XP Visual Styles and Themes

Windows XP introduced "visual styles" — a theming engine that replaces the classic Win32 flat controls with styled, colorful versions.

Built-in Themes

Changing the Theme

1. Right-click the desktop → Properties → Themes tab.
2. Select a theme from the dropdown (Windows XP, Windows Classic, etc.).
3. For color scheme changes within Luna: go to the Appearance tab and select from the "Color scheme" dropdown.

Visual Styles for Developers

For your applications to use the XP visual style, you must include a manifest file or call InitCommonControlsEx:

<!-- app.exe.manifest -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
  <dependency>
    <dependentAssembly>
      <assemblyIdentity type="win32" name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
        version="6.0.0.0" processorArchitecture="X86"
        publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df" language="*" />
    </dependentAssembly>
  </dependency>
</assembly>

In VB6 Applications

VB6 applications can use XP visual styles by adding a manifest file:

1. Create a file named MyApp.exe.manifest with the XML above.
2. Place it in the same directory as the compiled .exe.
3. On launch, Windows detects the manifest and applies the Luna visual style to all common controls.

Third-Party Themes

Third-party tools like StyleXP and WindowBlinds can apply custom visual styles beyond the built-in Luna options. Note that unsigned theme files require patching uxtheme.dll to bypass Microsoft's theme signature verification.