File Explorer Mica Effect


dacrone

dacrone

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I have found all reg entries or shell mods used to modify everything that StartIsBack changes (except for the advanced taskbar... as that is just an entire replacement), minus one mod. The only remaining thing that I cannot find is labeled the "Mica Effect" for file explorer. see screenshots below. It removes the window boarder and looks like Windows 11 with the Windows 10 Ribbon UI. Is anyone able to track down what StartIsBack actually modifies to change this? (It only requires checking the box and restarting explorer, so I am assuming it is a reg somewhere...).

no mica.png

mica.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
I used a portable app named RegShot to take shots of the registry before and after applying this mod, then used it to compare both shots. After sifting through the results, I cannot figure out what edited key (out of 189) changed it... just something for someone else to play with...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
anyone else ever figured this out? i'd still be interested in having the ribbon with mica effect on...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
Yahtzee. I never saw that dword when I had posted this (about 5 builds ago), but that one seems to do the trick. My only question is how to apply this without StartAllBack being installed... is it possible?
 

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  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
How would it be possible without anything doing the work required for it? The thing is not built into Explorer; SAB has code that implements this actually. You could take that out of SAB’s DLL and make your own custom library or just reimplement it on your own, but Explorer itself can’t do it, it doesn’t implement such functionality.
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
thanks for pointing that out. there is always another way.. despite the infamous "not possible" answer. heck i even downgraded my insider dev build pc back to stable branch.. tedious.. but Possible. as i asked, is there such a way to force the mica on explorer in any fashion. you can already force the win 10 ribbon via reg without any other installation being necessary, so i am not crazy to assume that there is a key somewhere that can implement or disable mica. that is what i am asking if anyone has found. the startallback key that you found works just as i would like, but that functionality has to be somewhere within windows as well because when you enable the ribbon via reg it strips the mica and reapplies the colored border...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
Do you understand my reply? I did not say the famous "not possible" without giving any reason. If there isn't any code in there to do that, how would you expect it to work? Magically? Have you disassembled the programs and studied them? I partially did, and it seems Explorer doesn't have code for that, which makes sense, like, when was this a feature? That SAB's Mica tweak does not work with the ribbon, that's another story. Your "has to be" is just a feeling, no evidence to back it up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
What is this Mica anyway???
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
Edwin said:
What is this Mica anyway???
Click to expand...
Have you noticed how some apps, particularly Settings, have a background that seems to have a little of your wallpaper showing through?

That's Mica.

docs.microsoft.com

Mica material - Windows apps

Learn to use Mica and Mica Alt, opaque, dynamic materials that incorporate theme and desktop wallpaper to delight users and create visual hierarchy.
docs.microsoft.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
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    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, Canary, and Release Preview builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, Canary, and Release Preview builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Bree said:
Have you noticed how some apps, particularly Settings, have a background that seems to have a little of your wallpaper showing through?

That's Mica.
Click to expand...
K, I forgot about that! Thanks!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
Bree said:
Have you noticed how some apps, particularly Settings, have a background that seems to have a little of your wallpaper showing through?

That's Mica.

docs.microsoft.com

Mica material - Windows apps

Learn to use Mica and Mica Alt, opaque, dynamic materials that incorporate theme and desktop wallpaper to delight users and create visual hierarchy.
docs.microsoft.com
Click to expand...
Way more noticeable with Translucency Effects enabled..., but then again, I'm only on the Release Channel!
Not to mention, I don't think my WindowBlinds theme lets any of that stuff through, least not in the Win32 environment.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
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