Remove Color Background From Microsoft Agent Characters On Windows Vista, 7 & 8.

There is a bug on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1 that does not allow the Microsoft Agent Characters to display correctly when run.

The animated characters Merlin, Rover The Dog and others are the office assistants found in Microsoft Office 2003 and in other applications such as Deskbot and Mash.



They all work fine on later versions of Windows including Windows 8. But there is either a pink or green color square background around the characters which some people don't like. The backgrounds can also be purple,orange or another color depending on the character. The Hotfix for Microsoft Agent from Microsoft does not remove this.

Green Background Around Microsoft Agent Characters On Windows 7.

If you are using the Windows Classic or High Contrast Theme on Windows Vista and Windows 7 there is no problem as they display normally as they do on Windows XP without the background.

But if, as most people, you are using the Aero Theme, then you either get the pink, red or other background color around the animated characters. 

And on Windows 8 this does not go away even if you are using the High Contrast Theme. I don't know why this is but it seems to have something to do with the display or theme on Windows Vista,7 and 8 which is incompatible with the Microsoft Agents. As they did not have Aero Theme on Windows XP and older versions of Windows.So that seems to be why they display with the green or other color backgrounds instead of transparent as they should be.

Though there is a way to fix this, so here is how.

If you are using Deskbot or Mash you need to apply the program compatibility settings to make it run for older versions of Windows.  To do this go to the exe program file in either your start menu or in Programs on C Drive. Then click Properties, then select change settings for all users.

Set the program to run in compatibility mode for Windows98/ME as shown in image.

Click apply then Ok to save settings then close.

Apply Compatibility Settings As Shown In Image.

Now when you run either Deskbot or Mash the color background is gone and this also works on Windows 8 as well as on Windows 7 and Vista. As you can see in my pictures on Windows 8 both in Windows Classic and Aero Theme. 

Pink Background Removed From Windows 8 After The Fix.

Also Works With The Aero Theme On Windows 8.

Please note that this won't work in Microsoft Office 2000 or 2003 and you should not set compatibility mode for Outlook or any of the office applications because they will stop working. But it works for me on Deskbot and now have the transparent background as it was on Windows XP on my Windows 7 and 8. See also my video which shows you how to do this.