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Home » U++ Library support » Look and Chameleon Technology » New dark theme thread
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57856 is a reply to message #54877] Tue, 21 December 2021 16:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Hi,

I may be a year or two late here, but since then I have experimented with the dark mode in Windows 10 and 11, and just find the U++ internal ChDarkSkin a little too black and high contrast. Also, ScrollBar in default Dark mode does not show properly at all on Windows 11. Additionally, it seems that Microsoft has more or less abandoned the 'system colors' and even their own apps appear to use their own internally defined colors instead. Please compare e.g. Edge and Windows Explorer and Notepad in dark mode...

I thought I could suggest some coloring changes to ChDarkSkin / ChFlatDarkSkin or maybe even the default dark theme in Windows. However, after reading this thread, I realized that cbpporter was way ahead with this already and went far beyond what I could dream of. So, could this work or something similar be included in U++ to give a visually appealing look with Windows Dark mode? Maybe something that resembles the average darkness and contrast of other Windows applications in Dark mode?

Best regards,

Tom

[Updated on: Tue, 21 December 2021 16:32]

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Re: New dark theme thread [message #57952 is a reply to message #57856] Mon, 03 January 2022 15:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Hi,

I found out that sometimes it's good to re-read some docs, as they get updated: Smile

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winuser/n f-winuser-getsyscolor
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/style/c olor

From the GetSysColor() documentation, I have picked the following:

	Colors no longer available in Windows 10/11:
COLOR_3DDKSHADOW
COLOR_3DHIGHLIGHT
COLOR_3DHILIGHT
COLOR_3DLIGHT
COLOR_3DSHADOW
COLOR_ACTIVEBORDER
COLOR_ACTIVECAPTION
COLOR_APPWORKSPACE
COLOR_BACKGROUND
COLOR_BTNFACE
COLOR_BTNHIGHLIGHT
COLOR_BTNHILIGHT
COLOR_BTNSHADOW
COLOR_CAPTIONTEXT
COLOR_DESKTOP
COLOR_GRADIENTACTIVECAPTION
COLOR_GRADIENTINACTIVECAPTION
COLOR_INACTIVEBORDER
COLOR_INACTIVECAPTION
COLOR_INACTIVECAPTIONTEXT
COLOR_INFOBK
COLOR_INFOTEXT
COLOR_MENU
COLOR_MENUHILIGHT
COLOR_MENUBAR
COLOR_MENUTEXT
COLOR_SCROLLBAR
COLOR_WINDOWFRAME

	Colors available in Windows 10/11:
	
COLOR_WINDOW		- Window background
COLOR_WINDOWTEXT	- Headings, body, lists, app and window borders...
COLOR_HOTLIGHT		- Hyperlinks
COLOR_GRAYTEXT		- Inactive (disabled) UI
COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT	- Foreground color for text or UI that is selected/interacted with (hover, pressed) or in progress
COLOR_HIGHLIGHT		- Background or accent for COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT
COLOR_BTNTEXT		- Foreground color for buttons and UI with interaction (use with COLOR_3DFACE)
COLOR_3DFACE		- Background for COLOR_BTNTEXT


Maybe, the system color list in ChWin32.cpp should be updated to use only colors that are still available on Windows 10/11:
...
static sysColor sSysColor[] = {
	{ SColorPaper_Write, COLOR_WINDOW },
...


In any case, the dark mode is too high contrast to look at for a full day. E.g. TheIDE has a very nice contrast on Linux Mint following some basic dark theme I picked from the basic list. However, when in Dark mode on Windows, the GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOW) returns "Color(1, 1, 1)" and this is simply too dark. Something between Color(32, 32, 32) and Color(48, 48, 48), would work better as the dark background. The invisibility issue with ScrollBar button arrows also make it difficult to use.

Best regards,

Tom
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57958 is a reply to message #57952] Wed, 05 January 2022 09:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
OK, removed those unsupported colors.

