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Aero Glass Transparency
  1. #1
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    Aero Glass Transparency
    How to Enable or Disable Aero Glass Transparency in Vista
    Published by Brink is offline
    04 Jul 2007
    Aero Glass Transparency

    How to Enable or Disable Aero Glass Transparency in Vista

    information   Information
    Glass Transparency is part of the Windows Aero color scheme that makes your window borders look like transparent glass. This will show you how to enable or disable the Windows Aero Transparency feature.
    Note   Note
    Glass Transparency can be a resource hog on your video device. This can cause your computer to slow down on systems that are not very powerful. Using Windows Aero without Transparency does not use much resources though.
    warning   Warning
    You must have the Windows Aero color scheme turned on for the Glass Transparency, Taskbar Thumbnail Previews, and Flip 3D features.

    HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR: WINDOWS AERO
    See: Windows Help and Support: Troubleshoot problems with Windows Aero

    NOTE: The Windows Aero color scheme is not available for the Vista Home Basic version.
    • 1 GHz 32 bit or 64 bit CPU processor.
    • The computer needs at least 1 GB of RAM.
    • A graphics card with support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB of memory.
    • The graphics card must support Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware.
    • The graphics card driver must support Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM)
    • The computer display color depth must be set to 32 bits per pixel.

    EXAMPLE: Transparent Window
    Name:  Transparent_Window.jpg
Views: 66256
Size:  9.4 KB




    OPTION ONE

    Through Window Color and Appearance

    1. Right click on a empty area of your desktop.

    2. Click on Personalize. (See screenshot below)
    Name:  Personalize.jpg
Views: 69368
Size:  5.3 KB
    3. Click on the Window Color and Appearance link. (See screenshot below)
    choose.jpg
    4. To Disable Transparency
    A) Uncheck Enable transparency. (See screenshot below step 7)

    B) Go to step 6.
    5. To Enable Transparency
    A) Check Enable transparency.
    6. Click on a color you want to use for the windows, Start menu, and Taskbar.

    7. Adjust the Color intensity by sliding the bar to the left to decrease the intensity and to the right to increase the intensity.
    NOTE: If the Color intensity is set to far to the right, then the window borders and taskbar may be to dark to be transparent if enabled.
    uncheck.jpg
    8. Click on OK.

    9. Close window from below step 3.





    OPTION TWO

    Using a REG File Download

    1. To Disable Transparency
    A) Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
    Disable_Transparency.reg
    download
    B) Go to step 3.
    2. To Enable Transparency
    A) Click on the Download button below to download the
    Enable_Transparency.reg
    download
    3. Click on Save, and save the .reg file to the Desktop.

    4. Right click on the downloaded .reg file and click on Merge.

    5. Click on Run, Continue (UAC), Yes, and then OK when prompted

    6. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.

    7. When done, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.




    OPTION THREE

    Manually in Registry Editor

    1. Open the Start Menu.

    2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.

    3. Click on the Continue button in the UAC prompt.

    4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
    5. In the right pane, right click on ColorizationOpaqueBlend and click on Modify.
    dwm_key.jpg
    6. To Disable Transparency
    A) Type 1 and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

    B) Go to step 8.
    7. To Enable Transparency
    A) Type 0 (Number Zero) and click on OK.



    modify.jpg
    8. Close regedit.

    9. Log off and log on or restart the computer to apply the changes.
    That's it,
    Shawn


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    Applies to

    Home Premium,Business,Enterprise,Ultimate
    64 Bit & 32 Bit

  2. #1



    Newbie
    Join Date : Oct 2007
    Posts : 2
    Windows Vista
    Local Time: 01:14 AM

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    I had the same problem, with the loss of transparency and those nifty thumbnails that appear when I hover over a window on the taskbar, but when I went to "color and Appearance" that menu with the "Enable Transparancy" didn't appear. Instead I get that old little box that's supposed to let you chnage the color of your active/inacitve windows, but that's not working either. Other people have said it's because of iTunes ad DivX, but I went so far as to uninstall them and nothing happened. I've been running Vista with no problems before now. Any suggestions?


      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  3. #2
    Brink's Avatar

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      Thread Starter

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    Hi Skoralee,

    Welcome to the forum.

    You will need to have the Windows Aero color scheme selected for this to work. I heard of video drivers causing this problem where you cannot select it any more. You might try reinstalling the video drivers to see if that will fix the problem. If not, you might consider doing a Repair Install. This will allow you to repair your Vista installation without loosing your files, settings, and programs. You can see how to do this in this tutorial. You may need to reinstall your drivers afterwards.


    How to Perform a Repair Installation for Vista

    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  4. #3



    Newbie
    Join Date : Oct 2007
    Posts : 2
    Windows Vista
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    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    Thanks for the tip; it's back to normal now. Figures it would be something small like that.

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  5. #4
    Brink's Avatar

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      Thread Starter

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    You're welcome Skoralee,

    Glad to hear your problem is resolved.

    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  6. #5



    Newbie
    Join Date : Apr 2008
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    Ultimate x64
    Local Time: 12:14 AM


     

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    which do you prefer using the download way or the manual way?

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  7. #6
    Brink's Avatar

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      Thread Starter

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    Hi Roj888,

    I would do whatever method you like and feel comfortable doing since they both do the same thing. One it Automatic and one is Manual. I prefer using the REG download to save time.

    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  8. #7



    Newbie
    Join Date : Jul 2008
    Posts : 2
    Vista Ultimate 32bit
    Local Time: 12:44 PM


     

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    hey shawn, i just bought a new vaio with vista basic and upgraded it to vista ultimate, pretty nice stuff.
    my problem is that transparency is enabled while the windows are in "down mode" but there is no transparency in "maximize" mode. how do i work about it? (using vista ultimate x86 SP1)
    thx

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  9. #8
    Brink's Avatar

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    Join Date : Apr 2007
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      Thread Starter

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    Hello MirjA,

    You can use the latest 1.1 beta 3 version of the free program VistaGlazz to have your Maximize window transparent to. It only works in the 32 bit Vista version and not the 64 bit version. The VistaGlazz 1.0 version will not work with the Vista SP1 installed.

    Downloads | CodeGazer

    Hope this helps,
    Shawn

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  10. #9



    Newbie
    Join Date : Jul 2008
    Posts : 2
    Vista Ultimate 32bit
    Local Time: 12:44 PM


     

    Re: Aero Glass Transparency

    i installed vistaglazz and patched my aero theme as i had to to but it falls back to windows classic theme, thank god there is option of "restore original"! but as u mentioned it wont work with SP1, then is there any way i can get my maximized windows transparent??????????

    thx

    Last edited by MirjA; 01 Jul 2008 at 11:20 AM.
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