Add Windows Mode Context Menu in Windows 10 (Light or Dark Theme)

Color Appearance Personalization Icon

As you may already know, Windows 10 comes with two color schemes for Store apps. The default one is light, there is also a darker one.  Starting in Windows 10 Build 18282, that represents Windows 10 19H1, also known as "version 1903", you can apply the light or dark theme separately to Windows and to the Store apps.

Windows 10 Build 18282 includes a new Light theme and a couple of new options under Settings > Personalization > Colors. Using them, you can apply the full light theme to the taskbar, the Start menu, and the Action Center.

By selecting the Custom option under Settings > Personalization > Colors, you will be able to set your default Windows mode and app mode individually.

You can add a special context menu to switch your default Windows mode with one click without opening the Settings app. This can be done with a simple Registry tweak.

To add the App Mode context menu in Windows 10, do the following.

  1. Download the following Registry files: Download Registry Files.
  2. Unblock the downloaded file.
  3. Extract the ZIP archive you've downloaded to any desired location. You can put them right on the Desktop.
  4. Double-click on the file "add-windows-mode-context-menu.reg" and confirm the import operation.

To remove the context menu, double-click the provided file "remove-windows-mode-context-menu.reg".

How it works

The Registry files modify the 32-bit DWORD parameter SystemUsesLightTheme under the key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize

It supports the following values:

  • 1 - Windows will use the Light theme.
  • 0 - Windows will use the Dark theme (default).

Additionally, you may add the similar menu to switch default mode for Store app. You will be able to enable the desired app theme with a single click.

See the following article:

Add App Mode Context Menu in Windows 10

To learn more about the new Light theme in Windows 10, see the article How To Enable Light Theme in Windows 10. If you don't have Build 18282 installed, you can download the new 'Windows Light' wallpaper separately from here:

Download New Light Windows 10 Wallpaper

That's it.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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