Resource Redirection

[WildByDesign]

@m417z

You have released the Icon Resource Redirect mod recently and it got me wondering. Could such a resource redirection technique also work with msstyles theme resources?

For example, there is an issue with programs that use win32-darkmode (Notepad++, Explorer++, LibreOffice, etc.) on Windows 11 specifically where the toolbar icons have a light blue highlighting that looks terrible and Microsoft still hasn't fixed.

Link: derceg/explorerplusplus#115 (comment)

If that one single image resource could be redirected/replaced on-the-fly, that would be incredible.

Thank you for the work that you do. I've watched Windhawk since the beginning and it's fantastic to see the Windhawk community blossoming now. Cheers!

[m417z]

Hi, thanks for the feedback about Windhawk, I'm glad that you like it!

Could such a resource redirection technique also work with msstyles theme resources?

From a quick test, I'm afraid that the answer is no. I switched my Notepad++ to dark mode, and it seems that the aero.msstyles file isn't being accessed. I assume that the resources are loaded by the system in a more centralized way and are shared between all apps.

I'm not that familiar with the theme system internals in Windows, but it's possible that a solution like SecureUxTheme (which I haven't personally used) is the easiest way to make such a resource replacement.

[m417z]

Going over the readme of SecureUxTheme, I stumbled upon this FAQ entry:

Q: Can you make themes per-program?

A: Unfortunately, this is close to impossible.

I'm not sure at which locations the button bitmap is retrieved, but the above analysis suggests that it might be infeasible to hook them all. Maybe @namazso has some quick insight on this.