I simply put the office components to "ignore" using WB settings and they just are their usual selves. For me it wasn't a big deal if they weren't skinned, that's not why I am looking at them. Maybe some day I'll pretty them up.

OK, when you open WindowBlinds there will be a menu up at the top that says, "Settings" When you open that go to a table that says, "Per application"

You will see and "Add" button at the bottom where you chase down your app and then once you have it you sellect the very first item, "Ignore this item and not skin it" and press OK. You have to do this for each app, but only once. The settings are not linked to the skin.

Voila, all done.

Isn't that what he was talking about here:

EpicFace one other thought- Now that you have the background colors set, if you like you can go ahead and remove the Per Application exclusion if you still have it out there, so the apps skin.

[Zubaz - I think I forgot about this issue when we were talking about Frequently Asked Questions additions.  FAQ nominee?]

Ah, that would be the damn, "System Defined".  That's a whole other ballgame.  One of the few times I swear at WB. I know its not the program's fault, it just feels better to grump. I don't know WHY skinners refuse to assign something to every system defined color and font. So I if have a purple background, and the skinner uses a purple font but doesn't assign the background color. Now I have something I can't see even to change it. A couple ways to change. Use the windows personalization to get to the good old fashioned custom window. Use WindowBlinds to change the color where you can change each part of the color scheme (for some reason it doesn't always "stick" on reboot) or, my favorite, dive in with the editing program and have a jolly search and destroy missing and find every single place that it says system defined (or whatever the words are) and change them. I usually run through and create something truly obnoxious for color (because it feels good) and then change the color after I have found them all. If done right, I can be fancy and change it at the palette. It's a good way to become familiar with the menu system and at the same time burn off some frustration.

That skin has an image that defines the windows background color as well as system defined color presets. You can override it in the WB config like this:

You can either do like I did and choose a neutral lighter background like I did or make a pure white one of your own.