A closer look at File Explorer's new dark mode in Windows 10

Microsoft is debuting a brand new dark theme for File Explorer with its upcoming Windows x characteristic update, codenamed Redstone 5 and scheduled for release in October. It's not oftentimes that y'all see File Explorer receive whatsoever new features or changes, the last notable i was when Microsoft added the Ribbon UI to it dorsum in 2022{.nofollow}. So the introduction of a new dark theme for File Explorer is a pretty large deal — let's have a closer look and see how it is.

Just like most apps on Windows 10, enabling the dark theme for File Explorer is done through the arrangement-wide night mode toggle inside the Settings app on Windows 10. Once enabled, File Explorer seamlessly switches into night mode, which blackens out the championship bar and tabs, and gives the rest of the UI a dark gray tone, which is super easy on the optics.

Even the context menus within the File Explorer and on the desktop have received dark mode treatment, which makes these legacy context menus appear more than consequent alongside the modern context menus found in UWP apps when dark way is enabled. It's pretty awesome and is something I've been request for since Windows ten kickoff launched back in 2022.

Information technology's not all good news

On the surface, night way within File Explorer is really absurd. It looks proficient and functions well. All the same, when y'all start to dig a lilliputian deeper, things aren't so slap-up. For instance, other than the File Explorer itself, none of the popups or related dialogs have been themed to friction match the dark mode. That means when y'all copy and paste or view the properties of a file, y'all're thrown dorsum into a UI that's blindingly white in nature.

I've besides noticed a few bugs when nighttime mode is enabled, sometimes information technology doesn't fully enable in the File Explorer when opening information technology upward, leaving for some elements remaining white while the rest of information technology is dark. In that location's likewise a modest UI issue going dorsum from legacy Command Panel to File Explorer, which will meet white flashes when switching between folders and sidebar dividers remain white instead of switching back to night.

And so there are other Explorer windows such as the legacy Command Panel itself, which appear to be half themed with some UI elements featuring dark mode and others not. I know Microsoft is slowly phasing out the Control Panel and related legacy Explorer windows, but they aren't gone yet. And then information technology's important they at least look finished.

Of class, at that place'southward still several weeks of development time left earlier this update is finalized, so these problems could still be ironed out before then. However, Microsoft has announced that its dark mode in File Explorer is pretty much done at this signal, then expecting any considerable changes to how information technology behaves across dissimilar windows is likely non going to happen for this release.

Other than those small issues, the dark mode in File Explorer looks fantabulous, and is exactly what I've been hoping for within Windows ten. When you aren't surfaced with a white popup dialog, the dark mode UI looks and feels consummate, and information technology's groovy to run into Microsoft focusing on at least trying to make its light/dark modes consistent across apps, even if they are legacy.

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