Is it normal that so many apps aren't skinned now?

from Stardock Forums

Morning everyone happy St Patricks day.

I haven't used Windowblinds in an age because it was conflicting with DisplayFusion, which I find very useful now I have an ultrawide monitor. However I was told that the problem might be solved now (minimise/maximise buttons not working) and it seems it maybe is.

However, I am sure when I used to use Windowblinds most apps were compatible, this no longer seems to be the case? Is it normal that so many of my apps aren't getting skinned at all? Please don't take this as a criticism of Windowblinds these things are entirely out of control of the devs if apps aren't painting themselves in a standard way or something (like e.g Discord does) then that's entirely outside of Stardock's control but, I don't remember so many apps being incompatible. Here's the list of my regularly used apps that just ignore when WB is active and have the same look as a boring, standard window:-

Firefox

Thunderbird

Directory Opus (I use this as a complete Explorer replacement so this is particularly jarring) 

Wire instant messenger

Signal instant messenger

Sticky Password (though KeePass works fine, I'm transitioning to that anyway)

Veracrypt

Microsoft To Do (opens with the skin then paints itself a boring regular windows skin over the top before fully opening)

Snipping Tool

The following apps have issues:-

Notepad - This one skins but part of the text area appears black 

So just want to know Is this normal or is there something conflicting on my system causing these problems? 

System specs - Windows 11 Pro build 25H2. RTX 4090 GPU 24GB, 32GB RAM, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU 12 core.

Windows 11 Professional 25H2 (26100.ge_release.240331-1435)
WindowBlinds 11.07 (024 x64 - Windows 11 Edition) - 64 bit OS

Window titlebar blur features are enabled on this operating system

        Wblind.dll                   2025/09/10 18:37:43
        Wblind64.dll                 2025/09/10 18:37:52
        Wbsrv.dll                    2025/09/10 18:37:32
        WB11Config.exe               2025/09/10 18:37:10
        Wbload.dll                   2025/09/10 18:37:38
        Screen10.exe                 2025/09/10 18:37:45

 

 

 

windowblinds
1,105 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

You're right in your assumption that more apps don't skin because the way they are designed by their developers. Notepad however, should work as before, so could you please post a screenshot so we can see your issue. Does the black area in notepad appear with all windowblinds? 

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Ah I see that really is a shame. I'll probably just stick with the standard Windows theme then since so many of my apps just aren't skinning.

Notepad - Navigating away from the window (e.g to load snipping tool) and the window paints ok, go back to it and its black again, hence me having to use my phone to photo it.  Sometimes highlighting text clears it up, sometimes changing tabs does it sometimes not.

I've only tried Acrlic 7 style.

Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. I tested and I see similar issue with current Notepad, please refer to my video below.

I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience. Thank you.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

Thank you for posting.  I've logged the report/reproduction of the issue for review.

Internal reference: ODNT-9858

Thanks again and best regards,

Adam McGuinness
Stardock Support Specialist