Downloading and Installing StyleBuilder

StyleBuilder provides you with the ability to create a Windows visual style. This includes the color scheme and the graphics used to represent GUI elements. StyleBuilder is really companion software to TGTSoft's skinning software Style XP.

Note

If you are going to download the trial version of StyleBuilder or purchase StyleBuilder, you also need to download Style XP (or purchase Style XP) so you can apply the visual styles you create with StyleBuilder. For more about using Style XP, see Chapter 6, "A Closer Look at Skinning Software."

The visual styles you create using StyleBuilder are in the same format as those provided by Microsoft, which are then used by the Windows uxtheme.dll skinning engine. Style XP must also be installed on your computer (it provides the uxtheme.dll hack) so you can apply the visual styles you create in StyleBuilder.

You can download the trial version (30 days) of StyleBuilder from TGTSoft's website at http://www.tgtsoft.com/. The download file is a zipped archive file. After downloading the file to a folder of your choice, use the Windows Extraction Wizard to extract the StyleBuilder executable file (see Figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1. Extract the StyleBuilder installation file.

Double-click the StyleBuilder installation file to begin the software installation. An installation wizard opens; work through the wizard screens to install StyleBuilder on your computer.