for FREE

SkinStudio is an application that allows you to create your own graphical user interface for Windows.

The program has a clean and simple appearance which can be easily used by both novices and experienced individuals.

You can create a WindowsBlinds skin - basic (with titlebar borders limited to 4 pixels in width), advanced (more flexible and can have large shaped borders) or UISO (limited to the Aero shape and style in many areas, but with the ability to add textures to the frames, start menu and taskbar).

Once you have given a name to your new skin, you can edit controls (buttons, combo box, header bar, menus, menu bars, scrollbars, spin, status bar tab, toolbar, track bar, treeview, tooltip).

But you can also edit the start menu and taskbar (logoff images, popup menus, horizontal and vertical taskbars, textures) and Explorer/Internet Explorer shell parts (Control Panel and navigation parts, "Please wait" screen, task dialog controls).

You can change XP file animations (e.g. "copy" and "move" files animation, delete file bypassing the Recycle Bin animation), as well as title bars and Window frames (minimized windows, per pixel frames and buttons, tool windows, U1S1 frames).

Moreover, you can change the skin colors and fonts, XP specific actions (e.g. edit logoff and shutdown screens, shell style icons and pictures, Control Panel shell style), backgrounds (edit Explorer background bitmaps, include wallpapers with your skin) and theme part details (e.g. address fields, buttons, checkboxes, combo boxes, command bars, radio controls).

The program uses a low amount of system CPU and memory. There is no help file available, only some brief hints. However, you need to separately install a third-party component in order for SkinStudio to function. We suggest you test this tool for yourself.