Windows Aero

Windows Aero (a backronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open, or simply AERO or Aero), also known as Aero Glass, is a set of interface and design guidelines that were introduced by the Windows Vista operating system. The changes made in the Aero interface affected many elements of the Windows interface, including the incorporation of a new look, along with changes in interface guidelines reflecting appearance, layout, and the phrasing and tone of instructions and other text in applications.

The Aero interface was unveiled for Windows Vista as a complete redesign of the Windows interface, replacing Windows XP's "Luna" theme. Until the release of Windows Vista Beta 1 in July 2005, little had been shown of Aero in public or leaked builds. Previous user interfaces were Plex, which was featured in Longhorn builds 3683–4042; Slate, which was first featured in the Lab06 compile of build 4042 and was used until the development reset, and Jade (builds 4074 to 4094). Microsoft started using the Aero theme in public builds in build 5048. The first build with full-featured Aero was build 5219. Build 5270 (released in December 2005) contained an implementation of the Aero theme which was virtually complete, according to sources at Microsoft, though a number of stylistic changes were introduced between then and the operating system's release.

Windows Aero incorporated the following features in Windows Vista.

Windows Aero is revised in Windows 7, with several UI changes, such as a more touch friendly interface, and many new visual effects and features including mouse gestures:

While retaining interface elements introduced by Vista and 7, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 made changes to the visual appearance of the operating system that incorporate the Metro design language. As a result of these changes, the Aero Glass theme was replaced by a flatter, solid colored theme. Most transparency effects were removed from the interface, aside from the taskbar, which maintains transparency (but no longer has a blur effect). Flip 3D was also removed; ⊞ Win+Tab ↹ now switches between Modern apps.

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