Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about desktop theme files.  Please try to resolve any problems you may encounter with any of my themes by reading this information carefully before writing to me. As anyone with an e-mail inbox knows, we get way too much mail already so it may take a while before I can properly respond to your questions. Please understand that if I spent all my time answering e-mail, I'd never have time to create anything. Hopefully, some of this information will help you enjoy all my desktop theme creations.

Question:
What is a desktop theme?

Answer:
A desktop theme is a package containing one or more related backgrounds, icons, and cursors designed to give your computer a common "theme" look and sound. Many themes also contain additional theme settings like web view images, system startup/shutdown logo screens and screen savers.

Question:
How do I open a theme zip file download?

Answer:
Open zip files using a zip file program that supports long filenames.  One of the most popular programs is called WinZip. Please see the WinZip site for more information. They have an excellent FAQ section that will explain all this a lot better than I can.

Question:
How do I install a desktop theme?

Answer:
All of my themes contain a readme text file with information about zip file extraction and the proper directory location for theme installation. It's fairly simple and probably safe to say that if you can copy and paste, you can install a desktop theme. At any rate, please refer to the readme text file within each zip download and follow the installation instructions accordingly.

Question:
Now that I've installed all the theme files from the zip, how do I apply the theme settings to my desktop?

Answer:
To apply a desktop theme, you will need a desktop theme manager like Microsoft Plus! Desktop Themes, which is commonly found in the Control Panel within most of today's Microsoft Windows operating systems. See your operating system documentation or search the Microsoft website for more information. (Tip: Download any one of the free themes available on the Microsoft Live Update site and it will automatically update your Themes.exe file to the latest compatible version for your operating system.)

Question:
Your themes look great but I can't hear any sounds. Do I need some special software to play these sound associations within Windows.

Answer:
The sound files in my themes are compressed using the ACM Waveform (*wav) of MPEG Layer-3. This is very similar to the more well known MP3 music files but there is one major difference. ACM Waveform (*wav) files are playable through shell association with sound properties and MP3 files are not. To enable this feature if your system is not playing them through normal shell associations, you will need to install the proper sound codec for the ACM Waveform of MPEG Layer-3. Please see the theme readme text file within my themes for free codec download information.

Question:
How do I get rid of this theme and get back to my default Windows settings?

Answer:
Apply the 'Default' theme using your desktop theme manager software. Then proceed with the deletion of the appropriate theme subdirectory and theme files related to the desktop theme you wish to remove. Note that some themes include system startup/shutdown logo screens which will need to be replaced using the original Logo Installer found within the appropriate theme subdirectory.  See the help file that accompanies the Logo Installer for more information.

If you should need to download the original system startup/shutdown logos, they can be found in the Emergency section of the Theme Doctor site.

Question:
Where can I get more information about how to create themes and theme related software.

Answer:
Start where I did, by visiting the Theme Doctor site. There you will find literally hundreds of desktop theme downloads, tools, tips and tricks for all your desktop theme needs.