Share via

Can I change the colour of selected explorer items in Windows 11?

Anonymous
2023-06-21T13:43:38+00:00

Hello!

I would like to be able to change the highlight colour of a selected item in Windows 11. Is this possible somehow? I always have issues finding the highlighted thumbnail, especially when scrolling, and I would like to make it say, blue, like in the older versions of Windows.

Have some cats as a visual explanation:

Is there a way to change this? It can be hacky, as long as it works!

Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Accessibility

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

7 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-31T10:59:13+00:00

    No need to be a jerk, all I asked is which value corresponds to the highlight because I cannot find the one that is relevant to what I want.

    Your reply adds nothing after months of nothing and it has no value.

    Was this answer helpful?

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. EmilyS726 235.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-06-21T14:20:44+00:00

    Hello, this is Emily.

    There's no way to do this via setting soptions provided by Windows, however, you can do it via registry editor.

    Type regedit in the search on the taskbar and hit enter, when launched, go to this path:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\DefaultColors\Standard

    There you can change the Highlight and Highlight Text items. You will need to convert your color into hex and rbg.. you can use this link to help you convert: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/color/rgb-t...

    CAUTION: Modifying the registry improperly can result in Windows becoming corrupted. You should back up the Windows registry (see Windows - Backing up the Registry https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-t...) before attempting any changes.

    Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

    Was this answer helpful?

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2024-01-30T20:19:57+00:00

    She gave you the place to look: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\DefaultColors\Standard"

    I verified her instructions.

    I suspect she did not reply to your further requests because it sounds like you are not familiar with navigating the registry, so should refrain from changing it due to the ease of achieving catastrophic results through seemingly trivial missteps.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-08-06T11:43:56+00:00

    Bumping this again, I absolutely can't stand the contrast, it's so annoying.

    Any recs for a third party program that could fix this?

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2023-07-08T10:32:13+00:00

    I have been digging through the registry and I can't find the relevant keys and values.

    What is this type of highlight called? I suppose there should be two values, one for an active window and one for inactive.

    Image

    maybe it's one of these?

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments