How To Create A Windows 7 Start Orb

16th April 2010 - Customization, Downloads, Windows, Windows 7

Requirements:

Steps:

  1. Open your image editor and create a new 54 x 162 image.

  2. Fill the image background with black color.

  3. Create a new channel named “Alpha 1“
  4. Create guidelines at the 54th & 108th pixel with the help of rulers.

  5. Open the three images which you want to use for the default, hover & pressed orb states and resize them. It should not be greater then 54 x 54 pixels.
  6. Copy the image which you want to use for the default orb state and paste it before the first guideline.
  7. Copy the image which you want to use for the hover orb state and paste it in between the first & second guideline.
  8. Copy the image which you want to use for the pressed orb state and paste it after the second guideline.

  9. Merge all the three orb states images into one.

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  10. Press CTRL & click on the layer’s thumbnail in which the three orb states are combined.
  11. Select the Alpha Channel and press Delete.

  12. Press CTRL + S and save the image in BMP format.

  13. Use Windows 7 Start Button Changer to change the orb you have created.

  14. Check if it works properly. If it does not shows up properly then leave a comment here with a download link to your orb.

Video:

Thanks to 7nuclear @ YouTube for making the video tutorial.

Downloads:

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  • http://www.thewindowsclub.com/ HappyAndyK

    Its a nice and useful tutorial :)

  • http://www.thewindowsclub.com/ HappyAndyK

    Its a nice and useful tutorial :)

  • Vipul_Taneja

    Good work kishan.. Nice explaination.. :)

  • boom24

    Thanks for the clear explanation :] (the only clear explanation…)

  • Austin

    thanks for the tutorial. really appreciate it

  • Eric

    This tutorial says to put guides at pixel #54 and #108. But the 'Start Orb PSD Template' has guides at pixel #55 and #109…

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria

    Thanks for reporting. I have fixed it now.

  • No Voi

    Omg, i did it with ms paint!

  • Ed

    I have had one issue, when I put my pictures in there and switch my start button it always has a black box around it unless I use one of the sample ones.

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria

    That’s because of the alpha channel.

  • Neilmanaligod

    the WINDOWS START BUTTON CHANGER says an error when i opened it. : WNHANDED EXCEPTION HAS OCCURED IN YOU APPLICATION..

  • Neilmanaligod

    *UNHANDED

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2B3TVDMTWYULO735FL7POY32Y4 Greg

    Whenever I switch to the start button I’ve created, the button appears somewhat transparent and the task bar top border overlaps it.

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria

    Send me your orb in PNG format.

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria

    Run it as admin.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PR4T4EA6CWUNMVTUQ2QNU3HPRU Anonymous

    confuse in last step ctrl+click…? sorry im newbie

  • Gogetenks123

    sorry to ask but what version of photoshop is this?..

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria

    CS5

  • James

    Im having problems with the Alpha channel, I also get the black box and followed your guide.
    Up until the point where you say to delete the alpha channel, i have an empty box and when you say to ctrl + click the thumbnail of the merged icons, all it does is select them. It seems like im missing a step, can you please tell me where im going wrong?

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria
  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria
  • James

    thanks a lot, this worked great :D

  • Korey_rudd

    Hey im having the same issue, it looks all white / transparent, were you able to figure this out?

  • iGer

    Good tutorial but in the “Alpha Channel ” Step i can delete this channel only deselected , but still appear a black square when i use the start orb changer , i try save without the black background layer and the black square disappear but the orb image crash in a pixel/dust/burn colors , im using GIMP for create the start orbs because i haven’t Photoshop

  • Nox Dl

    Great tutorial. I had problem with the alpha channel, because I thought I must delete it. Then I realise I must only delete this part, in which the button is on this channel, “make a hole” in it.

  • PlatoS

    I had this problem but read Nox DI’s post below, Don’t delete the whole alpha channel, just the parts where your selection is.

    The other option is to create the Alpha channel with the channel from selection tool. (In image under step 11, to the left of new channel, circle in a rectangle). Ctrl click as per the tutorial and then press channel from selection.

  • http://twitter.com/Habbtown Habbtown

    Hello,
    Every time I attempt to make a start orb, it either becomes very bright (irrelevant to the colors I made it) or it becomes bright and somewhat transparent with a random “7″ in the middle which I did not intend. The download link to my latest one (To which I did the Alpha channel thing and all) is here. http://www.zshare.net/image/855950266c361e63/ Please help me out, as I have many cool ideas. Also, sometimes the orb makes a flashing black box around it when I hover over it.

    P.S – - How to I make it fit within the task bar?

  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria
  • Arohilla4

    The main point has not even been touched in this tutorial that should be kept in mind..The three states are supposed to overlap each other exactly when the bmp is loaded in explorer.exe.
    In order to do that the three state images should be centered exactly in photoshop.You should concentrate on that aspect and tell us how do we do that.

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous
  • http://www.door2windows.com/ Kishan Bagaria

    You saved it as png.

  • Anonymous

    It didn’t work as a .bmp either

  • Anonymous

    And it is a .bmp

  • Anonymous

    And it is a .bmp

  • Besek_dp

    I have the same problem, my image gets brighter, what should I do?

  • Kcronus

    I seem to have a problem..my start orb and bar are missing now..
    I made an Orb [messed up somewhere, but thats not a problem right now] so I hit reset [or whatever it says to put the old one back on] and it worked, but only on my admin profile, and not my main profile has to explorer bar[ I think thats what its called]

    And I can’t even pull up my start menu by hitting the windows key :/

    some help would be grand..

  • Kcronus

    oh, and I seem to of lost my right click menu on windows also

  • Kcronus

    K, I feel stupid now, my explorer just kind of..crashed, and it didnt tell me lol
    alt ctrl del, file, new task, explorer.exe and bam, fixed.. lol

    you can delete all of this now if you want lol

  • Alexandre_g4t0

    Hello, I created my orbit, but not appeared.

    http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5476/orbitc.png

    I’m from the Brazil, What’s wrong? Thanks

  • blackrain1058

    my doesnt go

  • Al Bundy

    Could somebody please make a Mercedes-Start-Button? This doesn´t work properly for me…

  • Scott Pilgrim

    Hey man, thanks for the great tutorial, it worked fine for me.
    What I wanted to ask is, how do I change the black fade that happens when I hover above the icon? Thanks again for the tutorial and the great program.

  • Sickunt

    For people having trouble make sure to save as a BMP not PNG OR ANYTHING ELSE