Earldridge Jazzed Pineda
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Earldridge Jazzed Pineda
-
-
For anyone wondering where is the .msstyles documentation, it is not on the Microsoft website.
However, the documention is publicly available via a U.S. patent called "Binary cache file format for themeing the visual appearance of a computer system".
It is available in the link below:
https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/7565611
0 -
I am Jazzed, my technological interests are operating systems, programming, and software for old OSes.
0
Feedback Hub suggestion: Release the Microsoft Theme Packager (packthem)
in Visual Styles
Posted
https://aka.ms/AAkad6m (Insider users only)
Why is this important?
Microsoft does have a first-party solution for customizing the UI of Microsoft Windows: .msstyles (patent no. US7565611). Most of the .msstyles files found on the internet are created using third-party tools such as msstyleEditor by nptr. Unfortunately though, these themes are usually unsigned or not signed properly and require a third-party patcher to work.
Microsoft's Theme Packager is the only software that can generate proper .msstyles files that are signed. It can even sign existing .msstyles files which is a nice relief for the .msstyles community. However, Microsoft kept this tool a secret for over 15 years, nowhere to be found on Microsoft's website. If Microsoft were to release this tool now, that would be a massive improvement for the .msstyles community.