Windows Aero by default changes keeps the border Color of any open window as set in the theme i.e. it remains same throughout. the advantage of border being transparent here is that it lets you see what is behind the active windows which results in quick switching when required.
Now, if you want to change this behaviour and want to set open windows border according to the colour of the desktop background i.e. the one on your desktop, Aura is a simple and easy solution. This application changes the colour of the borders accordingly, so if you have black background the borders will be dark and if you go green it will follow green.
The obvious drawback of this is the transparency is decreased and finding what is behind the active windows becomes difficult. Below is a simple video explaining how to use the application and how it works.
Below is a video demo :
Instructions on how you can use Aura :
- To see the effect, first increase your windows Color intensity in personalization. Right click on desktop and select Personalization. Now look at the bottom and you will see Color settings. Inside you will find option for changing Color intensity using a bar.
- Now make sure you have a desktop background and have a theme which has couple of different kind of backgrounds. To test this theme I would suggest you to Install a new Windows Theme
- Now open 2-3 windows and keep on left side so you get to see the wallpaper also.
- Now lunch the Aura tool and you should see the effect immediately.
The image above shows that when the active windows is above a yellow area of the wallpaper, the border colour follows the same colour, when it is over a brown background, it picks up brown colour.
Options in Aura:
It comes with couple of options you can choose. These options lets you choose how the colour behaves. You can choose the colour from wallpaper or get colour from active window icon. It is also possible to use IE 9 Active Tab colours. For language, as of now there are only two options available which are English and Russian.
Download Aura:
Aura is a portable application i.e. does not require any installation. So make sure if you plan to use the application for a long period of time, copy the folder in a place where you keep all your software. Download Aura from here.