There is one more complication: At least in Win10, Win32 actually does not return dark colors in dark mode, so we are basically "flipping" normal colors to dark (we detect this situation where the theme is dark, but COLOR_WINDOW is light, see CtrlLib/ChWin32.cpp:377). How does it behave in Win11? Do they return dark colors now?

As to actual scheme, I am ready to accept any suggestions. Not sure what to do with all this mess...

Mirek
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57966 is a reply to message #57958] Wed, 05 January 2022 13:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
mirek wrote on Wed, 05 January 2022 10:13
OK, removed those unsupported colors.

There is one more complication: At least in Win10, Win32 actually does not return dark colors in dark mode, so we are basically "flipping" normal colors to dark (we detect this situation where the theme is dark, but COLOR_WINDOW is light, see CtrlLib/ChWin32.cpp:377). How does it behave in Win11? Do they return dark colors now?

As to actual scheme, I am ready to accept any suggestions. Not sure what to do with all this mess...

Mirek


Hi Mirek,

The Windows 10 complication remains in W11... The colors do not change when the theme is changed between Light and Dark.

(Actually, previously I thought I was looking at windows system colors through SColor*(), but indeed they were something already fixed in U++.)

Let's start with the current situation. Here's my test code:
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOW)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOWTEXT)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_GRAYTEXT)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHT)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_3DFACE)));
	RDUMP(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_BTNTEXT)));
	
	RDUMP(SColorDisabled());
	RDUMP(SColorDkShadow());
	RDUMP(SColorFace());
	RDUMP(SColorHighlight());
	RDUMP(SColorHighlightText());
	RDUMP(SColorInfo());
	RDUMP(SColorInfoText());
	RDUMP(SColorLabel());
	RDUMP(SColorLight());
	RDUMP(SColorLtFace());
	RDUMP(SColorMark());
	RDUMP(SColorMenu());
	RDUMP(SColorMenuMark());
	RDUMP(SColorMenuText());
	RDUMP(SColorPaper());
	RDUMP(SColorShadow());
	RDUMP(SColorText());

Here are the results for Windows 11 in Light mode:
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOW)) = Color(255, 255, 255)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOWTEXT)) = Color(0, 0, 0)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)) = Color(0, 102, 204)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_GRAYTEXT)) = Color(109, 109, 109)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHT)) = Color(0, 120, 215)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT)) = Color(255, 255, 255)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_3DFACE)) = Color(240, 240, 240)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_BTNTEXT)) = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorDisabled() = Color(109, 109, 109)
SColorDkShadow() = Color(63, 63, 63)
SColorFace() = Color(240, 240, 240)
SColorHighlight() = Color(0, 120, 215)
SColorHighlightText() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorInfo() = Color(255, 255, 192)
SColorInfoText() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorLabel() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorLight() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorLtFace() = Color(247, 247, 247)
SColorMark() = Color(0, 0, 255)
SColorMenu() = Color(240, 240, 240)
SColorMenuMark() = Color(0, 0, 255)
SColorMenuText() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorPaper() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorShadow() = Color(128, 128, 128)
SColorText() = Color(0, 0, 0)

Here are the results for Windows 11 in Dark mode:
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOW)) = Color(255, 255, 255)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOWTEXT)) = Color(0, 0, 0)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)) = Color(0, 102, 204)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_GRAYTEXT)) = Color(109, 109, 109)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHT)) = Color(0, 120, 215)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT)) = Color(255, 255, 255)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_3DFACE)) = Color(240, 240, 240)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_BTNTEXT)) = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorDisabled() = Color(184, 184, 184)
SColorDkShadow() = Color(213, 213, 213)
SColorFace() = Color(24, 24, 24)
SColorHighlight() = Color(97, 217, 255)
SColorHighlightText() = Color(1, 1, 1)
SColorInfo() = Color(26, 26, 0)
SColorInfoText() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorLabel() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorLight() = Color(1, 1, 1)
SColorLtFace() = Color(12, 12, 12)
SColorMark() = Color(214, 214, 255)
SColorMenu() = Color(24, 24, 24)
SColorMenuMark() = Color(214, 214, 255)
SColorMenuText() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorPaper() = Color(1, 1, 1)
SColorShadow() = Color(172, 172, 172)
SColorText() = Color(255, 255, 255)

So, it is easy to see that Windows no longer takes any active part in color selection in Dark theme. It is just the Light/Dark -theme selection and then one accent color selection somewhere in Windows settings. The rest is up to the application.

