File Explorer head bar not using the accent color ! but all others do

Hi, File Explorer os not using the accent color I have chosen when on focus. Iit use black color instead of my accent color blue.
Why is it like this ? and how can I have it using my accent colors? (because of this I never really know which screen is on focus. Bir problem when you have several monitors)



Here is the accent colors I have chose in Windows settings:


This color is used by all other applications head bar when on focus:

• Here is Edge Browser window:
  
• Here is my Google Chrome window:
  
• Here is my Bitwarden for Windows application:
  
• Here is Notepad++ window:
  

File Explorer will not use your accent color. In light mode, it's light gray and in dark mode, dark gray. It's just the way it is and no, you can't force it to change colors.

glasskuter said:

File Explorer will not use your accent color. In light mode, it's light gray and in dark mode, dark gray. It's just the way it is and no, you can't force it to change colors.

Click to expand...

Ok thanks. This incoherence is a pity, especially since it is in the same product ! it is a real pain on a daily basis.


I also so have this issue with Word Office 365: the toolbar is black instead of Blue when on focus

Is there anyway to change that ?


For Office 365 there is also no change in color of the top bar when it is Off focus :

There is really no possibility to change that ? I don't understand how this bad choice have been made

I do not use Office 365 but I do use Office 2021. I have not been able to change its title bar color either.

Something else I haven't been able to find an answer for...Red is my active window border color. Blue is my inactive border color. Unlike other Windows apps, if any Office app is in focus, its border color always shows as blue even if it is the only window open. It never shows as red. File explorer border, on the other hand, changes correctly depending on whether or not it's in focus. I finally gave up.

How do you choose the inactive color of a theme ?
I would really like to make mine more different from the active color (currently both are blue and just slightly more blue). but I can only see how to choose the active color.

I do not understand how MS can make such major UI window mistake. 3rd party developers better respect Windows UI top bar design than MS itself. These applications do not respect Windows UI top bar design at all :

1. MS File Explorer
2. and MS Office
3. and even MS Windows settings !!

For users with large screens and multiple monitors, these UI window mistakes are a REAL pain. In my case File Explorer top bar is such a pain, that I am thinking about using a 3rd party file explorer.

Note: I have read today that some MS application use the wallpaper color instead of the accent color for there title bar (cf. Redirecting)

Christophe said:

How do you choose the inactive color of a theme ?

Click to expand...

There have been a number of threads regarding this. One such is Inactive Title Bar in Windows 11
Some are using third party apps to accomplish it, but it does not work for others. I believe it is because if one uses a theme, whatever is designed within the theme takes precedence over any other setting.
The way I got mine the way I want is in post #25 of that thread and a screenshot of the result. None of the other suggestions worked for me. Maybe they will for you.

[Post checked later on. No differences in the relevant Registry keys & their entries found between Windows 10 & 11.]

Inactive Titlebar colour certainly used to be one of the items that could be changed in the Registry.
I appreciate that File explorer & possibly other components does not follow any known rules.

In Windows 10 & 11, the range of colours that can be adjusted are in these Keys
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM [This is the only one I have used, I change its AccentColor entry]
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors [This has the Inactive Titlebar colour entry - InactiveTitle]
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Colors [This also has the Inactive Titlebar colour entry - InactiveTitle]
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Accent
I have never examined how these different Keys interact. Some entries within them match [such as InactiveTitle]. The relevant tutorials might resolve matters otherwise some experimentation would seem to be needed to see how to manage changes.

The relevant tutorials were / are
Change Color of Inactive Titlebar - TenForumsTutorials [I cannot find an ElevenForum equivalent]
Change Title Bar Text Color - TenForumsTutorials [I cannot find an ElevenForum equivalent]
Change Accent Color - ElevenForumTutorials
and you'll see in those Keys that there are other factors that can be changed.

I have used .reg files, batch files, vbs files to change my Titlebar colour [in response to a particular change - it's my warning system]. The change works but is not reflected in that section of Settings - Settings only shows what it changed by itself not what we change behind its back.


Best of luck,
Denis

I have tried all the "fixes". My chosen accent color for the File Explorer Title bar displays randomly. I customized a preset theme to get the color but once I shutdown it is back to gray. Once I see it the accent color usually later in the day I will use Sleep and not Shutdown each day. I ended up shutting down 3 days ago and now today I finally see the accent color on the File Explorer title bar a few hours after I booted up. Very strange and random. I have not made any changes and not using 3rd party software.

glasskuter said:

File Explorer will not use your accent color. In light mode, it's light gray and in dark mode, dark gray. It's just the way it is and no, you can't force it to change co

Click to expand...

Mine shows light blue, not light grey. Latest 22H2 version. Very annoying that I can't change the color

CLS said:

Mine shows light blue, not light grey. Latest 22H2 version. Very annoying that I can't change the color

Click to expand...

Keep computer on and maybe in a few hours or days the accent color will magically appear! Then keep the computer on/ or sleep mode - do not Shutdown. That's what I have to do! I lose the accent color after I reboot and have to wait for it to randomly appear again hours to days later.

@CharmaineK I can't understand why it works for you. Mine is never turned off and I've never seen color in file explorer.

glasskuter said:

@CharmaineK I can't understand why it works for you. Mine is never turned off and I've never seen color in file explorer.

Click to expand...

I don't know why either. It is so random for me. I customized a theme and saved it but the chosen accent colour reverts to grey after reboot for a few hours/days if left on before it displays the accent colour again. It has been an issue since last October after the WIN11 update. I shutdown 2 days ago when I had the accent colour, I rebooted yesterday and the colour was grey, I left the laptop on over a couple of days and it is finally the it is the accent colour again. I made no changes during the last couple of days.