Web Tile Customization

jMawl

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Jan 1, 2013
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I'm not sure if any of you are anal about the look of your tiles, but I think the "standard" web tile images are pretty terrible for most apps. It turns out that it is pretty easy to modify the look of the web tiles for a given website. All of the information for a web tile is found in:
c:\Users\userName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\
Under that folder are folders that start with the word "pin" followed by some random number. In those folders are graphics files for the various tile sizes and also an .xml file that may or may not contain pointers to news feeds (like in WPCentral and ESPN tiles). There, you can modify the graphics to match a tile from windows phone app (if it exists) or make your own tiles. Also, in some of the .xml files you could make slight changes if you know what you are doing. The only thing I did was make the large size ESPN tile background a slight gray because the default white looks a little jarring on a tile of that size. See for example part of my start screen with custom Pandora, Spotify, Prime Instant Videos, Dictionary.com, and Thesaurus.com (there is actually a Dictionary.com app in there as well, but I prefer the added features of the website). I think that you can also make similar changes to the actual app live tiles under Program Files/WindowsApps, but I typically like the app tiles so I haven't messed with that.
Screenshot (1).jpg

Anyway, I thought that this was kind of a neat way to get a more custom look (and a closer match to Modern UI if you feel inclined) :) Take it or leave it. No comments about my Start Screen please...I haven't had time since Tuesday to fully set it up.
 

jMawl

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Jan 1, 2013
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That's interesting. I haven't added any websites to my start screen yet.
I highly recommend it, especially for websites that must replace apps AND for websites like WPCentral that run their news feed under the largest sized live tile. It is a really nice feature. For "apps" like Pandora and Spotify I don't miss too much (and in some cases they have more functionality (though probably not as good aesthetics) than the app) because they have good web-based players.
 

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