However, the game changes when a 'Accessibility > Contrast theme', e.g. 'Night sky' in Windows 11 is selected:
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOW)) = Color(0, 0, 0)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_WINDOWTEXT)) = Color(255, 255, 255)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)) = Color(128, 128, 255)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_GRAYTEXT)) = Color(166, 166, 166)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHT)) = Color(214, 180, 253)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HIGHLIGHTTEXT)) = Color(43, 43, 43)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_3DFACE)) = Color(0, 0, 0)
Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_BTNTEXT)) = Color(255, 238, 50)
SColorDisabled() = Color(166, 166, 166)
SColorDkShadow() = Color(213, 213, 213)
SColorFace() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorHighlight() = Color(214, 180, 253)
SColorHighlightText() = Color(43, 43, 43)
SColorInfo() = Color(26, 26, 0)
SColorInfoText() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorLabel() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorLight() = Color(1, 1, 1)
SColorLtFace() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorMark() = Color(214, 214, 255)
SColorMenu() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorMenuMark() = Color(214, 214, 255)
SColorMenuText() = Color(255, 255, 255)
SColorPaper() = Color(0, 0, 0)
SColorShadow() = Color(172, 172, 172)
SColorText() = Color(255, 255, 255)


Finally I have attached two images that portray Windows 11 light and dark theme colors. I guess these colors should be used for light and dark themes, and GetSysColor() -system colors for 'Contrast themes'. Windows apps also seem to handle some darkening and lightening of default colors by a few (+/- 3) steps for some uses.

I guess we could start with emulating dark mode just like it is now, but picking the colors from Windows apps directly. It is probably worth ensuring that the 'Accessibility > Contrast themes' are kept working through current eight system colors.

Probably only Windows 10 and 11 should detect the light/dark theme and adapt its colors accordingly. Older Windows should always use system colors. But then again, if 'Contrast theme' is selected in Windows 10/11, they should also use Windows system colors.

Best regards,

Tom

EDIT: Found the color picker on Linux Mint. Removed sample images as the colors did not match the ones on my desktop with the default dark theme on Windows 11. Now I will try to pick some colors from my desktop to see if they could be used.

[Updated on: Wed, 05 January 2022 14:27]

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Re: New dark theme thread [message #57967 is a reply to message #57966] Wed, 05 January 2022 16:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Mirek,

I thought I could apply custom colors through SColor*_Write(), so I tried this for UWord dropping the following code into the place where default SColors are initilized in ChWin32.cpp:
...
	for(sysColor *s = sSysColor; s < sSysColor + __countof(sSysColor); s++) // this also resets all imls via SColorPaper_Write!!!
		(*s->set)(sAdjust(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(s->syscolor))));

	SColorDisabled_Write(Color(0x95, 0x95, 0x95));
	SColorDkShadow_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorFace_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorHighlight_Write(Color(GetSystemAccentColor()));
	SColorHighlightText_Write(IsDark(SColorHighlight())?White():Black());
	SColorInfo_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorInfoText_Write(White());
	SColorLabel_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20)); // White());
	SColorLight_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorLtFace_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorMark_Write(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)));
	SColorMenu_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorMenuMark_Write(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)));
	SColorMenuText_Write(White());
	SColorPaper_Write(Color(0x19, 0x19, 0x19));
	SColorShadow_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorText_Write(White());

having first implemented this:
RGBA GetSystemAccentColor(){
	RGBA	color=Gray(); // Default
	
