Transparent v4.2 Freeware by Jay Guerette Released 09/15/1998

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This utility will turn your Windows 95, 98 or NT desktop icon text backgrounds transparent; allowing your wallpaper to show through. Starting with version 4, you can also change the icon text color! It's completely free, with no splash, and is only 19k. It can optionally stay in memory to automatically fix the transparency if your desktop gets changed or reset

Why

Because I hate those big blocks of color under my icons!

There is a utility that does the same thing; called Disappear; that is huge, ponderously slow, and asks for money. It drove me nuts; so I was forced to write this. The funny thing is; I know just how much code is required to do this, and just how much time it took to write this program: I think it's ridiculous to charge money for this program!

I have used many great free utilities in my life. This is my way of paying back a debt. I will never ask for money for this program; it will always be free.

How

This is the most important thing you need to know:

The program needs to be run each time you start your computer, because the transparency doesn't 'stick'. Windows simply doesn't officially recognize transparency, and so doesn't save it. Put Transparent in your Program Files\Accessories folder, and create a shortcut to it your StartUp folder, and it will be run each time you start your computer.

The simplest way to use this program is to use the TransparentB, TransparentW, or TransparentD versions. You could put the version you're going to use directly in your StartUp folder.

Which?

All three of these will stay in memory, and check every 1/2 second to see if your icons are still transparent, and your icon text is still the color you specified. Why? Because some programs; most notably DirectX games; will reset the desktop and wipe out the transparency. This will also happen with programs that automatically change the wallpaper at timed intervals. If this happens, Transparent will automatically fix it. This program uses an extremely small amount of memory, and less than 1/2 of a percent of the typical computer's processing power.

Now you just have to decide what color text you want. Use TransparentW if you want White text, or use TransparentB if you want Black text. The TransparentD version is special; it sets the icon text color to match the desktop color. If you have no wallpaper the icon text will become effectively invisible. Using this version, you can change the icon text color to any color you want. Simply click the right mouse button on the desktop, select properties from the menu that pops up, click on the Appearance tab, pick the desktop color that matches the text color you want, and click Apply. Now you can custom match the text color to your unique wallpaper!

If you want to remove Transparent from memory, simply run it a second time. Transparent will beep to let you know it has been unloaded.