[Tips] Disable Colorization to Get Window Borders Always White and Enable Secret Slow Animations Tweak in Windows 8

Today in this topic, we are going to share 2 interesting Registry tweaks related to DWM (Desktop Window Manager) for Windows 8 OS which will allow you to:

  • Disable window colorization feature to get white window borders and colorful Taskbar
  • Enable hidden secret slow animations tweak

So without wasting time, lets share the tweaks:

TIP 1: Enable Always White Window Borders in Windows 8

Window Colorization” feature in Windows 8 automatically matches the color of Taskbar and program window borders when you change the color using Desktop Personalization window. By default this feature is enabled and there is no built-in option available to disable this feature. Actually in testing builds of Windows 8, an option “Use the same color for window borders” was present in personalization window to enable/disable this feature but unfortunately Microsoft removed the option from final RTM build of Windows 8.

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Anyway using a simple registry tweak, you can disable the colorization feature and then program window borders will always remain white irrespective of what color you set for the Taskbar. So with the help of this tweak, you can have different color of window borders and Taskbar in Windows 8 as shown in following screenshot:

Windows_8_Borders_Always_White.png

Just follow these simple steps to disable colorization feature and set window borders always white with colored Taskbar in Windows 8:

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

3. In right-side pane, look for a DWORD EnableWindowColorization and set its value to 0

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4. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to take effect. If you don’t want to restart your computer, you can kill/end task of DWM service using Task Manager to take effect.

After restart, you’ll always have white borders in program windows and different color for Taskbar as set in Desktop Personalization window.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default settings, simply change value of EnableWindowColorization DWORD to 1 again and restart your system or DWM service.

TIP 2: Enable Hidden Secret Slow Animations Feature in Windows 8

Animations Slowdown” feature was introduced in Windows Vista and also exists in all newer Windows versions such as Windows 7, Windows 8 and later. Whenever you minimize or maximize a window or do anything else, nice animations are shown by Windows. When you enable this tweak, you can slow down these animations by pressing SHIFT key on your keyboard.

Windows_8_Slow_Animation_Effect.png

Just follow these simple steps to enable secret slow animations tweak in Windows Vista and later:

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD AnimationsShiftKey and set its value to 1

4. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to take effect. If you don’t want to restart your computer, you can kill/end task of DWM service using Task Manager to take effect.

Now whenever you’ll press SHIFT key and minimize/maximize a window or do anything else, the animations will be shown very slowly.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default animation settings, simply delete the DWORD AnimationsShiftKey and restart your system or DWM service.

Published in: Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

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