Change Window Frame Color in Windows 10

How to Change Window Frame Color in Windows 10

In Windows 10, you can change the window frame color which is dark gray by default. It specifies the frame color for 3D element such as lists, drop down lists, up-down controls, and more. The color can be changed from the default dark gray color to any color you want for all Desktop apps you have installed at once. Let's see how it can be done.

The ability to customize the window frame color was available in previous Windows versions when the Classic theme was used. However, Windows 8 and Windows 10 do not include the Classic theme any more and all its options are removed. The feature to customize colors was designed for the Classic theme, so the user interface for this feature is missing in recent Windows versions.

While the user interface is missing, you can still change the color using a Registry tweak. The new color will be applied to various windows including system apps and dialogs like the Run box, Wordpad, Notepad, File Explorer, Local Group Policy Editor, and more.

Default colors:

A custom color:

Here is how to change it.

To Change Window Frame Color in Windows 10,

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors

   See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

3. See the string value WindowFrame. It is responsible for the window background color.
4. To find a suitable value, open Microsoft Paint and click on the Edit color button.
5. In the color dialog, select the desired color using the provided controls. Now, note the values in Red:, Green:, and Blue: boxes.Use these digits to modify the value data of WindowFrame. Write them as follows:
   

   Red[space]Green[space]Blue

   See the screenshot below.

6. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account.

Before:

After:

Note: If you change the accent color, the customizations you made will be preserved. However, if you apply a theme, e.g. install a themepack or apply another built-in theme, Windows 10 will reset the window frame color back to its default values. You will have to repeat the procedure.

Also, a lot of modern apps and all UWP apps like Photos, Settings, etc, ignore this color preference.

The same trick can be used to customize other classic appearance options. Check out the following articles.

• Change Translucent Selection Rectangle Color in Windows 10
• Change Title Bar Text Color in Windows 10
• Change Window Text Color in Windows 10
• Change Highlighted Text Color in Windows 10
• Change Button Face Color in Windows 10
• Change Window Background Color in Windows 10