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Customization

Set Accent Colour and Dark Title Bars System-Wide

Windows 11 applies the accent colour to about half of its surfaces. Two settings make title bars, taskbar and legacy dialogs finally match.

by@guidox updated:10/30/26 time:10 min level:Beginner tested on:Windows 11 24H2 works on:Windows 10, Windows 11
TL;DR

Set the **accent colour**, enable **Show accent colour on title bars and window borders**, and switch **mode** to Dark for both Windows and apps. Then set the app mode for legacy dialogs in the registry if you want them dark too.

Before you start

Requirements

  • Windows 11
  • Five minutes
  • Willingness to reboot once
Step by step

Instructions

01

Pick the colour source

Open **Settings > Personalisation > Colours** and choose **Automatic** to take the accent from the wallpaper, or **Manual** to set one colour for everything.

Settings > Personalisation > Colours
02

Apply it to title bars

Tick **Show accent colour on title bars and window borders**. This is the switch people miss - without it the accent only appears on buttons.

tipThe taskbar picks up the accent only when **Show accent colour on Start and taskbar** is on.
03

Switch both modes to dark

Set **Choose your mode** to Dark and confirm that **Choose your default app mode** follows. Windows and apps have separate settings on older builds.

Windows mode: Dark
App mode: Dark
04

Fix the old dialogs

Legacy Win32 dialogs stay bright because they read a registry value. Set **AppsUseLightTheme** to 0 under the Personalize key and sign out.

reg add "HKCU\oftware\icrosoft\indows\urrentVersion\hemes\ersonalize" /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
⚠ warningOnly change this value, nothing else in that key. If a dialog stays white, the app draws its own background.
05

Match the taskbar

If the taskbar looks washed out, set it to a solid colour by disabling transparency effects, or keep transparency and raise the contrast of the accent.

Settings > Personalisation > Colours > Transparency effects
06

Save the look

Windows stores the theme as a .theme file from **Themes > Save theme**. Export it so a reinstall or a second PC gets the same colours in one click.

Settings > Personalisation > Themes > Save theme
Troubleshooting

Common issues

Title bars stay grey

The accent on title bars is off, or a third-party theme tool overrode it. Disable the tool and re-apply.

Apps ignore dark mode

The app has its own theme setting. Most modern apps follow Windows, older ones do not.

The accent changes with the wallpaper unexpectedly

Colour source is set to Automatic. Switch it to Manual and pick a fixed colour.

Colours look wrong on one monitor

That panel has a different colour profile. Set the same profile in the GPU control panel.

FAQ

Frequently asked

Does this survive updates?

Yes, except the registry value, which Microsoft occasionally resets.

Can I use a custom accent not in the palette?

Only through the registry or third-party tools. The picker offers a fixed set.

How to undo this

Set **Choose your mode** back to Light, untick the accent options, and set **AppsUseLightTheme** to 1. Loading the previously saved theme file restores everything at once.

Changelog · 1 entry
  1. 2026-10-30
    First version
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