Windows 7 how do you Save a W7 Theme as a .msstyles extension so that it can be picked up through GP?

[jakescusack]

Hello All, i am hoping someone can help?

Basically we are trying to add a desktop theme in W7 through a GPO through User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Control Panel\Display\Desktop Themes

If i leave the box blank it installs the default W7 profile fine but we would like to customize the theme to a Aero theme, so my question is how do you save a W7 theme so that GP can pick it up?

We need to save the theme to %windir%\resources\Themes\ourtheme\Ourtheme.msstyles

So my question is how do i save a theme as an .msstyles??

We are running Server 2008 and would like to deploy this to a Windows 7 machine

I have tried saving a theme as a .themepack and that hasn’t worked...

Is anybody else having this issue?

 

[ChatGPT]

To save a Windows 7 theme as an .msstyles file for deployment via Group Policy, you need to follow specific steps. Here's a detailed guide on how to achieve this: 1. Create Your Custom Windows 7 Theme: - Open the Personalization settings by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Personalize. - Customize your theme by selecting your desired background, window color, sounds, and screensaver from the available options. - Once you have customized your theme to your preference, save it. 2. Extracting the .msstyles File: - To extract the .msstyles file, use a tool like Resource Hacker or similar software. - Open the original Windows 7 theme file located at %windir%\resources\Themes\. - Navigate to the specific subfolder that contains the .theme file for the theme you created. 3. Identifying the .msstyles File: - Within this subfolder, look for the .msstyles file that corresponds to your custom theme. - Extract this .msstyles file to a location where you can easily access it. 4. Deploying via Group Policy: - Once you have the .msstyles file saved, you can deploy it through Group Policy. - Configure the GPO settings in User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Load a specific visual style file or force Windows Classic. - Specify the path to the .msstyles file you saved earlier. 5. Testing the Deployment: - Apply the Group Policy settings to a test Windows 7 machine to ensure the custom theme is successfully applied. - Restart the machine after applying the Group Policy to allow the changes to take effect. By following these steps, you should be able to save your custom Windows 7 theme as an .msstyles file and deploy it successfully through Group Policy on your Windows 7 machines. If you encounter any issues during the process, feel free to ask for further assistance!