine and then give Full Admin Rights to it and child objects.
DO NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE SYSTEM32 FOLDER as a whole, or even your C: drive.
ONLY the Themes folder.
You have been warned.

You may have to reboot a couple of times, Also, when you change themes the first time, Windows may freak out, but just reboot and it should be OK.
Otherwise, you may have to do a restore and try again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
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    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
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    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
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    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
Follow up...

I did the above, but I had also tried doing everything manually, which did work, for a short time
then when trying to login, the system would just flash on a black screen, Had to do a system restore

I don't recommend trying the above at this time.

Wait for something more official and possibly more stable, such as Stardock WindowsBlinds
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
    PSU
    CORSAIR GS800
    Case
    CORSAIR 600T
    Cooling
    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
    Keyboard
    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
    Mouse
    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
Another follow up, I had tried this on my desktop and had the same results as above.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
    PSU
    CORSAIR GS800
    Case
    CORSAIR 600T
    Cooling
    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
    Keyboard
    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
    Mouse
    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
Well, that stinks. Hopefully a 3rd party app will be out soon that will have this option.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I am wondering if it has to do with the 3 hacked
uxinit.dll
uxtheme.dll
themeui.dll

Maybe these are for Vista/7 and changes were made to the originals in 8 that make the hacked ones not compatible?
I don't know, i have tried UXTheming in the past and had odd results that just were not stable, so I stopped trying. So, maybe it is that method over all. May be that Stardock is the best option to try. That's not an endorsement or promotion, just an observation.
they have not released a version for 8 yet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
    PSU
    CORSAIR GS800
    Case
    CORSAIR 600T
    Cooling
    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
    Keyboard
    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
    Mouse
    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
Hi Tepid

Are you using the en-US windows 8 Pro 64 bit ?
I can use it without any issue, and do not need to patch anything.
I only take Owvership of Themes folder + all subfolders and files. (C:\Windows\Resources\Themes)
Then I change the read and write permission (The Themes folder+subfolders and files) full control, modify etc. (all of them) in security for system, Administrator and my user.
After this, I rename Themes to Themes1, and copied the modify Themes folder in place.

Regards Luke7
 
Last edited:

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    windows 7
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Ok revisiting this and trying as Luke suggested
I am not using the uxtheme patching.

How ever, I am having the same problem. So it may be the theme I have is corrupt or something.

Still Testing and looking for an alternative theme to do so. I will report back if I find out.

Luckily I am dual booting and can fix things from 7 side.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
    PSU
    CORSAIR GS800
    Case
    CORSAIR 600T
    Cooling
    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
    Keyboard
    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
    Mouse
    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
I did. got the latest. same problem
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
    PSU
    CORSAIR GS800
    Case
    CORSAIR 600T
    Cooling
    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
    Keyboard
    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
    Mouse
    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
How To Set Different Colors For Taskbar & Window Borders In Windows 8

How To Set Different Colors For Taskbar & Window Borders In Windows 8

Just like its predecessor Windows 7, Windows 8 also lets you set your own color for window borders and taskbar. Microsoft has even introduced automatic color feature in Windows 8 which automatically changes the color of the taskbar and window borders to match the wallpaper color.

In addition to these features, in the Release Preview edition of Windows 8, one could set different colors for taskbar and window borders. For some reason, Microsoft has removed this little feature from the final release (RTM). Fortunately, a small registry tweak enables you set different colors for taskbar and window borders in Windows 8 RTM.

NOTE: This trick automatically sets white color to window borders and doesn’t enable you set a custom color to window borders. For example, you can’t use this trick to set green color to the taskbar and blue to window borders.

Simply follow the given below instructions to enable the feature and then set different colors to window border and taskbar in Windows 8.

Method 1
Step 1: Download Aero8Tuner from this place. Extract the zip file to get Aero8Tuner.

Step 2: Run the tool, disable Enable Window Colorization option to set white color to window borders.

Method 2
Step 1: Open Registry Editor. To do this, simultaneously press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run dialog, type Regedit.exe in the box and press enter key. Click Yes for the UAC prompt.

Step 2: Once the Registry Editor launched, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM


Step 3: On the right-side, double-click on EnableWindowColorization and change the default value data to 1. Close Registry Editor.

Step 4: To see different colors on taskbar and window borders, you need to restart the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). To do that, open Task Manager, click More details to see all running processes, right-click on Desktop Window Manager , click End task.

Step 5: You will see the confirmation dialog. Enable Abandon unsaved data and shut down option (worry not, it won’t shut down or restart your PC) and then click Shut down button to restart Desktop Window Manager. You are done! You should now see white color for window borders.
 

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  • OS
    windows 8 pro x64
    CPU
    INTEL sandy bridge 2600k
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    Gigabyte P67A-UD4 B3 REV. 1.1
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    16gb G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 1600mhz
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    crossfired radeon 6950's
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 2408WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M G2 160GB, western digital black 2TB
    PSU
    Antec TPQ-850
    Case
    Cooler master HAF932
    Cooling
    XIGMATEK SD-1283 Gaia
    Keyboard
    MS wireless 5000
    Mouse
    MS trackball explorer
    Internet Speed
    50 mb\s
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-205, Samsung SH-S243N 24X DVD-RW
i tried it and it does work. i now have dark red\maroon title bar to match my favorite football team :D
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    windows 8 pro x64
    CPU
    INTEL sandy bridge 2600k
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P67A-UD4 B3 REV. 1.1
    Memory
    16gb G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 1600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    crossfired radeon 6950's
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 2408WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M G2 160GB, western digital black 2TB
    PSU
    Antec TPQ-850
    Case
    Cooler master HAF932
    Cooling
    XIGMATEK SD-1283 Gaia
    Keyboard
    MS wireless 5000
    Mouse
    MS trackball explorer
    Internet Speed
    50 mb\s
    Other Info
    Pioneer BDR-205, Samsung SH-S243N 24X DVD-RW
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