CODEWITHSUNDEEP
scriptingwindows-10autohotkey
Makogan
Makogan

Reputation: 9536

How to change windows theme (or at least the background) using the command line or scripts

I am trying to make it so that the theme (or at least the background) changes when I switch desktop view. I have found some answers but most if not all are about old versions of windows and do not work for windows 10. The scripting tool I am using is AHK. Thank you in advance.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 3637

Answers (3)

fletch8527
fletch8527

Reputation: 55

I came across this question while looking to do the same thing for my company's computer image. The command below worked well for me, keep in mind that the taskkill part would kill all settings windows

C:\PATH\TO\THEME\FILE.theme & timeout /t 03 /nobreak > NUL & taskkill /f /im systemsettings.exe

This will launch the theme file which will apply the theme but also open the Setting app/window, but then it will wait for the timeout (set to 3 seconds in the command above) then kill the Settings app/window. Tested on Windows 10 Enterprise x64 v1909. Also depending on the performance of the computers you might be able to lower the timeout from 3 seconds.

Martin's answer didnt work for me, but after some reading it believe its because of changes made with either v1809 or v1903

Upvotes: 0

ULi
ULi

Reputation: 1

It's although possible to change the theme using this command:

call <path-to-your-theme>

You close the opened window using this command:

taskkill /IM ApplicationFrameHost.exe

Upvotes: 0

Martin
Martin

Reputation: 604

Its possible to change the background using this command:

reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper /t REG_SZ /d  wallpaper_path /f

Changing the theme is not that direct, you might want to run the following command. What it does is that it will show you a dialog where you can pick the theme you want. (It may also reset your theme to default)

rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\desk.cpl desk,@Themes /Action:OpenTheme /file:"C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero.theme"

Upvotes: 2

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