NanoSkin
Change the look of your Desktop using no additional resources AT ALL!
By far, the simplest skin makeover for Windows.
Make your scroll bar, drop down and menu arrows look like this:
HOW IT'S DONE
Windows uses a True Type Font for it's system glyphs. These include scroll bar, drop down and
menu arrows, check marks and caption buttons (Help, Min, Max and Close). The font, Marlett.ttf,
is hidden from Windows Explorer (for good reason). I modified the arrows to make them more
visible and turned the 'Minimize' button into a down arrow. Actually, I saw a screen shot with a
'Minimize' button altered just that way, so I poked around until I found out how it was done. As far
as I know, this trick will work on Windows 95 and should work with any Win OS that has the Marlett
font. The font file is 17,412 bytes long on Windows 95 & 98. It exists on Windows NT & 2000 but
I couldn't confirm the size. Also, help on installation for Windows NT & 2000 would be appreciated.
Let me know.
HOW TO INSTALL (Print this page or grab a pencil and paper. Remember those?)
The (more or less) automatic way (to make this a real nano-brainer):
First, download the font and batch files, MarNewB ('B' for Batch), and unzip to "C:\Windows".
Next, close all your windows and 'Restart in MS-DOS mode'. The font is locked in Windows mode.
Then, type the commands in [square brackets]. '<Enter>' means press the 'Enter' key.
C:\Windows>[marcopy <Enter>] Copy the original Marlett font to "C:\Windows\MarOld.ttf".
Delete "MarCopy.bat" to protect the original font (renamed MarOld.ttf) from being overwritten.
C:\Windows>[del marcopy.bat <Enter>] Let's do that right now. Just to be on the safe side.
C:\Windows>[marnew <Enter>] Copy the replacement font to "C:\Windows\Fonts\Marlett.ttf".
C:\Windows>[win <Enter>] Restart Windows. You may have to press 'Ctrl/Atl/Delete'.
If you need (or just want) to get things back to "normal":
First, close all your windows and 'Restart in MS-DOS mode'. The font is locked in Windows mode.
Then, type the commands in [square brackets]. '<Enter>' means press the 'Enter' key.
C:\Windows>[marold <Enter>] Copy the original font back to "C:\Windows\Fonts\Marlett.ttf".
C:\Windows>[win <Enter>] Restart Windows. You may have to press 'Ctrl/Atl/Delete'.
This method leaves five files in the "C:\Windows" folder (in this order):
-MaReadMe.txt, A Nano help file (just in case you forget),
-MarNew.bat, installs the replacement font,
-MarNew.ttf, the replacement font,
-MarOld.bat, restores the original Marlett font and
-MarOld.ttf, the original Marlett font.
The files stick together in the 'Name' view of Windows Explorer. I like things tidy. They're placed
in the "C:\Windows" folder because this is where "Restart in MS-DOS mode" ends up, The batch
files will copy to and from the folder they are executed from, assuming that you 'CD'ed there, so you
could install it someplace else. I left the .ttf extension on the fonts so that they could be viewed and
edited.
Care to try making your own NanoSkin?
The manual way (If you really know what you're doing):
First, download the new font, MarNew, and unzip.
Next, close all your windows and 'Restart in MS-DOS mode'. The font is locked in Windows mode.
Then, type the commands in [square brackets]. '<Enter>' means press the 'Enter' key.
C:\Windows>[cd fonts <Enter>] Move to the "C:\Windows\Fonts" folder.
C:\Windows\Fonts>[attrib -s -h -r marlett.ttf <Enter>] Make the Marlett font visible to DOS.
C:\Windows\Fonts>[move marlett.ttf (to a safe place) <Enter>] Save the original font, or else!
C:\Windows\Fonts>[copy C:\(path to)\marnew.ttf marlett.ttf <Enter>] Replace with the new font.
C:\Windows\Fonts>[attrib +s +h +r marlett.ttf <Enter>] Hide the font from Windows Explorer.
C:\Windows\Fonts>[win <Enter>] Restart Windows. You may have to press 'Ctrl/Atl/Delete'.
After reboot, the new font is in place and hidden, arrows changed, simple as that.
OTHER STUFF
Oh, by the by, the caption buttons are made possible with EppieDesk. Here's my GoldED buttons.
The tool bar buttons are by WindowBlinds (an older version) with window border skinning turned
off. Here's the GoldWB skin. I also use Windows Make-Up for the dialog boxes and the rest of the
buttons. Run Windows Make-Up early in the StartUp. I use the registry key 'HKCU/Run' and
Startup Control Panel to put it there. Here's my matching GoldWMU buttons, use them on all six
types (OK, Cancel, etc.).
Click here for a more detailed look at NanoSkin and the tools I use for my GoldSkin theme.
Any Comments? tinker
If you install NanoSkin, go online and click here to nudge my 'NanoSkinners:' counter (just curious).