MSSTYLES

MSSTYLES is a Microsoft file format, that contains the bitmaps and metadata for the Windows XP skinning engine, first introduced in Windows Whistler Build 2250. The engine, in its unmodified state, only fully applies .msstyles files that have been digitally signed by Microsoft, such as Luna or the Zune theme. The default Windows XP style is known as Luna, but additional custom-made styles are available on the Internet however, few are digitally signed. Four other signed styles for Windows XP include Royale (Media Center Edition) (Energy Blue), Royale Noir, Windows Embedded Standard CTP Refresh, and the Zune Style. Unsigned styles can be used via various methods, by means of manually patching or replacing system files or automatically by one of the programs made for this purpose. These programs are usually called "UxTheme patchers" from the name of the XP library that required patching, UxTheme.dll, despite that recent Windows versions require patches to different files. Many popular and freely distributed patchers can be found online, often using different ways to enable custom themes. Windows Vista and later also use .msstyles files for skinning (like the Aero.msstyles file), however the format of these files is significantly different, so .msstyles files are not transferable between Windows Vista and Windows XP.…

MSSTYLES is a Microsoft file format, that contains the bitmaps and metadata for the Windows XP skinning engine, first introduced in Windows Whistler Build 2250. The engine, in its unmodified state, only fully applies .msstyles files that have been digitally signed by Microsoft, such as Luna or the Zune theme. The default Windows XP style is known as Luna, but additional custom-made styles are available on the Internet however, few are digitally signed. Four other signed styles for Windows XP include Royale (Media Center Edition) (Energy Blue), Royale Noir, Windows Embedded Standard CTP Refresh, and the Zune Style. Unsigned styles can be used via various methods, by means of manually patching or replacing system files or automatically by one of the programs made for this purpose. These programs are usually called "UxTheme patchers" from the name of the XP library that required patching, UxTheme.dll, despite that recent Windows versions require patches to different files. Many popular and freely distributed patchers can be found online, often using different ways to enable custom themes. Windows Vista and later also use .msstyles files for skinning (like the Aero.msstyles file), however the format of these files is significantly different, so .msstyles files are not transferable between Windows Vista and Windows XP. This version of .msstyles file contains PNG images and metadata. There is a manual way to replace three DLL files (uxtheme.dll, shsvcs.dll and themeui.dll) to use unsigned custom visual styles in Windows Vista. Normal button [button.pushbutton] bgtype = imagefile SizingMargins = 8, 8, 9, 9 sizingType = Stretch ContentMargins = 3, 3, 3, 3 ImageFile = Blue\button.bmp imageCount = 5 ImageLayout = vertical TextColor = 0 0 0 FillColorHint = 243 243 239; Average fill color (light beige) BorderColorHint = 0 60 116; Edge color (dark blue grey) AccentColorHint = 250 196 88; Rollover hilite color (orange) MinSize= 10, 5 Any ImageFile definitions are also unchanged from the source INI files, resulting in it representing a file path. ImageFile = Blue\button.bmp points to the BLUE_BUTTON_BMP bitmap resource. As mentioned before, Windows XP/Server 2003 .msstyles files can be edited with a regular PE resource editor, such as Resource Hacker or Resource Tuner.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1289644966 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.