litestep newbie questions...

It sounds like you are running Litestep under Explorer, which means you have two shells working at the same time.....not a good idea, particularly fo someone new to the game.
Litestep is a shell replacement. It is intended to be used instead of the default Windows GUI [shell].
Most LS themes will have no desktop icons at all, as that is an Explorer feature and most LS themers try to be 'different' from that.

Now, to get effective assistance you will need to provide more info...
What OS
What exactly did you download.
What theme are you applying/trying to.
Why you didn't RTFM.

Shell replacement is not always as painless as installing a new version of Solitaire.
It can have a slightly bigger impact on the functioning of your interaction with your computer, so the wise look before leaping...

Is there a way to get Iconpackager Icons to work with Litestep? Thanks.

Hey Jafo...I'm using 0.24.7 Beta 3 on WinXP Professional. I'm trying to apply the 'lightstep enhanced' skin found here.

https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp?wp=2&Sort=&searchtext=&Order=&library=6

another question, it seems that lighstep is giving me problems when I have my XP style windows running but is ok with classic style windows? Thanks for your reply.

OK...
Well I haven't grabbed or used beta3 yet...still using a feb 03 Indie build.
That theme is older than the beta3 and there 'may' be issues with that...

How was Litestep 'installed'?...or did you just 'run' it?

LiteStep 2.1 was installed by an exe file and then I'd updated this current version by copying the files into the LiteStep folder. I'd dled another theme and ran it...it actually runs now but got errors in it.

by the way, how do I only get LiteStep running instead of explore shell running as well?

The installer does that for you, I believe. [I never used one].

The ideal solution is not to use an installer to handle shell configuring, but a separate Shell manager proggy, such as ShellON, which then gives you the option to load the specific shell of choice on boot up.

Doing that means the Litestep.exe is essentially 'just' a proggy like any else and does not alter the registry settings as such....ShellON does that for you..

ok thanks, do you know where I can dl it? By the way, I managed to get rid of the icons on the desktop, there was an option as part of the 'Simplicity' theme!

Ah..it must use the Icondesk module....I didn't like it much...seemed to have screen-writing issues...but that may have been a conflict with another module...

Hang on, I'll find the addy...

http://www.dx13.co.uk/shellon/index.html
[Message Edited]

oh man...I really did something wrong...how do I get my winXP shell back? right now when I end litestep, my winXP shell doesn't work? I guess shellon must have change something...HELP!!!

When installing ShellON you need to add Explorer.exe to your list of shells to provide a choice.
You can do this without a shell, if none are loaded by ctrl-shift-esc to load the task manager and browse to the shellon directory and run shellon.exe...then configure it to list explorer and litestep as shells, and perhaps set explorer as a time-out default.

Initially you are letting shellon be your shell...it loads first and pops up the option window to choose which GUI shell to run.

Again, there are not any problems provided you RTFM...that is...Read The Flipping Manual...

As I said before....don't just dive in head first.....read instructions...

yeh...hehe...got excited about the program without reading...thanks I'll try it.

We need to equip this message board with a feature that allows us to just reach in to someone's PC and fix things for them! Which version of ShellOn are you running, BTW? I had better luck with V2 then with some of the newer betas under XP.

I'm running version 2.32 under Win XP Pro.

The Beta of 3 seems a bit 'odd' so I've been ignoring it...

hey there, I got it working...thanks guys...now I have to figure out why the themes ain't working...

give a little more info. did you install an older version of LS before or did you just use the 0.24.7 beta? those betas are "development releases" and not intended for beginners. one of your problems probably is that you do not have an OTS compliant setup.

get the LS installer from here and install that first. http://ohussain.cjb.net/

Pretty sure that's what he did, or he wouldn't likely have simplicity running.
The Shell-On shell configurator has worked well for me, as well.

As for switching themes the "patched LSTS" theme switcher works real well for me. YOu can find it here http://charliehamster.co.uk/litestep.html

Just place it in your main Litestep directory (it should overwrite the one that is currently there. It works well with OTS compliant themes. Then its just a matter of how well the individual themes are built.

»"Just place it in your main Litestep directory (it should overwrite the one that is currently there. It works well with OTS compliant themes. Then its just a matter of how well the individual themes are built."

Yup - you need to get one from a quality OTS-compliant themer, like that Phar0e guy... or old what's-his-name, er, Jafo, yea that's it!

I'd already tried the patch and still doesn't work...maybe it's the newer version of litestep since it still in beta. What versions are you guys using...I'm on winXP.

Indie build...9 February 2003 for me...

I do theme-switching with popup menu bang commands (it edits the step.rc file and recycles). I create the popup with a vbscript that scans my "Themes" folder and makes an entry for each folder in there. No previewing or anything fancy like that, but since I kind of know what I put in there already, what's the point? -

I use the latest 0.24.7 beta3 on winxp@home and win2k@work.

Ok...the themes work now...some don't but that's probably a path thing. I'm using indie build Feb 9 2003. Thanks guys!!!

No problem....just take your time learning what everything does and why and you will enjoy alternate shells...

Whew, alternate shells. OK. I was afraid you meant quantum electrodynamics for a minute there...