One of the great joys of working at Stardock is releasing new products. From scoping a product, testing, feedback loops, and finally, shipping the app – it’s a lot of work and also a lot of fun.

One of the key aspects of shipping an update is taking screenshots and it’s a lot harder than you might think. Thus, the reason for this post as it’s a bit of inside baseball about how we think about how to post product screenshots and of course, using wallpapers from Wincustomize (and uploading them when I remember) is a core part of the process.

When looking at a screenshot, there are a lot of considerations: what aspect ratio/resolution, are you taking a screenshot of entire desktop or a small section of it, do you need it to fit a theme (work, home, school), light or dark, and the list goes on and on. I have a folder that I use to save hundreds of different screenshot assets to help stage these setups and while some of them are organic with real-world items like OneDrive home/work, we do stage for some industries.

And then there are other items you have to consider, is a widget on the taskbar displaying a news item that ruins the shot, or do you have a sync error with OneDrive in the system tray that is distracting? And then trying to make sure nothing personal or sensitive company information is shown like a Teams chat message or a financial document.

I have setup VMs and other clean environments in the past but we don’t release products every week and those environments often feel a bit dated when I turn them back on (and not even counting the lost time as they try to update).

Which brings me to Wincustomize and DeskScapes11, I browse the site a lot trying to find wallpapers that are generally simplistic, geometric, and items that don’t have a distinguishable feature – you don’t want a logo/character in the image typically unless it’s related to the app.

Taking screenshots usually results in dozens taken, but only 10 or so make the final cut for various reasons. And far too often I forget to switch between dark and light themes; the Fences 6 beta release had 96 screenshots taken.

One of the interesting little tidbits is that all of our screenshots are taken at 1080P currently as they appear best on a website with constrained widths. At some point, I’m sure we will switch to 4k but for now, we haven’t made that jump yet as more users are running desktops in 1080P than 4k.

If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, you may have noticed a recent change of seasons.  That's right, we've entered the first week of Fall!  If you like to decorate, what better way to complete your seasonal display than with some expertly crafted desktop customization?

The search function on the top right of the WinCustomize Gallery is a great place to start.  Here, you can simply type in "fall" or "autumn".  This will generate tons of results for seasonally appropriate skins.  Below, I've gone through and picked some examples to showcase some great Dreams and Wallpapers the WinCustomize crew has been crafting.

Gateway to Autum by cyberslober (Dream)

(*Also check out the Dream: Hillside Pumpkin Patch by cyberslober!)

Autumn Sunshine by 3java3 (Wallpaper)

(*Also check out: Epic Waterfalls by 3java3!)

Late Autumn 4k by Ghzamfir54 (Wallpaper)

(*Also check out: Fall time, Autumn is coming, autumn forest, and Late Autumn 2 by Ghzamfir54!)

Harvest Time My Girls by Sed (Wallpaper)

(*Also check out: Autumn ExP DOTS, Autumn Night, Heading Into Autumn, An Autumn Street, Autumn Series Feeling Blu, A Watercolor AbZ, Shagbark Autumn, Keep Me Warm, Old Wisconsin Home Autumn Series, Autumn Series Four, October Trees, Autumn ExP Three, and Autumn on Canvas, also by Sed!)

4K Autumn Firepit by AzDude (Wallpaper)

(*Also check out: 4k Autumn Collage, 4K Autumn Signage, 4K Autumn Abstract, 4K Autumn Seascape, 4K Autumn Oak, and 4K Big Sun by AzDude!)

While the creators at WinCustomize have certainly been busy, these are just a few to get you started! Take some time to search through the WinCustomize Gallery. There are countless seasonal skins and themes to decorate your desktop for the cool weather ahead!

From the many customization options available on WinCustomize, some really impressive creations have been crafted with a keen eye for a more minimalistic appeal. Minimalism is generally a great design philosophy, as it emphasizes a pleasant experience in favor of sleek simplicity and an ease of functionality.

Let's take a moment to showcase a few recently created examples of this sort of simple-yet-aesthetically-pleasant customization.

MateriStart by quartzneko (Start Menu Buttons)

In the Swamp by Sed (Wallpapers)

Just passing by by teddybearcholla (Wallpapers)

While the desktop customization options offered by these creators may not be as flashy or extravagant as some others, don't be fooled by the simplicity!  One thing I like about minimalist personalization, is the way these creators have utilized simple elements to let other parts of the desktop really stand out and shine.  Try them out to see what I mean!

Of course, the door is also open to reply here and show off some of your own favorites.  And if you find yourself so inspired, as always, we encourage you to create and share your own!

There are all kinds of unique customization options available on WinCustomize.  Some of my favorites are crafted by creators that manage to expertly capture that simple sense of nostalgia from days past. 

So, I thought I'd take a moment to showcase a few such 'blasts-from-the-past,' and open the door for others to show off some of our favorites of this sort of retro desktop personalization. 

Win9x Large by tbanks451

Mac OS X by NandoLinuxmaniac

Something as simple as a classic start button or mouse cursor theme like those pictured above can really bring a sense of charm and character to your desktop experience.  

