Shellhead©: Read Me Up!

Contents:

FEEDBACK & HELP
INSTALLATION :
          Theme Files
          Screen Saver
          Logo Files (Very Important)
          Fonts
          Outlook (E-Mail) Stationery

REMOVAL
NOTES & TECH INFO:
          Sounds
          Icons
          Link Pointer & IE5
          Credits and Legalese

Feel free to drop Ole Raisin a line at oleraisin@mindspring.com with questions & suggestions. This will let the Raisin keep bringing you better and better themes.

If you have a tech. prob, read these notes and Windows Help, then tell me if it persists. But because of the mounds of e-mail I get, I may not respond if either of these answers your question. It's rough, but that's how I've gotta do it.

Installation:

Unzip SHELLHD.EXE. Double-click it and follow the prompts to install the theme files in your normal desktop themes directory. Activate one of the themes with your Microsoft Plus!, Desktop Architect, or other theme management program. Note: The theme will go into a folder named "Shellhead." This is because I think there are several Iron Man themes out there & this will let I.M. fans keep both this theme & other ones from getting mashed together.

Screen Saver:

If you install the whole package, the Shellhead Screen Saver© is enabled along with it, and is active by default when you're using one of the Shellhead themes. To switch to or from other savers on your system:
1.  Right-click your desktop and choose "Properties".
2.  Then choose the "Screen Saver" tab, and pick your screen saver from the Screen Saver control area.

If you ony install the screen saver, do the above 2 steps to switch among savers on your system.

Logo Files (Very Important)

Logos are the colorful screens you see when your system starts or shuts down. Most people can't stand the ones that come with Windows.

This theme pack supplies the actual logo files that go with it. So, you don't have to mess with tedious logo installers. They're turned on whenever you use a Shellhead theme - just like a wallpaper. But Windows may decide to overwrite your originals. If it does download replacements via this link (Win 95) or this link (Win 98). Win NT users: Should you lose your originals, wait a day, then see your system administrator if they don't reappear on their own. (Many NT set-ups automatically restore system files upon start-up each morning.) To restore originals, place them here:

C:\LOGO.SYS;
C:\Windows\LOGOS.SYS; and
C:\Windows\LOGOW.SYS.
(If your root-drive letter is different than "C", you still get the picture.)

Font

The theme will look better with the fonts that go with it. Install them by copying & pasting them from the Shellhead \ Fonts folder to Windows\Fonts. (You may have to restart afterward.)

Outlook Stationery

The "Themes Only" and "Full" installations will put the Shellhead Outlook/Outlook Express stationery in your default "Stationery" folder (usually C:\Program Files\ Common Files\ Microsoft Shared\ Stationery). You may apply it to an outgoing E-mail message by:
1.   Starting a new E-mail message in Outlook/OE. Click the ARROW next to the "Compose Message" button at the far left of the toolbar; then
2.   Choosing "More Stationery" from the drop-down menu; then
3.   Browsing to your Stationery folder and double-clicking "Shellhead Stationery.html". After the first use, the stationery will be right in the "Compose Message" drop-down menu for quick access.
(These instructions are also in Outlook/OE Help.)

To uninstall Shellhead, browse to Themes\Shellhead\Uninstall\Uninst.exe. Double-click "UNINST.EXE" and follow the prompts. (Do this whether you installed all or parts of the theme pack.) Note that the "Restart" button doesn't work. That's because there's no need to restart after removing the theme stuff. (Plus, I didn't feel like re-programming it.)   :)

Notes:

Your system must support the MPEG Layer-3 sound format for the sounds to work. If you have Windows Media Player V 6+, you should be all set. To make sure, open it and go View-->Options-->Formats and put a check next to the top 7 items. Hit "OK". (If your late-model media player still gives you a weird message about a "CODEC" after this, then grab a free Microsoft plug-in for it via this link. It's got the CODEC.)

The Shellhead icons look best when your Desktop is set to "Show icons in all possible colors" (right-click the Desktop, then the Properties menu option, then the Effects tab).

A cool, free little program called Transparent is in your Shellhead\Icons folder if you'd like to use it. It makes those gross blocks of color around your desktop icons invisible, and your icon text white. Put a shortcut to it in your Start-->Programs-->StartUp group and it will work every time you start your PC. (It uses about 0.4% or less of the typical home PC's CPU resources.) This is the work of Jay Guerette: bit-net.com/~jadamg/transparent/

Iron Man characters and their likenesses are (C)/TM/(R) 2000 Marvel Characters, Inc. The Shellhead desktop theme pack and all distinguishable parts are © 2000 Ole Raisin Kreations, Bub. Though tested ad nauseam for your safety, this software is distributed for non-commercial use and "as-is," with no express or implied warranties of any kind.

Viva the King, baby.