11. A method of creating a visual style for a set of graphical components for use on a computer system having a graphical operating environment, comprising: selecting a number of graphical components that are desired to have a defined visual style such that the number of graphical components are selected from a schema file that stores each graphical component in a class identified by a unique class name, wherein each class includes at least one part having a part name for identifying the graphical component and each part includes at least one state, wherein the graphical components are controls that perform an associated known operation when selected by a user, wherein the at least one state describes a current appearance and a functional state of the graphical component, and wherein the visual style comprises a layout and shape of the graphical components and associated parts, the layout of the graphical components and the associated parts comprising one or more of a size or a position on a display device; assigning properties to said selected graphical components according to said defined visual style; and grouping pairs of selected graphical components and corresponding assigned properties for the defined visual style together in a first class data file, wherein the first class data file contains data on the defined visual style.
14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing a list of available properties that may be selected in said selecting step for each defined graphical component.