Change Accent Color in Windows 10  

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    Change Accent Color in Windows 10

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10

    How to Change Accent Color of Start Menu, Taskbar, Action Center, and Title bars in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Customization
    31 Aug 2021
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change Accent Color of Start Menu, Taskbar, Action Center, and Title bars in Windows 10


    Windows 10 has a new black system theme across the Start menu, Taskbar, and Action Center. There is now support for AutoColor which pulls the primary color from your desktop background.

    See also: Change colors in Windows | Microsoft Support

    This tutorial will show you how to change the accent color for the Start menu, Start button, taskbar, title bars (build 10525), window borders, buttons, text, Settings, sign-in screen, and action center to any color you want in Windows 10.

    Window borders are only 1 pixel wide, so they don't show your selected color very well. If you like, you can use the tutorial below to have wider window borders.

    How to Use Aerolite Theme for Window Borders and Title Bars Color in Windows 10


    User color settings for windows are saved in the keys located below in Reigstry Editor (regedit).

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors

    and

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Colors


    The Start menu color for a user is stored in the StartColorMenu and AccentColorMenu DWORDs in the key located below in Registry Editor.

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Accent


    You will need to activate Windows before you can personalize your PC.

    Folders in File Explorer will automatically refresh when you have both Automatically pick a color from my background and Desktop Slideshow turned on.

    When both these options are turned on, the shell sends a refresh message to all File Explorer windows every time the wallpaper changes for the slideshow, causing folders to refresh the views. This can be an annoying issue. For example, if you're scrolling in a folder to only have the scroll bar refresh back to the top after a refresh.


    EXAMPLE: Accent color for title bars, taskbar, windows borders, Start menu, and on sign-in screen
    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-title_bar_and_window_borders.png
    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-show_color_on.jpg
    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-default_sign_in_screen.jpg



    Here's How:

    1 Do step 2 or step 3 below for how you would like to open Personalization.

    2 Open Settings, click/tap on the Personalization icon, and go to step 4 below.

    3 Right click or press and hold on your desktop, click/tap on Personalize, and go to step 4 below.

    4 Do step 5 (choose color), step 6 (auto color), or step 7 (high contrast) below depending on what you would like to do and what theme you are using.


     5. To Choose a Color if using a Windows Default Theme

    A) Click/tap on Colors on the left side. (see screenshots below)

    B) Uncheck Automatically pick an accent color from my background on the right side.

    C) Click/tap on a recent color, Windows color, or a Custom color you want to choose.

    D) Under Show accent color on the following surfaces, check or uncheck Start, taskbar, and action center for what you want.

    If you selected to use Light for Choose your color or Choose your default Windows mode, then the Start, taskbar, and action center setting will be grayed out.


    E) Under Show accent color on the following surfaces, check or uncheck Title bars for what you want.

    F) When finished, go to step 8 below.

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-select_color.jpg Change Accent Color in Windows 10-choose_custom_accent_color.png


     6. To Let Windows Automatically Pick a Color from your Background if using a Windows Default Theme

    This setting is stored using the DWORD value in the registry key below.

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

    AutoColorization DWORD

    0 = Off
    1 = On


    A) Click/tap on Colors on the left side. (see screenshot below)

    B) Check Automatically pick an accent color from my background on the right side.

    C) Under Show accent color on the following surfaces, check or uncheck Start, taskbar, and action center for what you want.

    D) Under Show accent color on the following surfaces, check or uncheck Title bars for what you want.

    E) When finished, go to step 8 below.

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-auto_select_color.jpg


     7. To Choose a Color if High Contrast is Turned On

    A) Click/tap on Colors on the left side, and click/tap on the High contrast settings link at the bottom of the right side. (see screenshot below)

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-high_contrast_color_settings-3.jpg

    B) Click/tap on the color box of an item you want to change based on the currently selected high contrast theme. (see screenshot below)

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-high_contrast_color_settings-4.jpg

    C) Click/tap on a color you want to choose for the item. (see screenshot below)

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-high_contrast_color_settings-5.jpg

    D) Repeat steps 7B and 7C for any other high contrast items you want to change the color of.

    E) When finished changing colors for items, click/tap on the Apply button. (see screenshot below)

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-high_contrast_color_settings-6.jpg

    F) Type a name you want for this new custom high contrast theme, and click/tap on Save. (see screenshot below)

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-high_contrast_color_settings-7.png

    G) This new custom high contrast theme will now be saved to be able to choose. Go to step 8 below.(see screenshot below)

    Change Accent Color in Windows 10-high_contrast_color_settings-8.jpg

    8 When finished, you can close Settings if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 22,740
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #1

    Thanks Shawn

    Jeff
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 17,838
    Windows 10
       #2

    Shawn, I was just wondering, did you notice that once you set the Hue the Saturation and Brightness only controls the Menu and Task Bar; the Color Intensity only controls the window header/border, or is that just a glitch on my end?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 68,665
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Hey Edwin,

    It may just be the color you have selected and combination of other settings. They still change the color of everything for me.

    If you like, post a screenshot of what you have set, and I'll test with the same settings to see how it does for me.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 7,724
    3-Win-7Prox64 3-Win10Prox64 3-LinuxMint20.2
       #4

    Bug = Even you show a much darker green color on the start menu than window headers I don't think you can really say a header is a border
    Nice tutorial though :)
    Cheers.
    Last edited by Brink; 05 Mar 2015 at 10:07.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 68,665
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Yeah, the transparency for the taskbar causes the color you select to blend in with the desktop background some. Since I have a dark background, it made the taskbar look darker as well from the bleed-through.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 7,724
    3-Win-7Prox64 3-Win10Prox64 3-LinuxMint20.2
       #6

    Yep don't get me started on the taskbar
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 68,665
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #7

    LOL
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 17,838
    Windows 10
       #8

    Brink said:
    Yeah, the transparency for the taskbar causes the color you select to blend in with the desktop background some. Since I have a dark background, it made the taskbar look darker as well from the bleed-through.
    It's worse in Build 9901!
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 7,724
    3-Win-7Prox64 3-Win10Prox64 3-LinuxMint20.2
       #9

    It's really kind of sad Microsoft can't get uniform colors on headers and the start menu :)
      My Computers


 

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