#ifdef WIN32
    HKEY	SWKey;
    HKEY	MSKey;
    HKEY	WINKey;
    HKEY	DWMKey;
    
    LONG	Status;
	
	// "Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM"

    Status = RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_CURRENT_USER,TEXT("Software"),0,KEY_READ,&SWKey);
    if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
		Status = RegOpenKeyEx(SWKey,TEXT("Microsoft"),0,KEY_READ,&MSKey);
	    if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
			Status = RegOpenKeyEx(MSKey,TEXT("Windows"),0,KEY_READ,&WINKey);
			if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
				Status = RegOpenKeyEx(WINKey,TEXT("DWM"),0,KEY_READ,&DWMKey);
				if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
				    DWORD RegType=REG_DWORD;
				    DWORD BufferSize=4;
				    byte pStr[16];
					
			        Status=RegQueryValueEx(DWMKey,TEXT("AccentColor"),NULL,&RegType,(LPBYTE)pStr,&BufferSize);
			        
			        if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
			            color.a=pStr[3];	// This is ARGB
			            color.b=pStr[2];
			            color.g=pStr[1];
			            color.r=pStr[0];
			        }
			        
					RegCloseKey(DWMKey);
				}
				RegCloseKey(WINKey);
			}
			RegCloseKey(MSKey);
	    }
	    RegCloseKey(SWKey);
    }
    if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS) return color; // Success
    
#endif
	// TODO solve other sources
	
	return color; // Default
}

Some parts of the GUI follow these colors, but many don't. So, the results are mixed with partly unreadable GUI. While the suggested colors are definitely not optimized, could you try the above with both light and dark theme in Windows? I could use some help here in order to get onto the right track in tuning the default theme. UWord seems to be a good place to test as it has many different Ctrls in e.g. Style manager.

Best regards,

Tom
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57969 is a reply to message #57967] Thu, 06 January 2022 08:44 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
Tom1 wrote on Wed, 05 January 2022 16:15
Mirek,

I thought I could apply custom colors through SColor*_Write(), so I tried this for UWord dropping the following code into the place where default SColors are initilized in ChWin32.cpp:
...
	for(sysColor *s = sSysColor; s < sSysColor + __countof(sSysColor); s++) // this also resets all imls via SColorPaper_Write!!!
		(*s->set)(sAdjust(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(s->syscolor))));

	SColorDisabled_Write(Color(0x95, 0x95, 0x95));
	SColorDkShadow_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorFace_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorHighlight_Write(Color(GetSystemAccentColor()));
	SColorHighlightText_Write(IsDark(SColorHighlight())?White():Black());
	SColorInfo_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorInfoText_Write(White());
	SColorLabel_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20)); // White());
	SColorLight_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorLtFace_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorMark_Write(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)));
	SColorMenu_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorMenuMark_Write(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(COLOR_HOTLIGHT)));
	SColorMenuText_Write(White());
	SColorPaper_Write(Color(0x19, 0x19, 0x19));
	SColorShadow_Write(Color(0x20, 0x20, 0x20));
	SColorText_Write(White());

having first implemented this:
RGBA GetSystemAccentColor(){
	RGBA	color=Gray(); // Default
	
#ifdef WIN32
    HKEY	SWKey;
    HKEY	MSKey;
    HKEY	WINKey;
    HKEY	DWMKey;
    
    LONG	Status;
	
	// "Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM"

    Status = RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_CURRENT_USER,TEXT("Software"),0,KEY_READ,&SWKey);
    if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
		Status = RegOpenKeyEx(SWKey,TEXT("Microsoft"),0,KEY_READ,&MSKey);
	    if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
			Status = RegOpenKeyEx(MSKey,TEXT("Windows"),0,KEY_READ,&WINKey);
			if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
				Status = RegOpenKeyEx(WINKey,TEXT("DWM"),0,KEY_READ,&DWMKey);
				if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
				    DWORD RegType=REG_DWORD;
				    DWORD BufferSize=4;
				    byte pStr[16];
					
