Visual style
| Component of Microsoft Windows | |
| Type | User interface |
|---|---|
| Introduced in | Windows XP |
| Replaces | Classic theme |
A visual style is a set of bitmaps and other graphics used to modify the Windows user interface, which was introduced in Windows XP. They are more advanced compared to a color scheme applied on top of the classic theme, which was the original built-in customization mechanism used prior to Windows XP. The behavior and effects of visual styles later changed significantly in the Windows Longhorn and Windows Vista operating systems due to the inclusion of a desktop compositor.
The visual style engine is implemented in uxtheme.dll and the Themes service (shsvcs.dll in Windows XP and Vista; themeservice.dll in Windows 7 and later), while the resources for the individual styles are contained in resource-only DLL files with the .msstyle extension. A single visual style can contain multiple variants, although this was officially used only for the Luna theme.
List of official visual styles[edit | edit source]
| Name | Appears in | Finalized? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watercolor | Windows XP (pre-releases only) | No | Also known as Business or Professional. Included in Windows XP build 2223 to 2419. |
| Sample Test Visual Style | Windows XP (pre-releases only) | No | Internally known as Mallard. Included in Windows XP build 2410 - 2419. |
| Candy | Windows XP (source tree) | No | Found in the leaked Windows XP source tree. Not included in any known builds. |
| Luna | Windows XP | Yes | Shipped in Blue, Olive Green, Silver variants (internally called Blue, Homestead and Metallic, respectively). |
| Royale | Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Windows Embedded 2009 |
Yes | Variants of this theme include the unfinished Noir variant, the Zune theme and the Embedded theme from Windows Embedded 2009. |
| Plex | Windows Vista (pre-reset builds only) | No | Included in M3 - M6 builds, Placeholder for Aero. |
| Slate | Windows Vista (pre-reset builds only) | No | Included in M7 builds. |
| Jade | Windows Vista (pre-reset builds only) | No | Included in M7 builds. |
| Windows Basic | Windows Vista - present | Yes | Can't be enabled under normal circumstances since Windows 8. |
| Windows Aero | Windows Vista - present | Yes | Aero Glass removed in Windows 8. |
| Aero Lite | Windows 8 - present | Yes | Used to implement the high contrast mode.
Referred to as "Windows Basic" in Windows Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2 despite using Desktop Window Manager. |