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Since upgrading to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8 I've noticed the colour of the tiles looks awful, is there a way to change these that is...

  • Free
  • Doesn't involve hacking around with registry/XML files

As you can see below my GIT icons are barely visible :(

Example of badly coloured tile

Carlton
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3 Answers3

22

I don't have a non XML Solution, but the XML solution is quite easy to follow and could easily be converted into a tool.

For example to change the background of the GIT Bash tile:

  1. the shorcut of the tile links to something like: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\bin\sh.exe" --login -i (to find the shortcut: right click -> goto location)
  2. Go to the folder of the executable (here C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\bin)

  3. Create a sh.visualelementsmanifest.xml with the content:

    <Application xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
    <VisualElements
        BackgroundColor="maroon"
        ShowNameOnSquare150x150Logo="on"
        ForegroundText="light"/>
</Application>

    (full spec at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/dn393983.aspx)

  4. Update the shorcut file time stamp (e.g. copy file, delete old file)
  5. Enjoy new tile. For example:
    image width new tile color
someonr
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  • This looks like the way to do it but I'm hoping Microsoft will just add a more user friendly way to do this. – Carlton May 08 '14 at 13:00
  • @Carlton Normally this only has to be done by the application developer. But anyway a gui config won't harm ;) – someonr May 09 '14 at 20:22
3

In reference to Xyroid's answer which has - so far - received no points, maybe this is because the link has changed / gone.

OblyTile, for those who want a GUI to manage Tile design, works perfectly on my Windows 8.1

The link to this is:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1899865

In particular, the developer has provided much improved icons for some internal windows apps (e.g. Control Panel) where the standard tile doesn't really match the design of the other Modern App tiles.

(I would have just added a comment, but I still need more reputation)!

Nic
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0

According to Desktop App Tiles on the Start Screen, the background color of desktop app's Start menu tile is derived from the user's chosen background color, so try changing Start menu's background color.

Also checkout

How to customize tiles (change/bigger icon, change color) for desktop applications in the Start Screen?

How to Create Custom Windows 8 Tile Icons for Any Desktop Program

Community
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Farhan Ghumra
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