How to Access “Advanced Appearance Settings” Option to Change Text Size in Windows 8?

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After receiving so many emails from lots of AskVG readers regarding same problem, today I decided to post this article. Many people who are using Microsoft's latest OS Windows 8, are wondering where is the "Advanced Appearance Settings" option?

Actually in previous Windows versions such as Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, users could customize the text size and color using "Advanced appearance settings" option present in Desktop Properties (Personalization) window.

But unfortunately Microsoft has removed this feature from Windows 8. But there is a similar option available in Windows 8 to change screen text size.

So if you are also using Windows 8 and want to access "Advanced appearance settings" option in Windows 8, this tutorial will help you.

In this tutorial, we are going to tell you how to change text size of title bars, menus, message boxes, palette titles, icons and tooltips in Windows 8.

We have divided this tutorial in 2 parts:

• METHOD 1: Using Desktop Personalization
• METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor

So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:

METHOD 1: Using Desktop Personalization

1. Right-click on Desktop and select "Screen resolution" option.

2. It'll open "Screen Resolution" window which allows you to change screen resolution and orientation. Click on the link "Make text and other items larger or smaller" as shown in following screenshot:

3. It'll open "Display" settings window. Alternatively, you can open "Display" window by selecting "Personalize" option from Desktop context menu and then click on "Display" link given at the bottom of left-sidebar.

Here you can change the text size of various items such as icons, title bars, etc by selecting the item from drop-down list and then selecting the desired size for it from the 2nd drop-down box.

4. Once you set the desired text size, click on "Apply" button.

METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor

If you want to change other advanced appearance settings which are not available in the above mentioned location of Windows 8 such as background color, border padding, caption buttons size, icon size, icon spacing, scrollbar size, etc, you can change or customize them using Windows Registry.

1. Press "WIN+R" key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It'll openRegistry Editor. Now go to following keys one by one:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Colors
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

Above mentioned Registry keys store all the advanced appearance settings information, so you can customize the advanced appearance settings in Windows 8 by changing the values of various DWORD and strings given in the right-side pane.

TIP: These Registry keys are same for Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. So to make the task easier, you can boot into Windows 7 and customize the advanced appearance settings using Desktop Personalization window. Then open Registry Editor and take a backup of the above mentioned Registry keys by right-click on them and select Export option. It'll create .REG files. Copy those REG files to Windows 8 computer and run them. The Registry scripts will add those customized settings to Windows 8. Restart Windows 8 computer and you'll see the new settings.

That's it. This is how you can access "Advanced Appearance Settings" option in Windows 8.

Transform Windows 7 into Windows 8 RTM without using Customization Pack

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UPDATE: Tutorial updated to match latest Windows 8 RTM UI.

Finally, the wait is over. After getting so many requests to post a tutorial to transform Windows 7 into Windows 8, today we are happy to announce it. This is the 4th tutorial of our "Transform Windows" series. You can take a look at other 3 tutorials using following links:

• Transform Windows XP into Windows Vista without using Customization Pack
• Transform Windows XP into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack
• Transform Windows Vista into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack

Although we have posted a few 3rd party transformation packs in past which help you in making Windows 7 look-like Windows 8 like Windows 8 UX Pack and Windows 8 Transformation Pack but this tutorial has been created for people who love to do the task manually and want to use selected things to convert Windows 7 into Windows 8 so that they can have an idea what they are going to do with their system.

NOTE: Please create a Restore point using "System Restore" before applying anything mentioned in this tutorial so that you can restore your system back to default if you don't like the changes.

After following this tutorial, you'll get the same Windows 8 look in your Windows 7. Following is a list of things which are going to change after following this tutorial:

• Windows Theme or Visual Style
• Boot Screen
• Login Screen or Welcome Screen
• Start ORB or Start Button
• Icons, Sounds and Cursors
• Ribbon UI in Windows Explorer
• Start Screen with Live Tiles
• Charms Bar
• Wallpapers
• Windows 8 Metro Task Manager
• User Picture Tile in Taskbar
• Aero Auto-Colorization Feature
• Centered Titlebar text, icon and Up Button in Windows Explorer
• Extras

So without wasting time, lets start the tutorial:

Windows Theme or Visual Style

Windows 8 features a clean and minimal theme which doesn't come with Aero glass transparency and blur effect. You can get a look-like interface in Windows 7 using following themes:

Download your desired theme using following topics:

• Download Windows 8 RTM Theme for Windows 7
• Download Windows 8 Release Preview (RC) Theme for Windows 7
• Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Beta) Theme for Windows 7
• Download Windows 8 "Aero Lite" Theme for Windows 7
• Download Windows 8 "Aero Lite with Glass" Theme for Windows 7

You can also check out many other Windows 8 Metro UI inspired themes for Windows 7 in our exclusiveWindows 7 Themes section.