			        Status=RegQueryValueEx(DWMKey,TEXT("AccentColor"),NULL,&RegType,(LPBYTE)pStr,&BufferSize);
			        
			        if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS){
			            color.a=pStr[3];	// This is ARGB
			            color.b=pStr[2];
			            color.g=pStr[1];
			            color.r=pStr[0];
			        }
			        
					RegCloseKey(DWMKey);
				}
				RegCloseKey(WINKey);
			}
			RegCloseKey(MSKey);
	    }
	    RegCloseKey(SWKey);
    }
    if(Status == ERROR_SUCCESS) return color; // Success
    
#endif
	// TODO solve other sources
	
	return color; // Default
}

Some parts of the GUI follow these colors, but many don't. So, the results are mixed with partly unreadable GUI. While the suggested colors are definitely not optimized, could you try the above with both light and dark theme in Windows? I could use some help here in order to get onto the right track in tuning the default theme. UWord seems to be a good place to test as it has many different Ctrls in e.g. Style manager.

Best regards,

Tom


I will, but this frankly seems wrong from outset - you are mixing fixed color values with those got from GetSysColor.

I think we need something really simple here, something like

	if(sEmulateDarkTheme) {
		SColorPaper_Write(Color(...));
		SColorFace_Write(Color(...));
		SColorText_Write(Color(...));
		SColorHighlight_Write(Color(...));
		SColorHighlightText_Write(Color(...));
		SColorMenu_Write(Color(...));
	}
	else
		for(sysColor *s = sSysColor; s < sSysColor + __countof(sSysColor); s++) // this also resets all imls via SColorPaper_Write!!!
			(*s->set)(sAdjust(Color::FromCR(GetSysColor(s->syscolor))));


(do not bother about defining more colors than you know, those will adjust automatically)
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57970 is a reply to message #57969] Thu, 06 January 2022 08:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
P.S.: Alternatively, you can check Firefox codebase as they seem to get windows system colors right (but I guess the method might be the same in the end Smile

Mirek
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57971 is a reply to message #57970] Thu, 06 January 2022 12:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
mirek wrote on Thu, 06 January 2022 09:46
P.S.: Alternatively, you can check Firefox codebase as they seem to get windows system colors right (but I guess the method might be the same in the end Smile

Mirek


Probably yes, the method in FF must be similar: In fact, their colors are close but not exact match to those in Windows dark theme. FF does not seem to pick Windows accent color, but uses the default blue for the related items instead. (Tried Orange bright accent color to easily see where it is used.)

I'm now on Windows 10 and the default dark theme behavior in UWord is here much better than it is on Windows 11.

BTW, in U++: Which SColor(s) are used for:
- main menu bar background
- tool bar background
- status bar background
- scroll bar background?

I cannot seem to find which one to change...

Best regards,

Tom
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57972 is a reply to message #57971] Thu, 06 January 2022 19:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
Tom1 wrote on Thu, 06 January 2022 12:34
mirek wrote on Thu, 06 January 2022 09:46
P.S.: Alternatively, you can check Firefox codebase as they seem to get windows system colors right (but I guess the method might be the same in the end Smile

Mirek


Probably yes, the method in FF must be similar: In fact, their colors are close but not exact match to those in Windows dark theme. FF does not seem to pick Windows accent color, but uses the default blue for the related items instead. (Tried Orange bright accent color to easily see where it is used.)

I'm now on Windows 10 and the default dark theme behavior in UWord is here much better than it is on Windows 11.

BTW, in U++: Which SColor(s) are used for:
- main menu bar background
- tool bar background
- status bar background
- scroll bar background?

I cannot seem to find which one to change...

