New Feature in Edge Canary: new dark design for Tab strip

MVP

This has been reverted back to the previous design in 

Microsoft Edge Version 83.0.467.0 (Official build) canary (64-bit)

 


dsadsa.png

 

ddd.png

 

 

The dark theme which can be set here: edge://settings/appearance

 

in Edge Version 82.0.456.0 (Official build) canary (64-bit)

makes the Tab strip black, now the text will look always clear regardless of Windows 10 accent color.

 

previously, only the active Tab would be dark and others would have the accent color

 

fdsfsdf.jpg

 

50 Replies

With the default theme (clear) the design has also changed and it's less beautiful (tab color, The + button to open a new tab has changed from white to black, etc...)


I check on my other PC (before updating) the design differences

@HotCakeX 

 

Just updated to 82.0.456.0, blinked at the tab bar and came here to post and complain.

 

I LIKED the previous Dark Theme. I've just spent two days in Firefox's userChrome.css and doing a lot of googling for css snippets to copy, paste and alter (as I don't know css and the syntax, though element names and colours are obvious enough when I see them) to re-create the now-previous Edge Dark theme in Firefox, tab bar, toolbar, urlbar, bookmark bar (and yellow folders thereon), bookmark dropdown menus and submenus, context menus, dark NTP and about: pages, the lot. Half an hour ago I finally managed to fix the one element that took me the last day to find the solution to the problem (the selected tab's grey wasn't quite matching the toolbar's) so I now have the Edge Dark theme on Firefox ... and now the Edge Dark theme has changed in a way that is changing to the way I've been changing Firefox's Dark theme from.

 

I'm a big fan of choice, so if other people have some reason they would like this new dark theme, I've no problem with it being a choice .... even the default choice.

 

BUT give ME the choice of the old version. I HATE this. the black background to the background tabs makes the text glare too much on them for me, which was my biggest complaint about the Firefox Dark theme.

 

Even if it's a flag, Edge Devs, let me turn the background tabs' background colour back how it was.

@HotCakeX 

 

And for the Light theme

 

New:

 

fdsfds.png

 

 

fdfd.png

 

 

Old:

 

fsdfsd.jpg

 

Notice how Windows accent colors can affect the Tab title texts adversely. now with this new change, user can be free to set any color they want as Windows 10 accent color (like I did in the screenshot above with Pink color) and the text will always stay readable.

 

this was a change that requested by others in the community. Thanks for listening

For the clear theme, I also prefer the old "design" (.453 version)
The new one is way too ugly (faded gray on the background tabs, the + button which is now black)

The police were not blurry on my PCs with the old version

 

Hoping that MS will add an option (flags) to choose between the old and the new design

I wonder why they remove "features" when just adding the news and choosing between features would please everyone

@tistou 


@tistou wrote:

With the default theme (clear) the design has also changed and it's less beautiful (tab color, The + button to open a new tab has changed from white to black, etc...)


I check on my other PC (before updating) the design differences


 

Yes the + plus button for opening a new tab is black in light theme, that's a bug and i also think it should be reverted back to white.

 

fdfdfdd.png

 

If it's a bug, it's already that to win :)
Just the faded gray color to modify

Thanks

Little question Off Topic, is it not for now that the stable version of Edge will go to 82.0?
Or MS will gradually integrate the features present in Canary, in the stable version (even if the version remains in 80 or 81.0

@DavidGB 

Spoiler

@DavidGB wrote:

@HotCakeX 

 

Just updated to 82.0.456.0, blinked at the tab bar and came here to post and complain.

 

I LIKED the previous Dark Theme. I've just spent two days in Firefox's userChrome.css and doing a lot of googling for css snippets to copy, paste and alter (as I don't know css and the syntax, though element names and colours are obvious enough when I see them) to re-create the now-previous Edge Dark theme in Firefox, tab bar, toolbar, urlbar, bookmark bar (and yellow folders thereon), bookmark dropdown menus and submenus, context menus, dark NTP and about: pages, the lot. Half an hour ago I finally managed to fix the one element that took me the last day to find the solution to the problem (the selected tab's grey wasn't quite matching the toolbar's) so I now have the Edge Dark theme on Firefox ... and now the Edge Dark theme has changed in a way that is changing to the way I've been changing Firefox's Dark theme from.

