Do extra wide scroll bars look good in WindowBlinds?

from Stardock Forums
I do not currently own WindowBlinds but I would like to know if it could solve a specific problem for me and if so I would buy it.

My question is: Do extra wide scroll bars look good with WindowBlinds?

I need to use extra wide scroll bars in Windows for a touch screen application. The application is NOT Windows XP theme/style-aware.

The scrollbar width in Windows XP can be increased by doing this: right-click the Windows Desktop, select "Properties", click the "Appearance"-tab, click the "Advanced"-button, select the item "Scrollbar" in the combo-box and set the "Size" property.

I need to use a width of 60 (default is 17). However, when I increase the size to 60 the arrow icons on the scroll-bar look awful. The default bitmap is simply upscaled several times and looks really bad at almost four times the original size.

// Johan
windowblinds
3,449 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Whether or not they look good depends on the skinner and the overall 'look' of the skin.

I think your question is gonna end up being more of "will WB allow me to have large scroll bars or will it overtake my settings and use the size set in the skin."

If it allows it, but ends up looking crappy - you can always fix the scroll bars to your liking in Skin Studio.

I'm not at home, so I can't give it a try, yet.


While you're waiting for someone to come along and try setting their bar to 60 and letting you know, there is a Try It version (60 {I think} day limit) you can play with to see.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Unless they've changed it in the past year or 2, scrollbar skinning is disabled in the trial version, I'm afraid.

Bichur is correct - it depends on the eye of the beholder. You can make scrollbars as wide as you wish, but some skins may require revision of the graphics to look clean - the scrollbars are a blend of several sets of images, each of which might require modification depending on how the skin was designed.

Only way to know is to give it a shot, but a friend with WB may need to do a few screenshots for you using wide scrollbar settings (unless scrollbar skinning is now enabled in the trial version) if you don't want to spring for the program until you know.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Unless they've changed it in the past year or 2, scrollbar skinning is disabled in the trial version, I'm afraid.


Crap. Totally spaced on that. Daiwa's right, there is that. But possibly, it will skin it when using the skins that come with it. Maybe, don't know, haven't used the trial. But the trial allows per pixel on the packaged skins, just not additional skins you download, so maybe the scroll bar will skin with them.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Okay, it depends on the skin but you always have the option to edit in skin studio.
And.. you will have to reset the width to 60 each time you apply a skin, unless you edit them in skin studio.

Some look not so good, some okay, and some not bad at all:











Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Those were all set a 60
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I think we have an answer now... No.

Not @ 60, anyway.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ah come on..

the last 3 aren't bad for being at 60
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Turns out the scrollbar looks acceptable (not great, but acceptable) with the "Windows Classic style", which was a bit unexpected. Fortunately the scrollbar is the only standard windows GUI-component that is visible in the touch screen app. Everything else that is visible on screen is custom designed for this app, which always runs i full-screen mode, so luckily it is ok for me to use the "Windows Classic style".

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help!

I downloaded WindowBlinds and tried it out and now that I've seen it I think I will buy it anyway...

// Johan