Boot Screen

Windows 8 comes with a new clean and minimal boot screen which looks like following:

You can get a similar boot screen in Windows 7 using following article:

Download Windows 8 RTM Boot Screen for Windows 7

Also check out many other Windows 8 metro style boot screens for Windows 7 using following links:

• Download Windows 8 Metro Boot Screen for Windows 7
• Download Windows 8 Metro UI Inspired Minimal Boot Screen for Windows 7
• Download Windows 8 Metro Style Boot Screen for Windows 7
• Download New Windows 8 Concept Boot Screen for Windows 7
• Download Windows Vienna Concept Boot Screen for Windows 7

Login Screen or Welcome Screen

Windows 8 login screen looks very simple and doesn't provide any eye candy effects as shown in following screenshot:

To get Windows 8 login screen in Windows 7, check out following article:

Download Windows 8 Login Screen for Windows 7

To get the date and time on login screen, check following topic:

Download Windows 8 Metro Logon Clock Screensaver

You can also check following awesome Windows 8 concept login screen for Windows 7:

Download Windows 8 Concept Login Screen "Gloosh" for Windows 7

Start ORB or Start Button

Although Microsoft has completely removed Start Menu and Start button from Windows 8 but Windows 7 userscan replace existing Start ORB with a nice looking Windows 8 style Start button as shown in following screenshot:

You can get this Start button in Windows 7 using following tutorial:

Get New Windows 8 Start ORB (Start Button) in Windows 7

Icons, Sounds and Cursors

Windows 8 icons are almost similar to Windows 7. You can get new Windows 8 sounds and cursors from following topic:

Download Windows 8 Sounds and Cursors for Windows 7

Ribbon UI in Windows Explorer

Windows 8 also features Office 2010 Ribbon UI in Windows Explorer. You can get the Ribbon UI in Windows 7 Explorer using following articles:

• Get Windows 8 Look-Like Ribbon UI in Windows XP, Vista and 7 Explorer using Styler Skin
• BExplorer (Better Explorer): Windows 8 Look-Like Explorer with Ribbon UI for Windows 7
• STDU Explorer: Get Windows 8 Style Explorer with Ribbon UI in Windows XP, Vista and 7

Start Screen with Live Tiles

Microsoft has featured a new Start Screen in Windows 8 which looks similar to Windows Phone 7 home screen. It basically shows live tiles of the installed programs in Windows 8.

You can get this new Start Screen in Windows 7 using following articles:

• Get Windows 8 Start Screen in Windows XP, Vista and 7 Using "Omnimo" Rainmeter Skin Suite
• Mosaic: Get Windows 8 Style Live Tiles with Metro UI on Windows XP, Vista and 7 Desktop

Charms Bar

Windows 8 also comes with a new Charms Bar which is a black sidebar panel which shows some useful shortcuts like Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings when you move your mouse cursor to right-side of screen.

You can get this new Charms Bar in Windows 7 using following articles:

• Download RocketDock Skin to Get Windows 8 Charms Bar in Windows XP, Vista, 7
• Get Windows 8 Charms Bar in Windows XP, Vista and 7
• How to Get Windows 8 Metro Style Start Menu (Charms Bar) with Clock in Windows 7?
• Win8Menu: Get Windows 8 Look-Like Tablet UI with Sidebar Panel (Charms Bar) in Windows 7

Wallpapers

You can download some cool Windows 8 wallpapers using following links:

• Download Top 10 Unofficial Windows 8 Wallpapers
• Download Remix Version of Windows 8 Wallpaper

Windows 8 Metro Task Manager

Windows 8 comes with new modern and advanced Task Manager which opens in a small window and shows the running programs list.

You can get a similar Metro Task Manager in Windows 7 using following topic:

Get Windows 8 Look-Like Metro Task Manager in Windows XP, Vista and 7

User Picture Tile in Taskbar

Initial Windows 8 testing builds featured new user picture tile in Taskbar notification area. It was added because of the integrated Windows Live services in Windows 8 shell.

If you want, you can get it in Windows 7 using following topics:

• UserTile: Free Utility to Get Windows 8 User Picture Tile (Avatar) in Windows 7 Taskbar
• Get Windows 8 Look-Like User Picture Tile (Avatar) in Notification Area of Windows 7

Aero Auto-Colorization Feature

One of the most interesting feature of Windows 8 is "Aero Auto-Colorization" which is the ability to automatically configure the color of Aero elements, like the Start Menu, Windows Explorer windows, and the taskbar based on the desktop wallpaper.

