Make Windows XP Look Like Windows 7 in Three Steps

The Amazon Daily blog has a fun tip about making Windows XP look and work like Windows 7: Not quite ready to take the plunge of the free release candidate of Windows 7, but still dig on its snazzy new look?  If you're one of the millions who are sticking by the tried-and-true Windows XP until the grass is proven greener, here's an easy way to get a bit of Windows 7's spruced-up look and features with just three free downloads. 1) ViGlance --There've been several XP themes designed to mimic Windows 7's appearance, but ViGlance does that AND brings you some of the actual functionality of the new taskbar--you can group processes and even get some sliding transition effects. 2) Desk Topmost --Here's a nice substitute for the Aero Peek feature.  Instead of using the Ctrl+D shortcut to minimize all windows, Desk Topmost lets you use Ctrl+Alt+D to fade all open windows to show the desktop, and you can either click on the desktop icons as normal or right-click anywhere on the screen to return to your open windows. 3) Power Resize r--One of the hyped features of Windows 7 is Window Snap, where you drag a window to the top or side of the screen and it will automatically resize the window to take up half or all of the screen.  Power Resizer lets you do this in XP, but even takes it a step further by automatically resizing open windows in relation to a window that you actively resize.  Which means that if you resize an open window, the other open windows will resize themselves automatically in relation to it to fit the screen. Nice!

Paul Thurrott

June 16, 2009

1 Min Read
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The Amazon Daily blog has a fun tip about making Windows XP look and work like Windows 7:

Not quite ready to take the plunge of the free release candidate of Windows 7, but still dig on its snazzy new look?  If you're one of the millions who are sticking by the tried-and-true Windows XP until the grass is proven greener, here's an easy way to get a bit of Windows 7's spruced-up look and features with just three free downloads.

1) ViGlance--There've been several XP themes designed to mimic Windows 7's appearance, but ViGlance does that AND brings you some of the actual functionality of the new taskbar--you can group processes and even get some sliding transition effects.

2) Desk Topmost--Here's a nice substitute for the Aero Peek feature.  Instead of using the Ctrl+D shortcut to minimize all windows, Desk Topmost lets you use Ctrl+Alt+D to fade all open windows to show the desktop, and you can either click on the desktop icons as normal or right-click anywhere on the screen to return to your open windows.

3) Power Resizer--One of the hyped features of Windows 7 is Window Snap, where you drag a window to the top or side of the screen and it will automatically resize the window to take up half or all of the screen.  Power Resizer lets you do this in XP, but even takes it a step further by automatically resizing open windows in relation to a window that you actively resize.  Which means that if you resize an open window, the other open windows will resize themselves automatically in relation to it to fit the screen.

Nice!

About the Author(s)

Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott is senior technical analyst for Windows IT Pro. He writes the SuperSite for Windows, a weekly editorial for Windows IT Pro UPDATE, and a daily Windows news and information newsletter called WinInfo Daily UPDATE.

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