IDEA: Grayscaled area of desktop

[mateek]

I have a program that is resident on my desktop, and a section defies the transparency settings the program provides.  I've set the font to a nice subliminal gray, but the icon, albeit small, is still distracting.  I imagine programming a section of the desktop to show in grayscale and then hidden when an active window opens.   An easier way might be to just create a slight increase in transparency in the set area.  The icon is 16X16 and might not even be noticed when the active window opens over it.  Would this be a worthwhile project for the programmers there?  Would I be the only beneficiary?  The program tells me my todo lists, etc., but could be useful for system monitors I've seen on some desktops, or a weather program with a stupid smiling sun, or something like that.

[skrommel]

  Have you tried ResHacker at http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker? Using this tool you should be able to change the icon.

Skrommel

[mateek]

Thanks skrommel, but Reshacker didn't work on this one.  It's an icon attached to Outlook, and I found security built in, probably because they deal with emails, which I don't use it for.  I've got basically every icon in my startmenu switched with Reshacker, so I'm very familiar with it. 

[jgpaiva]

I'm not sure if it could solve it, but why don't you just hide the icon?
(i don't think i fully understand your problem)

[mateek]

It's like in an active desktop widget.  The little 16X16 picture isn't on the front desktop, it's on the background.  Sorry for the ambiguity.

[skrommel]

  Actually, it should be no problem making this, if you can identify the window. Try using AutoHotkeys spy tool and see if it can get the name and class of the window it's over. If so, I can get the image, turn it greyscale, and paint it back.

Skrommel

[mateek]

Thanks for your help!

Just clicking on the Desktop I get (I doubt you want this, but I'm clueless in this stuff):
>>>>>>>>>>( Window Title & Class )<<<<<<<<<<<
Program Manager
ahk_class Progman

By clicking near the on-screen display I get:
>>>>>>>>>>( Window Title & Class )<<<<<<<<<<<
DeskTask
ahk_class TFrmDeskTask

Is that enough information?

The program locks in position on the background, and when you unlock it that icon (or two or three depending on your preferences) is the drag facility.  Will that be affected? 

I went to their forum, and requested a new feature of an added separate transparency bar for the icons, but in the meantime, I'd love your solution.

I miss my old desktop, but a new used computer this month didn't work with the setup I spent many hours working on.  Your program will get me through the withdrawl.