When that’s all over, though, you return to the Personalization box, where all the modifications you’ve made are represented at the top of the screen—as an icon called Unsaved Theme (Figure 4-10). Figure 4-10: You may notice, after applying a theme, that its name seems to be “Unsaved Theme.” This happens whenever you apply a theme and then change any single component of it, including the desktop background. Windows takes note and reports the theme you are using as modified.
Well, you wouldn’t want all that effort to go to waste, would you? So click “Save theme,” type a name for your new, improved theme, and click Save. From now on, the theme you’ve created (well, OK, modified) shows up in a new row of the Personalization dialog box called My Themes. From now on, you can recall the emotional tenor of your edited look with a single click on that icon. If you make further changes to that theme (or any other theme), another Unsaved Theme icon appears, once again ready for you to save and name. You can keep going forever, adding to your gallery of experimentation. You can also delete a less-inspired theme (right-click its icon; from the shortcut menu, choose Delete Theme). On the other hand, when you strike creative gold, you can package up your theme and share it with other computers—your own, or other people’s online. To do that, right-click the theme’s icon; from the shortcut menu, choose “Save theme for sharing.” Windows asks you to name and save the new .themepak file, which you can distribute to the masses. (Just double-clicking a .themepak file installs it in the Personalize dialog box.) Note: If your theme uses sounds and graphics that aren’t on other people’s PCs, they won’t see those elements when they install your theme.