1. What is the Image Editor you keep talking about?
The Image Editor is a program that is included with the free Microsoft Resource Kit (3.6 MB).
2. What is a theme, anyway?
A theme is a file that specifies all the icons, wallpaper, screen saver, cursors, and sounds your computer will use. This was usually done separately through the Control Panel. Now, with Win95, there is a Theme program that will change them all at once.
3. How do I use themes?
To get themes on your computer, download them and unzip them using a long filename-enabled unzipping program, like Winzip. Then unzip them into a directory on your computer, usually c:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes. Now use Microsoft's Desktop Theme applet, included w/ the Plus! Pack, or use the Desktop Themes program I have on my desktop, to load them into the computer. Microsoft also has a demo (980 K) of the Plus! Pack available.
4. How do I make themes?
I have all the info you need to make themes. The applications I used are mostly freeware or shareware. Click on the links on the Themes Developer page for information on making themes and the kinds of applications useful for making them. Finally you must use all the info on these pages, then do a Save As... in the Microsoft Plus Pack, in the Themes applet in Windows98, or with one of the desktop themes applications I link to on the Themes Apps page.
5. I unzipped the theme file, but some of the names are either misspelled or mising. What is wrong?
Make sure you unziped the .zip file with an unzipping package that uses long file names. www.winzip.com has one. Also check out www.windows95.com.
6. I downloaded the .zip file, but I get an error or it says it is part of a backup. What else do I need?
This error usually occurs when you did not download ALL of the file. Maybe there was a slow connection and the FTP server timed out or the file way TOO big and the FTP server cut you loose. Try to get the file again.
7. Who are you, man??
My name is Dale. I graduated from University of Maryland w/ a CS degree. I started this web site because I wanted to show people how I made themes when Win95 came out. I saw the first StarTrek TNG theme and decided to make my own. The rest is history. I get about 3500+ unique visitors a day, which is overwhelming. This site is on a T3, so timeouts and busy servers should not be a problem unless I am linking to another ftp or http site.
8. I downloaded the Plus! Pack demo, but all I got was the Dangerous Creatures Theme. How do I use other themes?
(Gotta thank Larry Miller for this one!) If you install the Plus! demo, just unzip the newer themes you download into the correct directory. Open Explorer and right click on the .theme file and click "Apply Settings . . .". The theme should load. This is a little trick that I did not tell you about, OK?
9. I tried a theme, and now all my icons are black. What to do, what to do?
(Thank Josh Zimmerman for this tip) If icons and cursors turn black and white and aren't animated, try changing the number of colors to 256. That is what fixed mine.
10. My Desktop Theme will not work with the Plus! Pack from Microsoft. I made it with one of the programs you have on your www site. What is wrong?
At the very end of the .theme file, look for the following after the [boot] section:
[MasterThemeSelector]
MTSM=DABJDKTIf it not there, put that in and try it again. ( Thank you, Geof Taylor)
11. How do I put a theme.zip file on a ftp server for others to link to?
In Win95/NT connect to your Internet provider and then open a DOS window. "cd" to the directory where the .zip file is. Type "ftp ftp.cc.monash.edu.au". When the screen asks for a username type "ftp". When it asks for a password, type in your email address. After you are logged in, type "cd /pub/uploads/" and press enter. This is the directory where you send stuff. Next type "prompt off" and "hash", pressing ENTER after each word. The prompt off sets the prompt off, the hash puts little marks on the screen as the file is being sent. Finally type "bin" to send in binary mode. Type "put filename.zip" and the file will be sent. After the file is done, type "quit" and you are logged off the ftp site. Then email steve@cc.monash.edu.au and tell him the name of the file, size, and what it is for. (This is obviously for the ftp site I put all my theme files on.)
12. My desktop themes program from microsoft seems to crash every time I load a new theme. Got any clues?
But of course. The way .jpg files are decompressed causes a GPF! This usually happens when you have installed the desktop themes program and then installed Office97 or Frontpage97/Image Composer. (hmmm, and all products are from the same vendor??) There is a fix for this here and on the software CDROMs themselves.
13. I can't seem to get the icon that I created for my Recycle Bin (empty), into my theme. When I click on the Plus! tab it only brings up 3 icons to replace, My Computer, Network Neighborhood, and Recycle Bin (Full). Any suggestions?
I have seen this happen to myself. Usually it is because the icons are large. Try changing the horizontal and vertical icon spacing size in the Display settings under appearance. Also, I have seen them appear if you click on one of them in the Plus! tab and the down scroll bar appears.
14. How can I include a screen saver in my theme?
Well, you can steal one from another package or theme. You can use some shareware packages (though I have not found good ones) to make a .bmp or .jpg/.gif file float on your desktop. You can use Macromedia Director, and Corel makes a package that can compile .scr files. Or you can use Visual Basic or any C/C++ package to manually make one. I have done one in Visual Basic and it is pretty easy in that program. Check out the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more info on the last two items.