Windows 10 build 10162 comes with a variety of improvements and bug fixes under the hood with hardly any visual refinements. Many Windows Insiders are displeased that Microsoft has yet to remove the grey colored titlebars and allow the option to have it colored based on accent color. Fortunately, there is a tweak (as discovered by WinAero) that allows you to change the color of the application titlebars.
“Before we start, let me explain why window title bars are white in Windows 10. Inside the uDWM.dll file, there is a check which compares the theme file name to aero.msstyles. If it matches aero.msstyles, it ignores the color and sets it to white. Here is a simple solution – just rename the msstyles file to something else which does not contain the “aero.msstyles” string,” WinAero explains in a blog post.
So, how can we easily get colored titlebars in Windows 10? Follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Go to C:\Windows\Resources\Themes
Step 2: Copy the “aero” folder and paste it into the same Themes directory. Confirm the User Access Control request (UAC) and skip for all MSS files when prompted. It should appear like this:
Step 3: Rename the “aero – Copy” folder to “windows” and confirm the UAC request if prompted. It should look like this:
Step 4: Go into the “windows” folder you just created and rename aero.msstyles to windows.msstyles. Confirm the UAC request. It should now look like this:
Step 5: Go into the En-US folder and rename aero.msstyles.mui file to windows.msstyles.mui. It should look like this:
Step 6: Hit the back button twice and return to the Themes directory. Copy the aero file and place it on your desktop. Rename it to windows and open it with notepad.
Step 7: Under the [VisualStyles] section, find: Path=%ResourceDir%\Themes\Aero\Aero.msstyles
Step 8: Replace it with: Path=%ResourceDir%\Themes\windows\windows.msstyles
Step 9: Save it and then double click the file to enable colored titlebars! Go to the Settings app > Personalization > Colors and adjust your accent colors to your liking.
As you will see, this will enable the older styled close, minimize, and maximize buttons. The colored titlebars are also a tad bit buggy, as some areas of the application window will not have the appropriate color. Give it a try and see if you like it. Hopefully Microsoft listens and adds this option before Windows 10 reaches RTM in just a few weeks.
