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Old 08-12-2023, 12:45 PM   #1
thevisi0nary
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Default Which Windows 11 themes allow for the simplest dark mode implementation?

Am trying to find solutions to making Reaper appear dark mode friendly. So far the options I've found do not work with Windows 11 (Penumbra theme).

Are there any simple / clean solutions people have found?
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Old 08-12-2023, 04:07 PM   #2
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Penumbra is a win10-theme. Niivu has plenty of options for win11 22h2:
https://www.deviantart.com/niivu/gal...464502/11-22h2

Last edited by Zeno; 08-12-2023 at 04:17 PM.
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Old 08-12-2023, 04:36 PM   #3
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Go here to see what I use:

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=274158


Robert
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Old 08-12-2023, 11:12 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by rncwalker View Post
Go here to see what I use:

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=274158


Robert
I tried WindowBlinds yesterday but wasn't really happy with the experience. Didn't find any particularly good themes and some stuff had dark text against a dark background etc. These themes are really nice though, eill give it a second try!
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Old 08-13-2023, 01:54 AM   #5
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I've tried most of these over the last few years and TBH none of them give a satisfactory experience with the whole OS/Programs IMHO.

There's always 'something' wrong in some area or other one one program or another.


I'm hoping V7 might bring proper 'dark' implementation like in Mac OS.



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Old 08-13-2023, 04:14 AM   #6
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SecureUx -> niivu BIB
Works for me
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Old 08-13-2023, 07:39 AM   #7
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I have finally found what works.

https://forum.cockos.com/showpost.ph...8&postcount=89
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Old 08-14-2023, 09:58 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeno View Post
SecureUx -> niivu BIB
Works for me
Actually I've just tried this and it works really well.

thanks

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Old 08-15-2023, 08:53 AM   #9
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SecureUx -> niivu BIB
Works for me
p.s I can't get chrome to see the correct bar. and this forum has faint grey text when making a reply.

Any ideas?

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Old 08-15-2023, 10:35 AM   #10
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p.s I can't get chrome to see the correct bar. and this forum has faint grey text when making a reply.

Any ideas?

M
i dont have a specific answer to this, only to commiserate. there is no perfect windows theme out there ... the ones that come the closest for me always have at least one or two deal-breaking flaws.

i've resigned to having two system themes that i swap as needed: a reaper theme, and a literally-everything-else theme. a theme that's good for reaper (is reaper a dark theme or a light theme? who knows! it's got drawbacks of both) is often terrible for productivity software. I have a few dark Niivu themes that I love, and that are wonderful for Reaper, but make it pretty much impossible to use MS Excel or my PDF editing software, which also need daily.

you can try to edit a windows theme, but good luck with that rabbit hole ...
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Old 08-15-2023, 11:19 AM   #11
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p.s I can't get chrome to see the correct bar. and this forum has faint grey text when making a reply.

Any ideas?

M
BIB contains a theme package for Chrome. No idea what it does. I don't use google. In mozilla I have no issues. Not with this website and not with other websites.
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Old 08-15-2023, 12:51 PM   #12
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BIB contains a theme package for Chrome. No idea what it does. I don't use google. In mozilla I have no issues. Not with this website and not with other websites.

I wasn't able to get the correct title/top/tab bar to show the right buttons in Firefox either. Not a dealbreaker though, I'd say I'm sufficiently satisfied with SecureUx + niivu's themes. Worked better for me than WindowBlinds.
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Old 08-17-2023, 05:36 PM   #13
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Ultrauxthemepatcher + BIB3 Night Theme works nice here! All areas are dark now in Reaper. Though some borders is less contrast, it's much better than Windows 11 simple dark mode.
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Old 10-13-2023, 06:50 PM   #14
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Are these amounting to values within the registry editor? If so, is it something we could build a resource for doing ourselves without needing to install themes? There can't be many elements at play here that would need tweaking.
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Old 10-14-2023, 07:35 AM   #15
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Are these amounting to values within the registry editor? If so, is it something we could build a resource for doing ourselves without needing to install themes? There can't be many elements at play here that would need tweaking.
Windows doesn't allow third-party themes, Ultrauxthemepatcher just edits registry to make it able to apply any custom theme. So all is already done in Ultrauxthemepatcher, what else to wish?
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Old 10-14-2023, 08:09 AM   #16
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Windows doesn't allow third-party themes, Ultrauxthemepatcher just edits registry to make it able to apply any custom theme. So all is already done in Ultrauxthemepatcher, what else to wish?
Would rather not apply a whole theme, just want to change the appearance of a few Win32 elements.
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Old 10-14-2023, 08:16 AM   #17
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Would rather not apply a whole theme, just want to change the appearance of a few Win32 elements.
hope you enjoy wasting your time!
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Old 10-14-2023, 08:18 AM   #18
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hope you enjoy wasting your time!
You sure enjoy wasting mine lol
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Old 10-14-2023, 08:22 PM   #19
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You sure enjoy wasting mine lol
I mean, I'm making a point others here have made. It's a massive investment of time and frustration for so little.
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Old 10-14-2023, 09:08 PM   #20
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I mean, I'm making a point others here have made. It's a massive investment of time and frustration for so little.
I understand that and that it’s insignificant to you but I like visual consistency and prefer the most native solutions possible
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Old 10-15-2023, 04:48 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thevisi0nary View Post
Would rather not apply a whole theme, just want to change the appearance of a few Win32 elements.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...ormat-overview
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Old 10-15-2023, 05:15 AM   #22
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Excellent, thank you!
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Old 10-15-2023, 09:07 AM   #23
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I understand that and that it’s insignificant to you but I like visual consistency and prefer the most native solutions possible
will it be native, though? Any more native than using a theme with a patcher? will you have to still patch if you make your own theme?

