Explorer Folder Bar Background - Color not applying

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having issues. On my system I can change that part by changing "System Colour : Window" refer to the s/shot below

Basj,

Stardock Community Assistant.

@basj 

Yes that's cool and all but the problem with your method in changing the "System Colour : Window" is that it affects other programs like Microsoft Office. 

Just look at what that did to Word for example:

The thing I want to change is just the file explorer's folder bar color. I don't want to change the entire Window's system color which effects other apps and such.

By the way, I recently just discovered that there White color is over Yellow on the File explorer.

Take a look at the screenshot of the File Explorer below :

@basj 

Do you guys think you can get this to work again?

I would really like the Explorer Folder Bar Background color to work again.

That is known issue and was raise by various people here. I have forwarded your question to Stardock Support team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj

Stardock Community Assistant.

@Basj

Thank you for the quick responses.

By the way, a little off topic but is there any way I can support Stardock? 

I bought the apps I wanted a long time ago but since then I did not buy anything else and I want to contribute to supporting the devs for the continual support of my favorite apps. I'm not asking for a mandatory subscription model. I'm simply asking for a possible and optional donation button perhaps? My only fear is seeing WindowsBlind, WindowsFX, Icon Packager, Start10, and CursorFX to no longer be supported in the possible future because I enjoy theming my PC.

Thanks. 

Hello,

Thanks for the offer but I can't give you the answer for that. Hopefully someone from Stardock support can give you are better answer when they come back from their weekend break. I've already link this thread to them.

Thank you,

Basj,

Stardock Community Assistant

This issue was reported to Stardock over 4 months ago by me, it started with Windows 10 when v1803 was released. So far no fix, hopefully soon. Maybe Stardock could ask Microsoft why they did this???

To fix this problem you need not only change the color value!

1. Create a tiny  *.bmp and fill it with the color you want to see in the Folders Bar.

2. Go to SkinStudio --> Edit Explorer / IE shell parts --> Folders bar and load this imade.

3. Press Apply Skin

That's all...

Hmmmm….I'll have to try this. Thanks Vadim!

Actually Val that isn't correct. For win10. Open SKS/change skin colors. Click on Show me the skin defined colors. Click on Edit folders bar background (Win10). Change this color for the left side of explorer window.

Note: For Win7/8 same location except click on Extra settings and change the background color. 

Note most of the time after this change you must close the Explorer window and open it again to see the change.

Jim do the above. A image has to be in the folders location as stated. However the color means nothing. Every skin can have a White color for the image or any color you want to use. 

Quoting Vad_M, reply 8

To fix this problem you need not only change the color value!

Reduced 62%

Original 1058 x 750

1. Create a tiny  *.bmp and fill it with the color you want to see in the Folders Bar.

2. Go to SkinStudio --> Edit Explorer / IE shell parts --> Folders bar and load this imade.

3. Press Apply Skin

That's all...

End of Vad_M's quote

All my skins have that image already and the same color set in the extra settings area Vad, it does not fix the issue at all in Windows 10, v1803 and higher. The explorer tree area background is still white.

Yes Tom I should have mentioned that. However I use oldnewexplorer and it does change using that. Guess  most people don't use that so White it is. I have to remember again most people don't use oldnewexplorer. 

Well I dunno what Don5318 is doing differently than you, but his are colored and he said he was already doing as Vadim said. I haven't made a blind in a few years, so I can't say anything other than what other skinners tell me.

I just did what Vad said, and what Dave said.  I must have done it wrong. Didn't work.

SkinStudio --> Edit Explorer / IE shell parts --> Folders bar  is not correct.  It is SkinStudio --> Theme Part Details --> Command Bars --> Folders bar .

I am using OldNewExplorer too Dave, but I don't see a setting for that, what is it?

May have said it wrong. No setting in oldnewexplorer. was just saying if one doesn't use it maybe that is why they are not seeing changes. 

