A Windows 7 theme for RetroBar

#Install it

1. Download it

   On github.com/DimonByte/RetroBar_Windows7_Theme, choose Code › Download ZIP, and extract it.

2. Copy two folders

   Copy its Themes and Resources folders into %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBarCopy (paste the path into File Explorer's address bar). Both are needed: the themes find their images through ..\Resources, and without that folder RetroBar can crash (why).

3. Pick a variant

   Right-click RetroBar › Properties › Theme, and choose one of the five “Windows 7 Aero” themes below.

4. Optional: the Windows 7 calendar

   The theme's author suggests Properties › Notification area › Clock click action: Open Aero calendar.

#The five variants, tested

Windows 7 Aero

by DimonByte · DimonByte/RetroBar_Windows7_Theme · Apache-2.0

Looks like

Windows 7

Based on

RetroBar's Windows Vista Aero theme

Tested version

3152bb8 (2026-10-11)

Windows 7 Aero - Shown Labels

Task buttons with titles, 40 px high, like Windows 7 with “never combine”.

Loaded without errors on all 3 test machines · 40 px high

Windows 7 Aero - Hidden Labels

Icon-only task buttons, like Windows 7's default.

Loaded without errors on all 3 test machines · 40 px high

Windows 7 Aero - Shown Labels Small Spacing

With titles, tighter spacing.

Loaded without errors on all 3 test machines · 40 px high

Windows 7 Aero - Hidden Labels Small Spacing

Icon-only, tighter spacing.

Loaded without errors on all 3 test machines · 40 px high

Windows 7 Aero - Shown Labels Small Icons

With titles, 30 px high, like Windows 7's small icons option.

Loaded without errors on all 3 test machines · 30 px high

Install: Download the repository and copy its Themes and Resources folders into %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar (as its README says). Then pick the theme in RetroBar's Properties.

Its author calls it “not 100% accurate” but close. Two images it refers to (win7traytoggleicon.png and notificationclicked.png) are not in the repository; in our tests that caused no error, and the notification area arrow still appeared. The taskbar tint colour can be changed in the file (TaskbarTintColor). The author suggests setting RetroBar's clock click action to “Open Aero calendar”.

#How close is it to Windows 7?

Close, and its author says so honestly: “not 100% accurate”. It is built on RetroBar's own Vista Aero theme, with Windows 7's orb, a 40-pixel-high taskbar (30 with small icons, as in Windows 7) and Windows 7-style buttons. Two things to know from our tests:

• It refers to two images that are not in its repository. On our machines that caused no error, and the notification area arrow still appeared, drawn by RetroBar.
• The colour can be changed: the theme file has a TaskbarTintColor value near the top, with instructions in its README.

#Other ways to a Windows 7 taskbar

For the Windows 7 Start menu, use Open-Shell's Windows 7 style; our Vista preset sets it up.

Found something out of date or wrong? Tell us at hello@retrobar.dev and we will fix it.