Theme Resource Changer Tutorial

The Theme Resource Changer allows users to customize images in Windows Explorer without editing DLL files. It works by creating explorer.exe, explorerframe.dll, and Shell32.dll folders in the theme directory, and placing numbered PNG images inside to replace corresponding resources. After installing and restarting Explorer, any selected theme will use the customized images without further configuration needed.

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Theme Resource Changer Tutorial

Uploaded by

Egizt Gumilar

Available Formats

Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Theme Resource Changer Instructions

Theme Resource changer eliminates having to edit dll or exe

files to replace the images in your explorer.exe,
explorerframe.dll
and your shell32.dll.
1. To use the Theme resource changer download and run the
Theme Resource Changer.exe x86 or x64 depending on what
operating system you are using. Theme resource changer can
be found here: viewtopic.php?f=156&t=4530

2. After installation it will automatically restart explorer and

you are set you only have to apply this just the one time and it
will work for any theme that you setup to use it with.

3. To set your themes to use the Theme Resource Changer all

that is needed is to make 3 folders inside your theme folder,
with these names

explorer.exe
explorerframe.dll
Shell32.dll

like in the screen shot below:

These folders go inside your theme folder you have in
windows\resources\themes\your theme name here

4. Inside each folder you add the picture resources you would
like to use for each numbered the same as they are in the
explorer.exe, explorerframe.dll and Shell32.dll. These
resources must be in png format not bitmap. So example
explorer.exe for the start orb and user picture frame, the
numbers for these in the explorer.exe are 6801, 6805, 6809,
7013. Add those picture resources to the explorer.exe folder
and place it inside your theme folder.

as shown below in screen shots:

For the explorer.exe folder you can also add the user frame
png like so:

this would be image 7013 in the explorer.exe folder you can

find more user pics and info here in this post: viewtopic.php?
p=9654#p9654

Also in the Shell32.dll folder you can add images for icons in
the shell32.dll as pngs there are many icons in the shell32.dll
so I wont go into listing them all here but you may add images
as 256x256 pngs for the icons in the shell32.dll just make sure
to number them correctly as in the shell32.dll ie. 1 in the
shell32.dll in the icons folder would be 1.png image in your
shell32.dll folder
5. Then just select your theme in the personalization menu
and now your start orb will be changed, your explorerframe
buttons and other images in the explorer frame, along with the
navigation panel in system properties will now all be changed
to the images you have placed in those 3 folders in your theme
folder. This applies to any theme all you have to do is apply
the theme normally. No more editing dll's to replace your
images.