Windows/Visual Styles

Visual styles are a set of graphics, measurements, and other properties which modify the Microsoft Windows user interface. Early versions of Windows, such as Windows 3.1, provided basic options for window customization. Windows XP is the first version of Windows to use a theming engine and graphics for portions of its interface. Visual styles undergo several changes throughout their development, because of this, many variations of them exist.

Due to the inclusion of a desktop compositor, the behaviour and effects of visual styles changed significantly in the Windows "Longhorn" and Windows Vista operating systems.