And there are countless more examples, including even more elaborate old-school-feels in the form of the various WindowBlinds themes that manage to import an entire classic Operating System.

The Windows Classic Theme by SemoB

Aero 11 by SimplexDesigns

Of course, these add up to just a small handful of customization options.  Over the years, WinCustomize has seen tons of options in this fantastic category of vintage customization. 

Feel free to post your own favorites below!

The tranquility of this new Dream by AzDude is more than just a visually stunning desktop background or screensaver.  This paradise landscape was crafted and animated to enhance your desktop experience and will immerse you in a truly dreamlike natural atmosphere.  Complete with 4K resolution and an impressive array of animated elements, the visuals here are as crisp as they are vibrant and immersive.

To create this virtual paradise, AzDude used DeskScapes11 and Dream Maker Pro to skillfully bring crisp life and captivating visuals to a wallpaper created with AI technology.  The lush greenery, flowing waterfalls, and overall serene atmosphere of this Dream all add up to a truly immersive world.  Want to personalize your experience even further? In DeskScapes11, each of these individual effects (and plenty more) can be tweaked for maximum personalization of your Windows 10 or Windows 11 theme.  You might even find yourself inspired to create your own Dream. 

In DeskScapes11, creation and customization are easy to do. WinCustomize also features countless complimenting styles for various applications, which can be combined for an overall compelling theme from various masterful creators.  The popular “Clean” style for Curtains (by fallschimjager) for example, provides a transparent Windows 10 experience that can be combined with Dreams like 4K Beautiful Paradise to get even more out of your desktop theme.  Want to go even further?  Chrome Glass by RPGFX is a classic and popular package for the CursorFX app that also shines with 4K Beautiful Paradise. 

And that's not nearly all!  Feel free to comment with additional suggestions that work great with this new Dream.  The WinCustomize community is certainly in no short supply of tips and inspiration in finding the perfect theme for some peace between the waves.

Stardock released an update for Groupy 2 that delivers new functionality and we also released the application on Steam today. 

With this release, Groupy is adds a couple of enhancements that will further refine the experience. You can find the full changelog here but one update worth highlighting is that you can now easily re-open accidentally closed File Explorer tabs within Groupy.

If you accidentally close a tab, you can click the down arrow at the end of the Groupy tab bar, highlight “reopen closed tab” and then select the tab that was previously closed to open it back up into its previous state.

Along with this new feature, there is a new option for Explorer windows - if it should open in the current frame or a new one. And under advanced tab options, you can turn off the down arrow in the Groupy bar as well.

With this release, we also squashed a bunch of bugs. If you run into any issues with this build, make sure to check out our support documentation or you can join the conversation in our forums.

Get Groupy on Steam  |  Get Groupy on Stardock

If you would like to try Groupy out, you can download a free trial on the app page and if you are looking for the greatest value and access to our best apps, check out Object Desktop.

I've been a member of WinCustomize since about 2003. I mostly lurked the forums and downloaded skins for a while, and then started to participate in a community which I viewed as awesome (and still is). I really enjoyed downloading all the various skins and watching how the community worked. It was all just fun and that got me inspired to start creating some things, which just furthered my enjoyment of the site and community. 

After a few years I was asked to be a mod and eventually that led to a job offer from Brad which I have happily been at for over 15 years. I've been a part of so many great projects on both the software and games side, I probably couldn't remember them all. I do know they all involved a bunch of great people of whom I've made long-time friends with. The same can be said for the WinCustomize community. I've made a ton of friendships with so many in the community and have even met some in-person. I can go on and on, but the short version is WinCustomize has a fantastic community made up of great people, and I'm happy that I have been a part of that for so long.

So why am I leaving? Well, a dream that I've had since high school was to be in law enforcement. I won't age myself too much, but I'm at the point where I'm still young enough to pursue something and it was time for a change. So, I took a chance and applied, and after nearly a year of recruiting I have accepted a position with a Sheriff's Office here in Florida. I'm sad to be leaving Stardock, but excited for what the next adventure will bring. I will still be part of the community, and you'll definitely see me around the forums.

Thanks for being an awesome community!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to our amazing community! We hope you have a great holiday season and a wonderful new year! 

Thank you for being part of our great community!

It's been quite a while since we've mentioned promotions here in the forums, though a few people have been quietly promoted over the years. As some of you may know (more on this in another post soon), this will be my last month at WinCustomize so I wanted to get a few members promoted to Journeyman. These members deserve recognition for their time to create and upload skins and themes here, and for their contributions to the forums and community.

Let's say a big congrats to the following members:

Cyberslober

Dcrew57

Halo296

JoeyW8

JanOscar

We appreciate your contributions to the site!

Christmas is approaching fast, and I hope you are looking forward to a fun and festive holiday season! Animated wallpapers for DeskScapes is a fantastic way to add some holiday decoration to your desktop. Whether it's Christmas trees, Holiday lights, or a beautiful winter scene, we have a variety of wallpapers for you to check out.

Here are some of our favorite holiday animated wallpapers!

Here Comes Santa

Christmas Winter Window

Christmas Tree

Desktop Xmas Lights