Customizing your desktop can be as simple as enable an animated wallpaper, or combining multiple elements to form completely different themes from the ones Windows offers. Developers are still looking for a way to present all those tweaks and adjustments in an easy and intuitive interface, and ScreenStyler seems to be pointing in the right direction, with resources from RocketDock and the classic Rainmeter.
While we can't deny that some of the themes and wallpapers available in Windows are very interesting, sooner or later we'll want something different. Microsoft has tried (and still tries) to offer widget-based alternatives, however, its idea is more focused on promoting the company's services than on improving the user experience.
So, what path can we take? For years we've had access to tools like Rainmeter, but they were never fully intuitive. Clearly there is a gap here, and some projects seek to simplify the process of customizing our desktops. One of them is ScreenStyler, which is in a very early beta and is not without problems, but definitely deserves our attention.
How to Customize Your Desktop with ScreenStyler
ScreenStyler uses a combination of the aforementioned Rainmeter and the application launcher RocketDock from Punk Labs. The program asks for a name (optional), and then we reach the main screen, where we can start building our theme. In the left bar appear the six ScreenStyler categories: Wallpapers, Widgets, Icons, Dock, Steam Skins, and Options.
The wallpaper selection isn't that complete, to say the least, but nothing stops us from adding our own images, and ScreenStyler offers a direct shortcut to Wallhaven, one of the best portals with free wallpapers on the Web. The Widgets category is much broader, courtesy of Rainmeter. Some are simple and text-based, while the rest are inspired by iOS widgets.
The icons are nothing more than glorified shortcuts, with options for the most relevant programs and portals. The dock has superior flexibility thanks to controls for its position, size, style (for example, we can make it semi-transparent), and the ability to easily add multiple icons. The Steam Skins section does exactly what it promises, and the Options menu includes parameters like aspect ratio, DPI, performance evaluation, geographic location, news feeds, and default media player.
The good news is that ScreenStyler manages to reduce desktop customization to a few clicks, and it doesn't have a big impact on the computer's resources. The bad news is that some widgets are quite complicated to configure (setting our location by latitude and longitude is ridiculous), and it needs more transparency in the installation of certain modules (the Rainmeter Skin Installer popups are quite annoying). In short, "beta pains" that for now we must accept if we decide to give ScreenStyler a chance. Link below!
(Editor's note: The official site uses Mediafire to distribute its installer, but we haven't detected anything weird. Still, it's a beta, and we should treat it as such.)
Official site and download: Click here