In the end, no insult intended. I just know the frustration of this situation and the time I've personally wasted. All the best to you.
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Old 10-15-2023, 09:45 AM   #24
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Stardock WindowBlinds can do it for little time and money. And it doesn't break every Windows update. I use Steam System Gray theme.

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Old 10-15-2023, 10:02 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by Jae.Thomas View Post
will it be native, though? Any more native than using a theme with a patcher? will you have to still patch if you make your own theme?

In the end, no insult intended. I just know the frustration of this situation and the time I've personally wasted. All the best to you.
Native enough that I at least know exactly what's being changed and have control over it. I've briefly tried secureUX themes and had problems with the task bar but that could have been my fault. My biggest concern with 3rd party themes is getting comfortable with one that ends up breaking something down the road, and being unable to go back to a restore point because too much time has passed.
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Old 10-15-2023, 10:04 AM   #26
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Stardock WindowBlinds can do it for little time and money. And it doesn't break every Windows update. I use Steam System Gray theme.

That looks fantastic. I read a few posts that said Windowblinds gave them UI trouble with a few apps, has it been totally problem free for you?

Also do you know if it can apply Mica to both the title and menu bar?
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Old 10-15-2023, 10:17 AM   #27
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That looks fantastic. I read a few posts that said Windowblinds gave them UI trouble with a few apps, has it been totally problem free for you?

Also do you know if it can apply Mica to both the title and menu bar?
I had to correct some missing menu bars in Reaper by moving the transparency sliders to fully opaque but that's about it. It can be disabled per app as well. It does affect the menu bar as well.
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Old 10-15-2023, 12:39 PM   #28
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Windowblinds and "Big Sour" theme works good for me :O)
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Old 10-16-2023, 02:39 AM   #29
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I've briefly tried secureUX themes and had problems with the task bar but that could have been my fault.
All SecureUX does is patch the theme signature. So the issues with your taskbar should be due to something else.
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Old 10-16-2023, 09:41 AM   #30
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How to use Dark mode in Windows 11

Setting up Dark mode in Windows 11 is a quick and easy process. Follow these steps:

From your Start menu, navigate to Settings > Personalization.
Select Colors followed by Choose your mode.
You can choose between Light, Dark, or Custom.
If you select Custom, you’ll have the option to choose one default Windows mode and a different default app mode.
In the same menu, you’ll also find options to change accent colors and turn on Transparency effects.
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Old 10-16-2023, 10:03 AM   #31
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I've had several windows updates without a break. I wonder why?
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Old 10-16-2023, 02:32 PM   #32
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WindowBlinds is good indeed. You never could get Windows 10,11 full dark in native. And besides I like my free version better All I need is just reinstall Ultrauxthemepatcher after Windows update. Not a big deal.


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Old 01-13-2024, 01:01 AM   #33
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I downloaded the Stardock WindowBlinds trial and a couple of dark skins and used the per application settings for Reaper, VLC video player and APO Equalizer but nothing changes, they still look the same. Did I miss anything?
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Old 01-13-2024, 06:42 AM   #34
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@NightofNi


Try more themes until you find one you like.

See this post where I show the pros ans cons with windowblinds.

I'm happy with windowblinds.

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=274158

Robert
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Old 01-13-2024, 11:46 AM   #35
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FWIW, I gave up trying to get a dark mode to work. Other programs would always look weird, especially sibelius, which became unusable, and Chrome
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Old 01-13-2024, 05:28 PM   #36
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FWIW, I gave up trying to get a dark mode to work. Other programs would always look weird, especially sibelius, which became unusable, and Chrome
You can set windowblinds per program, so when you set it only for Reaper it has no effect on the other programs
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Old 01-13-2024, 05:53 PM   #37
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Quote:
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used the per application settings for Reaper,
You don't need per application settings unless you want to exclude a program from part or all of the skinning.
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Old 01-14-2024, 02:02 AM   #38
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Thanks for the replies, @rncwalker and @foxAsteria. I don't want to patch the entire OS, or the desktop and taskbar, that's why I used the per application settings. I thought it was there you can specify which apps you wanted to include or exclude. Which settings do I go to for just changing Reaper, VLC and a few other apps? I've downloaded a bunch of dark skins but nothing has worked so far.
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Old 01-14-2024, 10:30 AM   #39
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Which settings do I go to for just changing Reaper, VLC and a few other apps? I've downloaded a bunch of dark skins but nothing has worked so far.
Hmm I guess you'd need a different tool; pretty sure it doesn't work like that (though maybe excluding Explorer would take care of it). Strange that no skins will take effect... Maybe try reinstalling WindowBlinds. Btw VLC has its own dark skins.
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Old 01-14-2024, 12:00 PM   #40
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Thanks, @foxAsteria. I guess that's why it hasn't worked, I didn't patch the entire OS. I did try applying it to the desktop but then I lost some changes I've made with StartAllBack which is a great tool for customizing Windows 11 so that wasn't ideal. I'll keep trying.

https://www.startallback.com/

I've seen there are dark skins for VLC but they aren't the same as the default and there always seem to be a few controls missing.
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