Dark themes have been a highlight of this year with every operating system, browser and app trying to offer a dark mode to its users. While Windows 10 already supported a dark theme, the latest Windows 10 October 2018 Update finally brought the Dark Mode to File Explorer.
The mode was already available to Settings, Photos and other Universal Windows Platform applications. However, File Explorer continued to open with the light theme, which kind of killed the purpose of a dark theme. If you have installed the latest Windows 10 version 1809 (users are advised to wait a few more weeks to avoid any compatibility issues), you can have a system wide dark mode experience by following just a few simple steps.
How to Enable Windows 10 File Explorer Dark Mode (version 1809 required)
- Head over to Settings.
- Click on Personalization > Colors
- Scroll down to the bottom and choose Dark under Choose your default app mode.
Once you select this mode, everything should switch to a darker shade, including the File Explorer and the context menus.
There are still some Microsoft applications like the Office suite and Edge that do not follow this system instruction. However, you can make them employ darker tones through their own settings. More hassle, but certainly possible. For Office, open any app like Word, go to File > Options > General and under Office Theme drop down menu, select Black. This selection would then apply to all Office apps. For Edge, go to Settings > Choose A Theme > Dark.
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- Direct download latest November 2019 Update ISO files
- Block Windows 10 October Update from installing itself on your machine without losing on security updates
About the author: Rafia joined Wccftech in 2012 as a tech reporter. She is currently working on stories focusing on people and technologies that are turning Microsoft into a “company to watch” again. She is also responsible for collaborating with tech makers and e-commerce platforms to bring annoying but tempting deals to our readers.
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