Howto: Customize & Personalize Windows 7 Desktop

[Saieno]

This is a tutorial on how to heavily customize your Windows 7 desktop for a personal experience. I created this as a request by many who saw my desktop on Twitter and in this thread. Just to explain whats going on a bit.

All of the icons are custom made. The Terran Republic circle is actually a CPU and RAM meter, so it's always constantly moving and looks cool. The screenshot is actually a Planetside 2 slideshow, and goes through hi-resolution shots that have been released on Planetside 2. There are virtual desktops at the bottom left, which basically give me four completely separate but usable desktop areas. I can, for example, open TeamSpeak 3 and mIRC on one, then switch to another so I can have both programs running without taking up screen space. There's also a Media player at the bottom right, and static media controls at the top right if don't have access to the desktop media player.

Note: When setting up RocketDock's position, be sure to set it to Normal layering.

OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 32 or 64-bit

SHELL
SharpEnviro RC3 - http://sharpe.sourceforge.net/

VISUAL STYLE
iBaked by =neiio - http://neiio.deviantart.com/art/iBaked-257470118

MOUSE CURSOR
Eclair by ~MAGNUMHEARTED - http://magnumhearted.deviantart.com/...lair-150846111

ROCKETDOCK
http://rocketdock.com/

DOCK & DESKTOP ICONS
Token by ~brsev - http://brsev.deviantart.com/art/Token-128429570

RAINMETER
http://rainmeter.net/cms/

RAINIFY
Rainify by ~poiru - http://poiru.deviantart.com/art/Rain...0-1-170149696?

RING
Rings by ~Kaelri - http://kaelri.deviantart.com/art/Rings-138547375

MEDIA CONTROLS
CLN by ~toastbrotpascal - http://toastbrotpascal.deviantart.com/art/CLN-216978446

[DDSHADE]

Sweet! All I need now is Windows 7!

[Saieno]

Originally Posted by DDSHADE

Sweet! All I need now is Windows 7!

Actually you can do it with Windows XP, Vista, or 7.

[krnasaur]

OMG thank you, i saw your desktop in a screenie somewhere and i was like.... omfg i want that, ima get on this after finals are done,

[Saieno]

No problem! Hope it helps out

[krnasaur]

Originally Posted by Saieno

No problem! Hope it helps out

Im not going to copy you, I'ma do something off the wall different, ill post the results

[Immigrant]

Hmmm, nice stuff. I never used customization tools before, will definitely try them out. Rainmeter seems cool, however as a creature of habit I loathe SharpEnivro since it changes the way your desktop feels too much.

[Saieno]

Originally Posted by Immigrant

Hmmm, nice stuff. I never used customization tools before, will definitely try them out. Rainmeter seems cool, however as a creature of habit I loathe SharpEnivro since it changes the way your desktop feels too much.

I love SharpEnviro because I'm an avid Linux user, definitely represents a similar functionality. You can always move where all the buttons and such are, including having one or two bars.

[Saieno]

If you end up modifying your Desktop with the tutorial, don't be afraid to post it up!

[RawketLawnchair]

Posting to say thank you for showing this. I've figured out how to do a lot with it after watching and now have it customized to a NC looking scheme, with a bunch of different widgets.

[Saieno]

Originally Posted by RawketLawnchair

Posting to say thank you for showing this. I've figured out how to do a lot with it after watching and now have it customized to a NC looking scheme, with a bunch of different widgets.

Post it up! Lets see it =)

[RawketLawnchair]

Originally Posted by Saieno

Post it up! Lets see it =)

http://i47.tinypic.com/25ip106.png

[Saieno]

Originally Posted by elfailo

Nice vid, ty.

Thanks. Just a FYI for anyone using Rocketdock, SharpE, and gaming. Rocketdock likes to hide behind the SharpE desktop, so to fix it just enable the Explorer desktop. Keep in mind this will remove any images you applied to the SharpE desktop.