Customize Default UI Colors

[GrantSP]

Sorry to use this page to ask this question, I just happen to be reading it and the point about colour schemes grabbed my attention.
Is it correct that the colouring only applies to the actual file panes not the rest of the UI? I can use the quick look'n'feel colour option to change colours but it looks like it only affects that area.
I would like to make the whole UI a darker style but I am not sure if those details are handled by Windows itself.

[Mathias (Author)]

(I Moved this question into a new topic..)

Sorry to use this page to ask this question, I just happen to be reading it and the point about colour schemes grabbed my attention.
Is it correct that the colouring only applies to the actual file panes not the rest of the UI? I can use the quick look'n'feel colour option to change colours but it looks like it only affects that area.
I would like to make the whole UI a darker style but I am not sure if those details are handled by Windows itself.

Colors for UI Components come from Windows. And the drawing of most Standard UI components are handled entirely by Windows.
They use the Colors settings in Windows.. (That you can change in windows. and will affect all programs)

Most color settings are for the Explorer Panel since that is like 90% of the UI. and if you disable Menu/Toolbar/Buttons it is 95%
Changing the default color behavior for standard Windows UI component will not always look good and not all of the places can be overridden.
There are some experimental support for that. It is mentioned here how to enable it.. But it looks ugly.

[Mathias (Author)]

Example on how it can look if you tweak that registry thing..

Overwriting the behavior of standard Windows UI components do not always works.

* Menu bar did not work completely so it is unchanged.
* Command line field..  did not work completely.
* Toolbar.. The text colors for the drives did not want to be overwritten.
* Rebar.. UI component that handles the Toolbar placement. the border around the Toolbar divider is drawn with incorrect color.
* Status bar..  Dividers are drawn with incorrect color.
* Scrollbars very messy to overwrite.

* The buttons for the buttonpanel need to be customized manually button by button.. for now. It might be possible to overwrite that but you get a different look since the default behavior the buttons are drawn with multiple colors.

I have not even tried to fix the UI components inside the Explorer Panel. Since I did not see a point with wasting the time for it.

[GrantSP]

Thank you for that. Yes you're right it is not the prettiest UI is it?
I'll have a bit of a play around and see what I get. It is not one of the most important things to do but, why not, I got time.

I just now noticed the version 4 suggestion question before, looks like you too want to pretty things up a bit. I'll make my suggestions there.