A while back I set my system to dark with white fonts but can't find in Win 11 where to change it back

Logical Ron · Oct 2, 2023

As my topic title says above I changed my system to dark windows with white fonts rather than the default light with dark fonts. I also changed my Office to dark with white fonts but I know where to change that.

Can someone please point me to where in the settings do I put the system stuff like windows explorer and other windows that open in my system. I checked personalization which is where it was in Win 10 but not seeing the setting.

Thanks in advance

johnlgalt · Oct 2, 2023

System Settings --> Personalization --> Colors

Logical Ron · Oct 2, 2023

johnlgalt said:
System Settings --> Personalization --> Colors

Yes that is where I thought it is, I can see the colors I can chose but don't see a default. Is there a Win 11 default setting for the colors?

Bree · Oct 3, 2023

Logical Ron said:
Yes that is where I thought it is, I can see the colors I can chose but don't see a default. Is there a Win 11 default setting for the colors?

What you want to change is the Windows Mode, Light or Dark. There is also a Custom mode, where you can independently change the mode of Windows (Start menu, taskbar,etc.) and the apps.

Logical Ron · Oct 3, 2023

Logical Ron said:
Yes that is where I thought it is, I can see the colors I can chose but don't see a default. Is there a Win 11 default setting for the colors?

Yes I found it while searching around in personalization. Thanks for replying When I change it to light I get the light windows but I also get a very light colored taskbar, I know I can change that color and I am sure I will find it.............lol

Bree · Oct 3, 2023

Logical Ron said:
Yes I found it while searching around in personalization. Thanks for replying When I change it to light I get the light windows but I also get a very light colored taskbar, I know I can change that color and I am sure I will find it.............lol

I use Custom mode to keep the apps light, but the taskbar dark.

johnlgalt · Oct 3, 2023

Furthermore, you can set a manual color for the task bar.

Accent color - change to manual, then pick a color (from the palette or by using Custom colors below the palette).

After setting the manual color, a bit below, toggle Show accent color on Star and taskbar on.

Otherwise, you may need a third party tool for further customization.

Logical Ron · Oct 3, 2023

johnlgalt said:
Furthermore, you can set a manual color for the task bar.

Accent color - change to manual, then pick a color (from the palette or by using Custom colors below the palette).

After setting the manual color, a bit below, toggle Show accent color on Star and taskbar on.

View attachment 72864

Otherwise, you may need a third party tool for further customization.

Yes, I figured it would be much like Win 10 but when I change colors to light or custom and pick a accent color my taskbar will not change to that color??? The show accent color on start and taskbar grays out if I chose light or custom mode???

johnlgalt · Oct 3, 2023

It does for me. Have to toggle that last setting I mention (to the right). Left is off, right is on.

If the color is not changing, first try rebooting, and then, second, verify you don't have another app interfering with it (translucent taskbar, rounded taskbar, etc.) or one of the start replacement apps.

Kees · Oct 3, 2023

For whatever reason it is, Microsoft has (from the beginning of Windows 11 on) made it so, that the color of the taskbar cannot be changed in the light mode.

I have that problem too and tried all kinds of settings but nothing helps. Therefor I use one of the taskbar-tweaking programs. There are about three well-known programs: ExplorerPatcher, StartAllBack and Start11. Of which only ExplorerPatcher is free, the other two you have to pay a small amount to keep it using.

Please search in this forum for the three items, as there are some (solvable) problems with some of those programs.

Porthos · Oct 3, 2023

Kees · Oct 3, 2023

That is the dark mode, not the light one.
In the mode you showed, the characters on the taskbar will be white (because the taskbar is standard black). If I change the taskbar to follow the colour of the title bars, I get this (which for my old eyes is totally unacceptable):

And the start menu looks like this:

Awful,I want black characters on a white background (as is in the light Windows theme).

When I switch on Transparancy effect, it show this:

I don't like that at all.

I don't understand why MS is still sticking to the fact that in the light theme you can't use a coloured tasbar, but that's with many more things MS decides to do.

But via Start11 I can choose my own task bar colour (in the light theme). The right corner looks like this:

So for me no problem at all, only had to pay a small amount for using Start11.

johnlgalt · Oct 3, 2023

I use translucenttb and let my bgwp decide on the colors I see.

Kees · Oct 3, 2023

@johnlgalt
May I ask you how you managed to get rid of the combined Network/Volume button?
This one:

In my Win11 22H2 system I don't get rid of that, but you seem to know the way...

johnlgalt · Oct 3, 2023

That is the taskbar from my second monitor, not my primary monitor. As such, there is no notification area on that task bar.

I still have that on the primary.

Kees · Oct 3, 2023

OK, I understand now.
Thanks for your answer, even if it was not what I hoped for...

A while back I set my system to dark with white fonts but can't find in Win 11 where to change it back

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