Forum Discussion
Dark mode -- ok for a first step
NicolSD What is very interesting to me is that both you and Drew, presumably both running Canary 75.0.140.0, are seeing a different visual design that I am, using Dev 75.0.131.0.
Drew is (and from your description, you are also) seeing (Canary 75.0.140.0):
And I am seeing (Dev 75.0.131.0):
The Canary 75.0.140.0 design is not consistent with Microsoft's implementation of dark mode in other areas of the OS (e.g. Windows Explorer). I understand what Microsoft is trying to do (better differentiate active tabs from non-active) but it seems to me a regression to go back to Windows XP color values to do so. One of the things I've appreciated about Windows over the years is internal design consistency, and the Canary 75.0.140.0 design is departure from that practice.
But, bah. It isn't my circus and they aren't my monkeys.
tomscharbach @NicolSD
Tom & Nicol, I run both Dev & Canary. But, I'm quite sure I did those Snips from Dev 131. Might look a wee be different from yours because of the Accent colour being used on the (my) OS.
Cheers,
DrewDrew1903 -- Yes, it does. But it handles those settings from File Explorer. Check the two linked files in my previous posts. What's more, Edge Classic doesn't even respect Accent colour settings.
tomscharbach -- Right now, there is no consistency in the windows' dark mode. The attached pictures show the different ways Dark Mode is implemented in Edge Chromium, Edge Classic and File Explorer. They are layered in the following order:
Top: Edge Chromium
Second: Edge Classic
Third: File Explorer
Right now, Edge Chromium uses all parameters passed on in Windows' colour settings. Edge Classic doesn't. The top bar never changes to the background colour with transparency. As for File Explorer, it uses a mix of both (but not quite) of the two. It doesn't automatically pick an accent colour from the background when it is unselected. It does, however when it is selected it uses the background colour but Edge Classic doesn't.
Look at what happened to the second line of the second File Explorer image I snapped. Notice the word FILE is in green? That was the accent colour of my desktop image. Meanwhile, the first image shows two different tones of brown in the selected File Explorer window while different something totally different in Edge Chromium.
Right now, the entire Dark Mode scheme is a mess. As I said earlier, there is no consistency. That is one more reason I called this thread "a first step."
NicolSD By the way, Nichol, I meant to include this in my previous reply, but forgot. So let me say it now: I appreciate the effort you put into this forum. Whenever I see that you've posted something, I can count on it being something worth reading, something that is technical and something from which I can learn. Thanks for being an active participant.
tomscharbach Thank you for the kind comments. I am not a programmer but a techy user from the first days of personal computers who eventually made his way to becoming a computer tech (and a journalist) until he was forced to retire because of a totally different kind of MS, the disease kind. Back in the early 90s, I used to refer to Microsoft as Microsloth because Windows was so slow in those days.
I am both a Windows Insider and an Edge Insider because I want to see the changes in Windows development and contribute in my own small way. I spend long days in front of the computer and sometimes figure out how bugs can be reproduced.
I may not be a programmer but I still would find it useful to know where Microsoft when features are implemented and/or fixed. It would save me time spent on trying to reproduce bugs day after day.
NicolSD "[T]he new Edge gets the top bar's colour instructions from Windows' Colour settings, unlike the old Edge which used its own."
Indeed it does. Thanks for letting me know. The Color setting that toggles tab color in Edge Chromium is "Show accent color on the following surfaces, Title bars and window borders".
I had no idea because I don't enable the "Show accent color ..." settings. But once you do that, it takes about two seconds to make Windows remarkably garish, even without transparency. It is actually kind of fun, trying different setting and backgrounds to see if you can come up with the worst looking UI ever.
NicolSD "Right now, the entire Dark Mode scheme is a mess. As I said earlier, there is no consistency. That is one more reason I called this thread "a first step."
I've been following your footsteps on this, changing settings and so on, and you are dead right. What a mess!
I missed most of the issues with dark mode (I've been using it since W10 introduced the option) because of the way I set up W10 -- disable transparency, disable "Show accent colors ...", disable all visual effects except "smooth edges of screen fonts" and "smooth-scroll" in order to get the flat unadorned UI I like. But having turned most of it back on temporarily to follow your footsteps, I see what you are talking about.
NicolSD "So far, I have worked under the understanding that MS is trying to bring back Edge inside of a different container minus the stuff that can be accomplished with existing extensions."
I assumed that Microsoft was going to put Edge Chromium in a separate container, too, but I am starting to wonder after reports in other threads that Edge Chromium is inheriting administrative rights from e-mail programs that open the browser, as Chrome does. That behavior is downright dangerous and one reason I refuse to use Chrome.
If Microsoft doesn't put Edge Chromium in a separate container or otherwise sandbox the browser, it is opening users to a lot of unnecessary security risk.
NicolSD "I may very well be wrong since MS's doesn't seem to want to be too clear about its intentions."
Yup. We've been asking the Edge Team for a high-level list of features/functions that Microsoft intends to include in the release version (a "roadmap" as it has been called in several threads) so that we can spend our time testing instead of nagging Microsoft about including features/functions already planned) and the silence has been deafening.
tomscharbach Actually, the new Edge gets the top bar's colour instructions from Windows' Colour settings, unlike the old Edge which used its own. If you enable Transparency effects and Automatically pick an accent colour from my background, it looks quite garish. That was my original complaint though I used the word WEIRD instead of GARISH. That is why I titled the thread "Dark mode -- ok for a first step." I thought this was a first step.
So far, I have worked under the understanding that MS is trying to bring back Edge inside of a different container minus the stuff that can be accomplished with existing extensions. I may very well be wrong since MS's doesn't seem to want to be too clear about its intentions.
