How to determine the Windows 8 current user startscreen colors?

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VS2012

I need to determine the current user's color settings for the windows 8 start screen (both colors - light and dark). I've figured out how to get the taskbar color, but I also need the secondary color. Please help.

Posted 6-Apr-13 1:07am

7774tlas

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Dave Kreskowiak 6-Apr-13 10:14am

Why? What is this information foing to be used for?

7774tlas 6-Apr-13 16:51pm

I want to use them to color the form and controls, so that the app matches the user's theme (I'm using a borderless form). I've managed to set the form's backcolor to the "primary" color, but I need to know the "secondary" color so that I can set my buttons, etc., to it's shade.

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Dave Kreskowiak · Answer 1 · 2013-04-06T14:11:00

Solution 1

You can try this: SystemColors Class[^]

Posted 6-Apr-13 14:11pm

Dave Kreskowiak

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7774tlas 6-Apr-13 21:01pm

All of those seem to be the default system colors, I need to get the color values of the Metro/Modern Start Screen. This is the code that I used to get the primary color:

Dim aarrggbb = My.Computer.Registry.GetValue_("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM", "ColorizationColor", "00000000")
Dim argb = Convert.ToInt32(CLng(aarrggbb.ToString), 10)
Dim argbcol = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(argb)
Dim USERCOLOR1 As Color
USERCOLOR1 = Color.FromArgb(argb)
This ^ changes the form's border to the same color as the taskbar.
I don't know which registry value is the secondary color though, and I've never worked with the registry so I'm nervous that I might mess something up. Any ideas?

Dave Kreskowiak 7-Apr-13 10:53am

Don't know. I don't use Win8 so I have nothing to test against.