Windows Vista introduced the Desktop Window Manager and the Aero theme for window borders, title bars and the Start menu. This theme is very beautiful. Windows 7 and Windows Vista came with a blur effect for the transparency used in the Aero theme. This glass effect got removed in Windows 8. Due to user feedback, it was restored in Windows 10 but title bars and window borders continue to use only flat colors. Thankfully, there is a solution for Windows 10 version 1709 "Creators Update".
There is good news for all transparency fans - BigMuscle, the person who had revived the Aero Glass effect for Windows 8 and Windows 10 using DirectX, has updated his tool for the recent version of Windows 10. Unfortunately, it has been released only for 64-bit Windows 10 version.
To get Aero Glass in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you need to follow the instructions below.
- Visit the official web site of Aero Glass.
- From the download page, grab the file "Installer (64-bit Windows)" under the label " Aero Glass for Win8.1+ v1.5.7 - change log ".
- Run the installer and you are done!
You should get something like this.
The application runs in the background and has a number of options you can configure in the Registry. To save your time, you might want to use a special GUI tool, which covers most parameters of the AeroGlass service. You can download the app from here:
At the moment of this writing, the official change log isn't available for the recent version of the app. But it is a major milestone for the app, because this version is the first stable version which supports Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
Note: The application is donationware. You need donate to the author to get rid of the desktop watermark as well as generate a license for yourself after donating from this web page. The machine code is unique to every PC.
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Why would anybody use this? The effect is total crap, fonts are blurred, borders are disaster…
Only 64-bit version? Why nobody thinks for weak computers….?
It’s not the worst aero effect I’ve seen, but it isn’t what I’m looking for. I don’t want window borders or Windows 7-style buttons. I just want transparent title bars.
Those can be disabled in settings. I just have a slight blur, no color, and windows 10 close and minimize buttons. It looks great.