How to dim the taskbar color

[Shashee]

Can Anyone Tell me How to change/dim the taskbar color .....???
I am using Windows Vista.

Please Help...!

[Raine]

Change the color and "glassiness" of windows, the Start menu, and the Taskbar.


To open

Control Panel -> [Appearance and Personalization] -> Personalization -> Window Color and Appearance

Right-click the Desktop and choose Personalize -> Window Color and Appearance

Description

One of the most notable changes in Windows Vista compared to earlier versions of Windows is its transparent windows, courtesy of Windows Aero. You can change their colors and transparency from the Window Color and Appearance page.
Click a color to choose a new color. If you want to further customize the colors, click "Show color mixer," and controls will let you choose the precise colors of your windows. To change the transparency of windows, use the Color intensity slider. Move the slider to the left to make windows more transparent and to the right to make them less transparent. To change the colors and fonts of all screen elements in pretty much any way you'd like, click "Open classic appearance properties for more color options," and you'll open a dialog box from Windows Vista that lets you customize all elements of your screen.

If you aren't using Windows Aero, choosing Window Color and Appearance leads you to a different screenAppearance Settings, a holdover from Windows XP that lets you choose a color scheme but doesn't let you set the transparency of windows.

Once you've recovered from the excitement of the Welcome Center, you get your first glimpse of the full Vista desktop.


All of the usual Windows landmarks are herethe Start menu, taskbar, and Recycle Binbut they've been given a drastic cosmetic overhaul.

If you're into this kind of thing, here's the complete list of what makes Aero Aero:

The edges of windows are thicker (for easier targeting with your mouse). Parts of the Start menu and window edges are transparent. Windows and dialog boxes cast subtle shadows on the background, as though they're floating.

A new, bigger, more modern font is used for menus and labels.

When you point to a window button without clicking, the button "lights up." The Minimize and Maximize buttons glow blue; the Close button glows red.

The default button in a dialog boxthe one Microsoft thinks you really want, like Save or Printpulses gently, using fading color intensity to draw your eye.

The Vista desktop, like the XP desktop before it, is a victim of Microsoft's clean-freak tendencies. It's awfully prettybut awfully barren. Windows veterans may miss the handy desktop icons that once provided quick access to important locations on your PC, like My Computer, My Documents, My Network Places, and Internet Explorer.


You can still get to these locationsthey're listed in your Start menubut opening them requires two mouse clicks (including one to open the Start menu)an egregious expenditure of caloric effort.

However, if you miss the older arrangement, it's easy enough to put these icons back on the desktop. To do so, right-click a blank spot on the desktop; from the shortcut menu, choose Personalize.

Now the Personalization dialog box appears. In the Tasks pane on the left side, click "Change desktop icons."

Checkboxes for the common desktop icons await your summons: Computer, Network, Internet Explorer, Control Panel, and User's Files

Turn on the ones you'd like to install onto the desktop and then click OK. Your old favorite icons are now back where they once belonged.

Little animations liven up the works, especially when you minimize, maximize, or close a window.

Aero isn't just looks, eitherit also includes a couple of features, like Flip 3D and live taskbar icons.

Windows Vista also includes all-new sounds, toothe little blips and bleeps you hear when you wake up or shut down the PC, get an error message, and so on.Microsoft wishes you to know, in particular, that the new Windows startup sound "has two parallel melodies, played in an intentional 'Win-dows Vis-ta' rhythm; consists of four chords, one for each color in the Windows flag; is 4 seconds long, end to end; and is a collaboration between contributors Robert Fripp (primary melody), Tucker Martine (rhythm), and Steve Ball (harmony and final orchestration)." Any questions?

What you're seeing is the new face of Windows, known to fans as Aero. (It supposedly stands for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open, but you can't help suspecting that somebody at Microsoft retrofitted those words to fit the initials.)

The Aero design may not actually be Authentic or whatever, but it does look clean and modern. You'll see it, however, only if you have a fairly fast, modern PC. Basically, you need a Windows Experience Index score of 3 or higher, meaning a good amount of memory and a recent graphics card with Vista-specific drivers.

Furthermore, the Aero features are available only in the more expensive versions of Vista: Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

If you have a slower computer or the Home Basic version, you'll be able to enjoy all of Vista's featuresbut they just won't look quite as nice. You'll use them without the transparencies, animations, and other eye candy.

Nobody ever said Microsoft's specialty was making things simple.

[Eric B]

Right-click on your desktop and click Personalize, and then on "Window Color
and Appearance".

If you click on "Show color mixer" you can make a custom color.

The color of the taskbar and maximized windows will stay dark, unless you
make a very bright color.

[Macarenas]

In the past Microsoft used to provide other color options for the Classic theme which will allow the color change of the taskbar. Sadly, they removed it in Vista. You may need a skinning utility.

[JonathanD]

Change the Task Bar Color in Windows XP

1. Start up your computer and right click with your mouse on any clear space (don't click on any part of the taskbar or on any icons) a menu should appear.
   
2. In this menu, select Properties.
   
3. new menu should appear, select the option for Appearance.
   
4. Click on the active title bar
   
5. You can now easily customize the color of your Taskbar.
   
6. Click on Apply and you can view the new look of your Taskbar. Once you have customized the Taskbar to your liking, click OK to close the dialog box. It should be noted that while the taskbar color will change, the Start Button will always remain green.

Change the Task Bar Color in Windows Vista

1. Start up your computer and right click with your mouse on any clear space (don't click on any part of the taskbar or any icons) a menu should appear.
   
2. In this menu, select Personalize.
   
3. new menu should appear, select the option for Colors and Appearance.
   
4. Click on the color and any attributes you would like.
   
5. Click OK and the new color of your Taskbar will be customized.