Best regards,

Tom


A lot of them is image inversion unfortunately... (theming API gives me only light appearance, so I invert it to dark).
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57973 is a reply to message #57972] Fri, 07 January 2022 16:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Hi Mirek,

There sure are better color artists than myself. Anyway, here's approximately what I have in mind. I've tried to follow Windows 11 default dark theme, but I just cannot get everything right.

Best regards,

Tom

EDIT: As there does not seem to be official dark theme colors available in Windows, anything that looks pretty much the same as dark built-in apps in Windows, is good enough for me. I have looked at Windows Explorer and Windows Settings primarily for the coloring.

EDIT2: Deleted the attachment. Please use the latest instead.

[Updated on: Wed, 12 January 2022 09:59]

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Re: New dark theme thread [message #57984 is a reply to message #57973] Sat, 08 January 2022 14:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
I am mostly ok with that (and accepted it to codebase), however I would like those blue frames of buttons (with defualt button having thicker frame) retained.

Also, it would be good to make DropList popup table frame somewhat more gray.

Mirek
Re: New dark theme thread [message #57985 is a reply to message #57984] Sat, 08 January 2022 17:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
mirek wrote on Sat, 08 January 2022 15:23
I am mostly ok with that (and accepted it to codebase), however I would like those blue frames of buttons (with defualt button having thicker frame) retained.

Also, it would be good to make DropList popup table frame somewhat more gray.

Mirek


Mirek,

Changed the above mentioned items. Also made the TabCtrl tabs look more in line with the rest of the Dark GUI. Please find attached the revised ChWin32.cpp zipped.

TODO: I would still like to have:

1. changed the white/blue/white stripe below TheIDE file tabs to something grayish. Maybe the same color as the active tab.
2. changed the background of unselected Switch and Option to transparent to nicely fit on any surface.

...but I have no idea how to do either of those.

Best regards,

Tom

EDIT: Deleted the attachment. Please use the latest instead.

[Updated on: Wed, 12 January 2022 09:58]

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Re: New dark theme thread [message #57998 is a reply to message #57985] Wed, 12 January 2022 09:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Hi,

In the above attempts I made a bug in scrollbar button visualization. The attached code fixes this issue and cleans up the color definition a little.

Best regards,

Tom

EDIT: Further changed SColorHighlight and SColorHighlightText to Windows system colors as similar colors seem to be used in Dark color mode too in the sample images in Windows UI Color document. (Windows Explorer does not use the same blue, but gray for file selection though...)
  • Attachment: ChWin32.zip
    (Size: 6.60KB, Downloaded 96 times)

[Updated on: Thu, 13 January 2022 16:35]

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Re: New dark theme thread [message #58007 is a reply to message #57998] Thu, 13 January 2022 13:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Hi,

I found this about colors in W11:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/signatu re-experiences/color#accent-color

-

Generally, I think MS is expecting apps to use 'Windows UI library' where colors are defined instead of Windows system colors. The accent color (as per the above link) is supposed to be used sparingly for highlighting specific interactive spots on the GUI.

In real life, when running different apps, I find each of them looking a bit different (in color and style). Also, most apps do not use the accent color for anything, or just use the default accent color instead of the user selected accent color. The overall GUI experience even in Windows 11 itself is currently a mix of design styles and colors from many preceding Windows versions in addition to the current one. Maybe 'Windows Settings' and 'Calculator' are one of the few apps in Windows that actually follow the current MS principles in UI design.

Where should U++ stand here? Should it attempt to provide a 'Windows UI library' -like look on Windows 10 and 11? I'm not an expert on CtrlLib (either), but I'm afraid that might require quite a lot of work on small details.

Best regards,

Tom

Re: New dark theme thread [message #58011 is a reply to message #58007] Sun, 16 January 2022 19:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
Tom1 wrote on Thu, 13 January 2022 13:22
Hi,

I found this about colors in W11:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/signatu re-experiences/color#accent-color

-

Generally, I think MS is expecting apps to use 'Windows UI library' where colors are defined instead of Windows system colors. The accent color (as per the above link) is supposed to be used sparingly for highlighting specific interactive spots on the GUI.

