Earlier, we had a classic Color and Appearance panel in Windows OS which was handy for changing the color of various UI elements (like the taskbar, Start menu, windows borders, etc.). But, now we can do the same from the Windows Settings app. However, if you want to use the same old options, you can add Color and Appearance to the Control Panel in Windows 11/10 with the help of this tutorial. Though the Color and Appearance feature is not accessible directly in Windows 11/10, it is still available and can be used with a trick.
If you need to change the Taskbar color or Title bar color, you can open the Windows Settings panel and do it. However, it is also possible to change Taskbar, windows borders, and Start menu color with the help of Color and Appearance. It is an old yet handy tool, which can let you set any custom color as per your requirement. If you often need to access this tool, you can include that option in the Control Panel and open it from there.
For this, we are going to use Registry Editor. Before using that tool, it is recommended to backup or export Registry files and create a System Restore point to be on the safe side.
How to add Color and Appearance to Control Panel
To add Color and Appearance to Control Panel in Windows 11/10, follow these steps-
- Open Notepad on your PC.
- Paste the registry code in the Notepad.
- Click the File menu and select Save As from the list.
- Choose a location where you want to save the Registry file. A Save as window will open.
- Give it a name with .reg extension.
- Select All Files from Save as type.
- Click the Save
- Double-click on the .reg file.
- Select Yes in the UAC window.
- Click Yes in the confirmation window.
- Find Color and Appearance in the Control Panel.
Let’s check out all these steps in detail.
At first, you need to create a .reg file. For that, open the Notepad on your computer and paste the following text into it-
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{106ee807-9e5d-451b-a9c5-74908630cefb}]
@="Color and Appearance"
"InfoTip"="Change the color of your taskbar, window borders, and Start menu"
"System.ApplicationName"="Microsoft.Personalization"
"System.ControlPanel.Category"=dword:00000001
"System.Software.TasksFileUrl"="Internal"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{106ee807-9e5d-451b-a9c5-74908630cefb}\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-197"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{106ee807-9e5d-451b-a9c5-74908630cefb}\Shell\Open\command]
@="explorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\\pageColorization"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\NameSpace\{106ee807-9e5d-451b-a9c5-74908630cefb}]
@="Color and Appearance"
Open the File menu and select the Save As… option.
Now, select a location where you want to save the file. After that, give it any name with a .reg extension (e.g., twc.reg), choose All Files from Save as type, and click the Save button.
Then, you need to double-click on this .reg file to add the values in the Registry Editor.
You might receive the UAC prompt. If so, you can click the Yes button. Next, a confirmation window will appear, and you should click the Yes button again.
After completing the last step, open the Control Panel window, and change View by mode from Category to Large icons or Small icons. Now you will see the Color and Appearance option.
Click on that option and the Color and Appearance window will open. Now you can select any of the available colors for the taskbar, windows borders, and Start menu. Press the Save changes button to successfully apply the changes.
If you want, you can also adjust the color intensity and use the color mixer to set Hue, Brightness, and Saturation.
In case you want to remove this option from the Control Panel, you need to open Registry Editor on your computer, navigate to this path-
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\
and delete this key:
{106ee807-9e5d-451b-a9c5-74908630cefb}
Then, go to this path-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\NameSpace\
and delete this key:
{106ee807-9e5d-451b-a9c5-74908630cefb}
That’s all!
Now read: Prevent Users from changing Color and Appearance on Windows PC
How to change the Control Panel color in Windows 11/10?
The option to change only the Control Panel color is not available in Windows 11/10. However, you can switch from Light mode to Dark mode and changes are applied to all windows (like the Taskbar, File Explorer, Apps, Start menu, etc.). You can also select a Windows color from the available palette, and turn on the option to Show accent color on title bars and window borders, and the color change is visible in the Control Panel window and other applications. For this, open the Settings app > Personalization > and Colors.
Where is Color Management in Control Panel?
After opening the Control Panel window, you first need to change the View by mode for options to Small icons or Large icons. After that, you can view and open the Color Management tool from the Control Panel. If you want, you can also use the Windows Search box (type color management and press the Enter key), File Explorer, Settings app, Run command box, and other options to open and use Color Management on a Windows 11/10 PC.
Read next: Change Colors of System Elements and Font sizes in Windows PC.
