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Duncan Lew
Duncan Lew

Posted on • Originally published at duncanlew.Medium

Toggle Light or Dark Mode in Windows With a Single Click

Easy access from the task bar to quickly enter or leave the dark side

Windows 10 and Windows 11 support both dark and light mode. This dark mode feature is a boon for our eyes - it reduces exposure to blue light at night which can help make reading in the evening more enjoyable. However, during daytime when there is ample natural light, light mode can be a better viewing option to make text and UI elements more visible. Regardless of your lighting situation, if you need to switch frequently between light and dark mode, constantly digging through your settings can become an annoyance. Windows does not provide an easy way to trigger dark mode. It doesn't even provide an option to automate this based on your geographic location or specific time schedule. Well… you need look no further, we have Windows Auto Dark Mode to the rescue!

Pesky Windows settings 😔

Toggling dark or light mode via the Settings app in Windows can be such a tedious process. Let's first take a look at how to do that in Windows 10 and Windows 11. 

  1. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows key + I
  2. Click on the Personalization tile
  3. Click on Colors from the left side menu
  4. Select Light or Dark from the Choose your color dropdown menu

Menu for toggling dark or light mode

You will have to go to a four-step process, just to toggle dark or light mode. Imagine having to do this two times a day. There should really be a better way to achieve this. 🤔

Windows Auto Dark Mode 🚀

This amazing utility that simplifies our process is called Windows Auto Dark Mode. This is a open-source software which you can download from the Microsoft Store. After having installed this nifty tool, a new icon will appear in your taskbar. Right-clicking on this icon will open a menu allowing you to toggle dark or light mode:
Toggle Dark or Light mode from the menu
This might be all you need to achieve your optimal workflow - just an easily accessible button to toggle your desired view.

If you are interested in more advanced features like timed schedules for dark mode or setting up keyboard shortcuts to toggle dark mode, just click on the
sunny icon in your taskbar to view its settings:
Settings for Windows Auto Dark Mode

Explore all the advanced settings that are available for this app at your own pace and tweak it to your heart's content!


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