In real life, when running different apps, I find each of them looking a bit different (in color and style). Also, most apps do not use the accent color for anything, or just use the default accent color instead of the user selected accent color. The overall GUI experience even in Windows 11 itself is currently a mix of design styles and colors from many preceding Windows versions in addition to the current one. Maybe 'Windows Settings' and 'Calculator' are one of the few apps in Windows that actually follow the current MS principles in UI design.

Where should U++ stand here? Should it attempt to provide a 'Windows UI library' -like look on Windows 10 and 11? I'm not an expert on CtrlLib (either), but I'm afraid that might require quite a lot of work on small details.

Best regards,

Tom



I thought we have already established that for dark mode we just choose our own colors?

Mirek
Re: New dark theme thread [message #58014 is a reply to message #58011] Mon, 17 January 2022 08:50 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
mirek wrote on Sun, 16 January 2022 20:15


I thought we have already established that for dark mode we just choose our own colors?

Mirek


Hi Mirek,

As I found relevant information about the subject, I felt it as my responsibility to make it available for evaluation here. If you're pleased with the current plan, despite the new found information, then that's it. You're the boss here. Smile

But please merge my latest ChWin32.cpp (somewhere above), as it fixes my stupid bug with the ScrollBar button look, among with other small improvements.

Best regards,

Tom
Re: New dark theme thread [message #58015 is a reply to message #58014] Mon, 17 January 2022 17:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mirek is currently offline  mirek
Messages: 13975
Registered: November 2005
Ultimate Member
Merged.
Re: New dark theme thread [message #58016 is a reply to message #58015] Tue, 18 January 2022 15:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Quote:
Merged.

Thanks!

Best regards,

Tom
Re: New dark theme thread [message #58400 is a reply to message #51604] Tue, 17 May 2022 15:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Alboni is currently offline  Alboni
Messages: 214
Registered: January 2012
Location: Deventer, Netherlands
Experienced Member
Cool!
Can that theme be adjusted? The client says it's ugly.
Re: New dark theme thread [message #58403 is a reply to message #58400] Tue, 17 May 2022 17:54 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Tom1
Messages: 1212
Registered: March 2007
Senior Contributor
Hi Alboni,

A lot can be changed for a specific application. I'm not an expert here, but if you put this into the beginning of your GUI_APP_MAIN you can have a different set of colors and more:

if(IsDarkTheme()){
	ChReset();
	SColorPaper_Write(Color(32, 32, 32));
	SColorFace_Write(Color(40, 40, 40));
	SColorText_Write(Color(255, 255, 255));
	SColorHighlight_Write(Color(64, 64, 64));
	SColorHighlightText_Write(Color(255, 255, 255));
	SColorMenu_Write(Color(48, 48, 48));
	SColorMenuText_Write(Color(255, 255, 255));
	SColorInfo_Write(Color(48, 48, 48));
	SColorInfoText_Write(Color(255, 255, 255));
	SColorLight_Write(Color(32, 32, 32));
	SColorShadow_Write(Color(64, 64, 64));
	SColorDisabled_Write(Color(128, 128, 128));
	static int adj[] = { 10, 80, -5, -10 };

	ChMakeSkin(3, Color(64, 64, 64), Color(64, 64, 64), adj);

	// ... and a lot more ...
}


Please look at uppsrc to find out how different items are changed. (The above merely touches the surface.) You may find the implementation of these interesting:
ChFlatDarkSkin();
ChFlatGraySkin();
ChDarkSkin();
ChFlatSkin();
ChGraySkin();
ChHostSkin();
ChClassicSkin();
ChStdSkin();
ChBaseSkin();

Best regards,

Tom

EDIT: PS. Making that particular kind of client happy, takes a lot of work, so please remember to charge by the hour. Smile

[Updated on: Tue, 17 May 2022 17:57]

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