{"id":3389,"date":"2016-07-03T12:27:04","date_gmt":"2016-07-03T06:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=3389"},"modified":"2019-06-03T16:20:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T16:20:27","slug":"reset-window-color-appearance-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-window-color-appearance-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Reset Window Color and Appearance Settings?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The classic Window Color and Appearance dialog allowed you to change the color and size (Window metrics) of various UI elements like Window background color, caption font, icon size, spacing, width, etc. Since this feature has been removed in Windows 8 and higher, you need to edit the registry in order to change or reset these parameters.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This post has the default Window Color &amp; Appearance Settings registry files that reset these settings to defaults. This can be helpful if a theme or 3rd party customizer has changed your defaults, and you want to set them back right.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/windowmetrics.png\" alt=\"reset window color and appearance\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" \/><br \/>\n<i>&#8220;Window&#8221; background changed to Turquoise, from the default White background.<\/i><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9607\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9607\" style=\"width: 722px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9607\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/desktop-icons-rectangle.png\" alt=\"desktop icon - window metrics reset registry\" width=\"732\" height=\"259\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9607\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Desktop icons became rectangles due to wrong icon spacing\/width metrics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The settings are stored in the following registry keys:<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Colors<\/pre>\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Desktop\\Colors<\/pre>\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Desktop\\WindowMetrics<\/pre>\n<h2>&#8220;Colors&#8221; Registry Fix (Restore defaults)<\/h2>\n<pre><code>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Colors]\r\n\"ActiveBorder\"=\"180 180 180\"\r\n\"ActiveTitle\"=\"153 180 209\"\r\n\"AppWorkspace\"=\"171 171 171\"\r\n\"ButtonAlternateFace\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"ButtonDkShadow\"=\"105 105 105\"\r\n\"ButtonFace\"=\"240 240 240\"\r\n\"ButtonHilight\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"ButtonLight\"=\"227 227 227\"\r\n\"ButtonShadow\"=\"160 160 160\"\r\n\"ButtonText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"GradientActiveTitle\"=\"185 209 234\"\r\n\"GradientInactiveTitle\"=\"215 228 242\"\r\n\"GrayText\"=\"109 109 109\"\r\n\"Hilight\"=\"51 153 255\"\r\n\"HilightText\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"HotTrackingColor\"=\"0 102 204\"\r\n\"InactiveBorder\"=\"244 247 252\"\r\n\"InactiveTitle\"=\"191 205 219\"\r\n\"InfoText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"InfoWindow\"=\"255 255 225\"\r\n\"Menu\"=\"240 240 240\"\r\n\"MenuBar\"=\"240 240 240\"\r\n\"MenuHilight\"=\"51 153 255\"\r\n\"MenuText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"Scrollbar\"=\"200 200 200\"\r\n\"TitleText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"Window\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"WindowFrame\"=\"100 100 100\"\r\n\"WindowText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"Background\"=\"0 99 177\"\r\n\"InactiveTitleText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Desktop\\Colors]\r\n\"ActiveBorder\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"ActiveTitle\"=\"10 36 106\"\r\n\"AppWorkSpace\"=\"128 128 128\"\r\n\"ButtonAlternateFace\"=\"181 181 181\"\r\n\"ButtonDkShadow\"=\"64 64 64\"\r\n\"ButtonFace\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"ButtonHiLight\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"ButtonLight\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"ButtonShadow\"=\"128 128 128\"\r\n\"ButtonText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"GradientActiveTitle\"=\"166 202 240\"\r\n\"GradientInactiveTitle\"=\"192 192 192\"\r\n\"GrayText\"=\"128 128 128\"\r\n\"Hilight\"=\"10 36 106\"\r\n\"HilightText\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"HotTrackingColor\"=\"0 0 128\"\r\n\"InactiveBorder\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"InactiveTitle\"=\"128 128 128\"\r\n\"InactiveTitleText\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"InfoText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"InfoWindow\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"Menu\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"MenuText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"Scrollbar\"=\"212 208 200\"\r\n\"TitleText\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"Window\"=\"255 255 255\"\r\n\"WindowFrame\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n\"WindowText\"=\"0 0 0\"\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<h2>&#8220;Window Metrics&#8221; Registry Fix (Restore defaults)<\/h2>\n<pre><code>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control Panel\\Desktop\\WindowMetrics]\r\n\"IconTitleWrap\"=\"1\"\r\n\"Shell Icon Size\"=\"32\"\r\n\"BorderWidth\"=\"-15\"\r\n\"CaptionFont\"=hex:f4,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,01,00,00,05,00,53,00,65,00,67,00,6f,00,65,00,20,00,55,00,49,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00\r\n\"CaptionHeight\"=\"-330\"\r\n\"CaptionWidth\"=\"-330\"\r\n\"IconFont\"=hex:f4,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,01,00,00,05,00,53,00,65,00,67,00,6f,00,65,00,20,00,55,00,49,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00\r\n\"MenuFont\"=hex:f4,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,01,00,00,05,00,53,00,65,00,67,00,6f,00,65,00,20,00,55,00,49,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00\r\n\"MenuHeight\"=\"-285\"\r\n\"MenuWidth\"=\"-285\"\r\n\"MessageFont\"=hex:f4,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,01,00,00,05,00,53,00,65,00,67,00,6f,00,65,00,20,00,55,00,49,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00\r\n\"ScrollHeight\"=\"-255\"\r\n\"ScrollWidth\"=\"-255\"\r\n\"SmCaptionFont\"=hex:f4,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,01,00,00,05,00,53,00,65,00,67,00,6f,00,65,00,20,00,55,00,49,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00\r\n\"SmCaptionHeight\"=\"-330\"\r\n\"SmCaptionWidth\"=\"-330\"\r\n\"StatusFont\"=hex:f4,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,90,01,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,01,00,00,05,00,53,00,65,00,67,00,6f,00,65,00,20,00,55,00,49,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\\\r\n  