You can get the same effect in Windows 7 using following free tools:

• Aura: Get Windows 8 Aero Auto-Colorization Feature in Windows Vista and 7
• Aero Color Show: Free Tool to Get Windows 8 Aero Auto-Colorization Feature in Windows 7

Centered Titlebar text, icon and Up Button in Windows Explorer

Windows 8 Explorer comes with good old "Up" button in toolbar. The Explorer window also shows titlebar text along with icon in center.

Windows 8 Shows Centered Titlebar Text, Icon and New Up Button in Explorer

You can get the same in Windows 7 using following tutorial:

How to Get Windows 8 "Up" Button and Titlebar Text in Windows Vista and 7 Explorer?

Extras

Following are some software and skins which will provide Windows 8 Metro UI feeling in Windows 7. You should definitely have a look at them:

• 8 Start: Windows 8 Start Screen Like "Metro Style Homepage" for Mozilla Firefox, IE, Chrome and Opera
• EIGHT: Windows 8 Start Screen Like "Metro Style Homepage" for Mozilla Firefox, IE, Chrome and Opera
• Metro UI: Download Windows 8 Metro Style Inspired Theme for Yahoo! Messenger
• Download Awesome "HTC Home" and "Metro Home" Desktop Widgets for Windows Vista and 7
• MetroViewer: Simple Image Viewer for Windows with Metro UI
• MetroBackUp: Free Utility with Metro UI to Keep Directories in Sync
• Download Free Windows 8 (vNext) Skin for RocketDock
• Download Free Windows 8 Metro Theme for WinRAR Archiver
• Download Awesome Metro UI Inspired Themes for Steam
• Download Windows 8 Metro UI Inspired Desktop Sidebar for Windows Vista and 7
• Download Awesome Windows 8 Metro Theme for KMPlayer

That's all for now. After following all above mentioned steps, you'll get Windows 8 look-n-feel in Windows 7.

Is There Any Way to Enable Aero Glass Transparency in Windows 8?

Whenever a new user starts using Windows 8 final version (RTM), the first thing he/she notices is the removal of Aero glass transparency. When you boot into Windows 8 Desktop and open a program window, you don't get any transparency in windows. This is one of the most frequently asked question about Windows 8, "Where is the transparency in Windows 8? How can I enable transparency in Windows 8?".

In previous Windows versions such as Windows Vista and Windows 7, if your graphics card was compatible, you used to get Aero glass transparency in windows but in Windows 8 even if your graphics card supports Aero theme, you don't get the transparency. Why?

Actually Microsoft has removed Aero glass transparency feature from Windows 8 just like the removal of Start Menu, Start button and various other stuff. It was done to improve system performance and reduce battery power usage.

So the question comes, can you enable Aero glass transparency in Windows 8? The answer is NO. Microsoft has removed the complete code of Aero glass transparency from Windows 8 source code so you can't get it back.

Many websites are posting about a few tricks to enable a buggy and unstable transparency in Windows 8 which is of no use. If you can remember we have already posted a video revealing this trick long time back at our YouTube channel. This trick involves a Registry tweak to modify "ColorizationGlassAttribute" setting of DWM engine. Check out following video showing the whole method:

Same thing can also be achieved by first applying a High contrast theme and then re-applying default Windows theme. Actually its a bug in Windows 8. You are not going to get Aero glass feature or transparency using this tweak. This trick forces Windows 8 to just draw window borders and everything else remains unchanged. So the transparency which you get using the above trick is not actually a transparency. Its just a blank space which is showing the background stuff. Also its unstable. As soon as you move the program window, it gets massed up.

So there is no built-in way or Registry tweak to get Aero glass transparency back in Windows 8 but there will be many 3rd party software available in coming days which will provide Aero glass transparency in Windows 8. Similar to freeware bringing back Start Menu and Start button in Windows 8 and freeware to customize Start Screen in Windows 8.

In the meantime you can try following freeware which were created to get Windows Vista and Windows 7 style Aero glass transparency in Windows XP but these freeware might also work in Windows 8 (not tested):

• Border Skin: Get Windows Vista and 7 Style Aero Glass Effect with Blur and Reflection in Windows XP
• TrueTransparency: Another Freeware to Get Aero Glass with Blur and Reflection in Windows XP

So if you want to enjoy Aero glass transparency in Windows 8, just wait until we get some software to bring the good old transparency back in Windows 8...