Frequently Asked Questions

Icons

Q: Can I just take a screenshot of an icon to use it?
A: No, you can not. The Windows XP icons have a dropshadow and anti-alias to the background so taking a screenshot will reduce the quality of the image. Additionally you may only reuse icons that are redistributed for public use. We will be releasing some common icons in the near future such as cut, copy, paste.

Q: I see an icon in Windows XP that I like, how can I get it?
A: Windows XP icons should be used consistently to represent the same task or object. Using an icon to represent multiple things in the user experience dilutes the meaning and recognition. For example, always use the same scissors icon to represent "cut" or only use the Control Panel icon to represent the Control Panel folder. We will be providing a set of common icons for usage in a future update to these guidelines.

Q: Can I modify an existing icon to represent something else?
A: The modification of an icon needs to be very significant to avoid any potential confusion with the existing icon.

Q: Is there somewhere I can go to have the icons I need made to match the style of Windows XP?
A: There are companies such as IconFactory (www.iconfactory.com) that are experts at making Windows XP style icons. A good illustrator or designer should be able to emulate the style following the guidelines and looking at Windows XP.

Graphics

Q: Is it possible to implement graphic elements that anti-alias on the fly by the OS or should we not anti-alias these elements?
A: Yes, the operating system does support 32-bit bitmaps. You can use tools such as GifMovieGear to create these images. When creating an anti-aliased element it is important to remember to test your graphic in 16-bit and 24-bit color configurations.

Q: The page layout includes a header. Is it acceptable to have a web-like navigation bar inside the header?
A: Yes. However we do not have an example of this in Windows XP to recommend how you could apply this.

Themes

Q: How do I create a theme?
A: At this point in time we are not allowing additional themes to be created for Windows XP. This is primarily because we have found that additional themes can cause application compatibility issues. Allowing the creation of additional themes is something that we are investigating for future releases.

Q: Can individual applications theme themselves separately from the OS?
A: Yes it is possible for applications to theme themselves separately from the OS. Windows Media Player is an example application that does this however theming separately is not recommended. Most users will expect a consistent user experience, across multiple applications so doing a custom look on your application can detract from the user experience of your application. Diverging from the Windowsn XP look and feel will also mean that your application will manually need to adjust for the currently selected theme, as well as handle accessibility and system colors appropriately.

Q: Can I get access to the bmps for the different Windows XP themes?
A: No, you should never use any of the theme bitmaps directly, you should always render the theme images using the theme API's. This way if new themes are released in the future your application will work correctly.

Q: How do I make my application/design work with different color schemes such as Lilac or High Contrast?
A: When rendering your application and there is no theme selected (Null theme handle) your application should use system metric colors to correctly render the various aspects of the application. This is the same technique as used on Windows 2000.

Q: Do I need to create 3 different sets of graphics (blue, silver, olive green) for my application?
A: If you have decided to theme your application separately from the OS then we recommend that you stay in sync with the currently selected theme and provide the user with a consistent experience. Because of the added complexity we do not recommend that applications theme themselves separately from the OS.

General

Q: Will Microsoft critique the work we have done on our project to be sure we are on the right track?
A: We are very interested in the applications that you make and will often provide feedback on how these applications can work better with Windows XP however we can not guarantee that you will get a response. Unfortunately we just don't have the time to see all the great work people are doing with applying the Windows XP look to their products.

The document "Using Windows XP Visual Styles" describes how to use Microsoft Windows XP to perform the more common tasks that are necessary to apply visual styles to your applications.

If you have further questions, please email your inquiries to winxpdes@microsoft.com