• Home
 · 
• Miscellaneous
 · 
• Windows XP visual effects for your program without manifest file

Windows XP visual effects for your program without manifest file

This article tells you how to get the Windows XP visual themes into your program without having the manifest file.

Rate Windows XP visual effects for your program without manifest file

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

(13(13 Vote))

Step1: download 'Resource Hacker' v3.4.0 from
here, if you have 
it then skip this step and go to step2
Step2: add the following code to your program before converting to 
.exe file:

 

 
Private Declare Function
 InitCommonControls Lib "comctl32.dll" () As 
 Long

 

 Private Sub Form_Initialize()

 InitCommonControls

 End Sub
 

Step3: Open the notepad and copy the following code into it 
and save it as a .txt file.

 

 


 

 
 name="yourAppName"

 processorArchitecture="x86"

 version="4.34.0.0"

 type="win32"/>

 Your Program Name

 

 

 
 type="win32"

 name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"

 version="6.0.0.0"

 processorArchitecture="x86"

 publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"

 language="*"

 />

 

 

 
 

Step4: open your .exe file with resource hacker by clicking open in 
the file menu. (or open your resuorce file .res if you don't want to edit your program each time you rebuild the project)

Step5: Click on 'Add a new Resource...' from the 'Action' 
menu


 
Step6: the following dialog will show up


Click on the button called 'open file with new resource...' 
and choose the .txt file you saved in Step3
Step7: In the Resource Type: type 24, In the
Resource Name type: 1 and In the Resource Language type: 
1033. and then click on 'Add Resource'


 
Step8: Save the changes by clicking on 'Save' from 
the 'File' menu. Finally, Terminate the Resource Hacker.


Done!
open your .exe file and notice the cool interface :)