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Note:
If you don't have a Desktop Theme Manager, click
here before continuing.
Three Steps:
1. Download the Desktop Theme of your choice.
Under each Desktop Theme title in our library is a link, "Click For More
Details Or To Download ..." which will take you to that themes download page.
On that page you will find, "Click a link below to download this theme"
and below that will be a link named something like, "ftp.rissnet.com".
Click that link and you will see something like this:
Make note of the filename (dancingbears.exe) and whether it ends with an ".exe"
or "zip" extension. Click the "Save" button and NOT the "Open"
button.
You will then see a window like this: (This sample is Windows XP)
This is where you decide where (on your hard drive) the dancingbears.exe will
be stored. You might choose the "Desktop," "My Documents"
or "My Downloads" folder to make it easy to find the file again later.
Once you have your target folder showing in the "Save in:" window,
click the "Open" button to start your download. (We know it says "Open"
but it really means "Save.")
If you have problems downloading files, click
here for troubleshooting.
2. Install the Desktop Theme.
When the download completes, the installation file will be on your hard drive
and you will be ready to install your new desktop theme. With your desktop visible,
double-click the "My Computer" icon (or click on "Start" in
Windows XP) and then navigate to where you saved the downloaded file (dancingbears
in this example).
Desktop Theme installation files come in one of two forms; as "executable"
or as "zipped" files. Executable files have a ".exe" file
extension and zipped files have a ".zip" file extension. Depending on
how you set the "View" in your Folder Options, you may or may not see
the file extension at this point. The desktop themes that come as executable files
are the easiest to install. All you need to do is double-click the filename and
the installation process begins automatically.
If you are not familiar with dealing with "Zipped" files, you can
stick to the themes that come as executables at first. All the examples on our
Desktop Themes Main
Page are easy-to-install executables so you could start right there.
But soon you will want access to our entire library. Windows XP has built-in
support for zipped files. For all other versions of Windows, go to Winzip.com
and get their excellent zip utility program called Winzip. You can click the "Download
Evaluation Version" for a free trial. If you find yourself using it regularly,
you should register with them.
Once the downloaded file is unzipped and you can see all the files it contained,
look for a file with a name similar to "readme," double-click it and
read the directions it contains. You may also find a file with a name similar
to "setup.exe" or "install.exe". Unless the "readme"
directions say otherwise, double-click that file and the installation should begin.
If there are no setup files, you may have to copy the files to the appropriate
location(s) manually and that should be covered in the readme directions. Some
themes also include a matching screensaver. In that case, you should find two
executable files, one for the theme installation and one for the screensaver installation.
As always, view the theme author's readme notes before doing anything else.
3. Make the Desktop Theme Active
(If the installation process didn't do it automatically)
Right-click on an unused area of your desktop (not on an icon).
Choose "Properties" from the menu that appears.
Click on the "Themes" tab along the top of the window
that appears.
Choose the desktop theme in the drop-down menu just above the preview
window.
With the correct theme selected, click "Apply" and stand
back!
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