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00\r\n\"AppliedDPI\"=dword:00000060\r\n\"PaddedBorderWidth\"=\"-60\"\r\n\"IconSpacing\"=\"-1125\"\r\n\"IconVerticalSpacing\"=\"-1125\"\r\n\"MinAnimate\"=\"0\"\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p><b>Usage:<\/b> Copy the above contents to Notepad and save the file with .REG extension. Double-click the file to apply the settings to the registry. You need to logoff and login back for the changes to take effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The classic Window Color and Appearance dialog allowed you to change the color and size (Window metrics) of various UI elements like Window background color, caption font, icon size, spacing, width, etc. Since this feature has been removed in Windows 8 and higher, you need to edit the registry in order to change or reset &#8230; <a title=\"How to Reset Window Color and Appearance Settings?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-window-color-appearance-settings\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Reset Window Color and Appearance Settings?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-3389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-8","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5778,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/set-cmd-prompt-default-window-size-position\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":0},"title":"How to Set Command Prompt Default Window Size and Position","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open Command Prompt and position it on your preferred location on the screen, the setting is not retained. Also, when you resize the Command Prompt window and close it, the setting is not saved. This system managed positioning annoys many users who prefer uniformity in every aspect of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"command prompt layout and size defaults","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cmd-default-size-position-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cmd-default-size-position-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cmd-default-size-position-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cmd-default-size-position-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24029,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/desktop-icons-spacing-messed-up-fix\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":1},"title":"[Fix] Desktop Icons Spacing is Messed Up in Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Occasionally, your desktop icons may be spaced out too far or very close to each other in Windows. The desktop icon spacing may sometimes be messed up after installing a video driver update. In some cases, the vertical spacing may be fine, but the horizontal spacing may be messed up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"desktop icon spacing incorrect","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/desktop-icons-widely-spaced.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/desktop-icons-widely-spaced.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/desktop-icons-widely-spaced.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-wordpad-notepad-settings-defaults\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":2},"title":"How to Reset Notepad and WordPad to Default","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've changed the default font settings and other options in WordPad or Notepad and want to revert back to Windows default values, this post tells you how to do that. Reset Notepad settings If you've altered the default Notepad font or encoding (using the iDefaultEncoding registry value), the margin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reset notepad store app","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/notepad-uwp-app-reset.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1630,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-resetting-file-associations\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":3},"title":"Fix for &#8220;An App Default was Reset&#8221; Windows 10 Resets File Associations","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This post explains why Windows 10 resets your file associations for file types supported by modern apps like 3d Builder, Zune music, Zune video (Movies & TV), Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft Edge Chromium. RELATED: Set Default Browser and File Associations via Command-line in Windows 10 Cause The app defaults are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"app default was reset - event log","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/app-default-reset-event-log.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/app-default-reset-event-log.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/app-default-reset-event-log.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4368,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cortana-search-registry-tweaks-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":4},"title":"Cortana Search Registry Tweaks in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In Windows 10 Redstone 2 build and higher, you can move the Cortana search text box to the top, change the text box border color and thickness. Also, you can add a search glyph and submit button near the text box with some registry tweaks. Move Cortana Search Box to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cortana floating window windows 10","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1121,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-folder-views-bags-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":5},"title":"How to Reset Folder View Settings in Windows 10\/11 and Earlier","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Folder view settings include column preferences, view mode (icon or thumbnail), grouping, sorting order, window size, etc. Sometimes Windows may forget your folder view settings due to corruption or if the 5000 folders limit has been reached. For instance, Windows may keep resetting the view back to \"List\" even though\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"folder view bags","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fviews.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fviews.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/fviews.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}