For me it works on all the skins I make at least here. 

Yeah, OldNewExplorer doesn't fix this issue. Only way to fix it is to change the Window background color in SkinStudio or the System Colour: Window setting in WB. But whatever you change it to, for sure NotePad and WordPad will have the same color background, and I use MS Office 10 here, and it gets screwed up too. It affects any app that relies on using a white background.

This is very strange... Checked right now: SkinStudio (version 10.1, Edit mode - Section Based).  Then --> Edit Explorer / IE shell parts --> Folders bar... Some kind of mystic...  

After that I've tested more than 30 different skins (from different authors) on both Win-7 / Win-10 computers. NO ANY PROBLEMS. All works fine...

However I've found another issue - the Preview pane not skinned on Win-7:

The background color is white with any skins... Hmmm...

I have to agree with Vad. I explained how I did it. It works fine here even on Tom's skins that I tried. So I give up folks and can't see any reason to change what I'm doing.

Not working, Vad, Dave.

Quoting Vad_M, reply 18

Quoting LightStar,

reply 14

SkinStudio --> Edit Explorer / IE shell parts --> Folders bar is not correct. It is SkinStudio --> Theme Part Details --> Command Bars --> Folders bar .

This is very strange... Checked right now: SkinStudio (version 10.1, Edit mode - Section Based).  Then --> Edit Explorer / IE shell parts --> Folders bar... Some kind of mystic...  

After that I've tested more than 30 different skins (from different authors) on both Win-7 / Win-10 computers. NO ANY PROBLEMS. All works fine...

However I've found another issue - the Preview pane not skinned on Win-7:

Reduced 65%

Original 1019 x 645

The background color is white with any skins... Hmmm...

End of Vad_M's quote

The preview pane in Win 7 and 8 has always been white, it is not skinnable.  In Win 10 it does color though.

Just interesting why it was not fixed till now...

Hi Jim! Incredible! So there is my full settings step by step:

1. SkinStudio --> Change skin colors --> System colors --> Explorer background and Explorer folder bar background like on your screenshot!

2. SkinStudio --> Explorer parts --> Folders bar

2.a.  Folders bar image --> *.bmp 8x8

2.b. Folders bar --> Extra settings --> Background Color --> The same color as the Explorer background in the System colors.

3. SkinStudio --> Background section --> Edit Explorer background bitmaps --> Active Window; Inactive Window; Active Window (Glass); Inactive Window (Glass) --> The *.bmp from Folders bar.

4. Go to your skin folder. Open *.uis (or *.sss) file of your skin and check the [Personality] section. Mine contains these four lines:

Menubar=Chronos 10\menubar_notepad.bmp
MDIBmp=Chronos 10\window_dialog_blue.bmp
DialogBmp=Chronos 10\window_dialog_blue.bmp
ExplorerBmp=Chronos 10\window_explorer.bmp <-- the same bitmap that I use in Folder Bar and Explorer background.

I don't remember does SkinStudio adds this line automatically or I've added it manually. However this line is present in the all skins I have on my PC.

I hope this help you...

Vad what line you talking about. The one between the left and right side of Explorer window? 

I tried everything you mentioned in your last post Vad, did not fix anything. The explorer tree area is still white even though it is set to a different color in the Windows 10 color settings area of SkinStudio. Only changing the Windows background color does anything unfortunately. Which I refuse to do any more because of how it affects other applications. 

What version of Windows 10 are you running?

I don't know. But I think this is a settings for whole Explorer window. Not for a parts...

I finally understood the problem in general! In all skins that I've tested both colors Explorer background (Win10) and Explorer folder bar background (Win10) are equal to each other and also equal to a color of image that is used for Folder Bar background. So the settings work properly in this case only...

But on the Jim's screenshot both colors are the same but the Folder Bar still white...

That beats me...  

P.S. The version of my Windows 10 is 1809 (OS Build 17763.437)