 

I'm a big fan of choice, so if other people have some reason they would like this new dark theme, I've no problem with it being a choice .... even the default choice.

 

BUT give ME the choice of the old version. I HATE this. the black background to the background tabs makes the text glare too much on them for me, which was my biggest complaint about the Firefox Dark theme.

 

Even if it's a flag, Edge Devs, let me turn the background tabs' background colour back how it was.


I had the exact opposite experience. on Firefox I use Matt black theme to get exactly how Edge is looking right now because the colors behind tab tiles are distracting and make it hard to read

@tistou 

 

Spoiler

@tistou wrote:
If it's a bug, it's already that to win :)
Just the faded gray color to modify

Thanks

Little question Off Topic, is it not for now that the stable version of Edge will go to 82.0?
Or MS will gradually integrate the features present in Canary, in the stable version (even if the version remains in 80 or 81.0

 

 

the white tab color is consistent with the light theme in Edge, I don't see how it's a bug..

the plus sign is black which needs to be also white.

 

Good question, I kinda wondered the same, there isn't much data to rely on for us as users, there was only 1 stable release major update so far. I guess we have to wait for 81 stable and see what happens :)

 

in my opinion, what we see in Edge 82 will stay in Edge 82, meaning features aren't leaked to other channels that have different versions. I could be wrong

 

I was talking about the faded gray background tab, not the white tab of the active page (which is the right color)

If the features of Canary remain only in Canary, I really do not see the interest
It would be much better if the new functionalities (debugged) were integrated into the other channels

@tistou 

Spoiler

@tistou wrote:

I was talking about the faded gray background tab, not the white tab of the active page (which is the right color)

If the features of Canary remain only in Canary, I really do not see the interest
It would be much better if the new functionalities (debugged) were integrated into the other channels


they are faded because there needs to be a difference between active and inactive tabs. the faded effect creates that difference for the user to tell which tab is active.

 

no, the features are tied to version, not the channel.

Anything that Edge 82 has will remain with it. Edge 82 is currently in Canary and Dev channels, soon it will go to Beta and after 6 weeks to Stable channel and it will retain all its features.

 

 

@HotCakeX 

 

This new version doesn't only change the background tabs to near black. It's also made the dropdown and context menus a notably lighter grey.

 

I have the accent colour in Windows set to 'Overcast'. Again, how Edge was with that WAS perfect for me. This new version is horrible - I dislike it exactly the same way I disliked the Mozilla Dark theme in Firefox. If this new version stays with no option for the old, what was a plus for Edge in my ongoing decision as to whether to stay with Firefox (desktop and mobile) or change to Edge (desktop and mobile) has now become a minus, given the fact that yesterday I finished re-creating the now-former Edge Dark theme (as it was with the overcast accent) on Firefox.

 

I did go to that site where you can create themes for Google Chrome and have it then generate the theme install file, and tried to recreate the old version, specifying my system 'overcast' accent as the colour for the tab bar and background tab. Which worked adding the generated Chrome theme to Edge. Unfortunately, everything NOT specified in the Chrome theme reverts to default, so the URLbar, menus etc etc, lose the dark theme effect and they are elements not able to be specified in the theme generator. Which was also the case with Firefox using the colors.Firefox theme generator, which is why in Firefox I've been using userChrome.css to effectively modify just the parts I want on top of the dark theme for every element I haven't specified a change for.

 

And just because some people have asked for this doesn't mean everyone wants it.

 

I started looking at whether to carry on with Firefox (desktop and mobile) or move to Edge (desktop and mobile - needs to be the same on both platforms for syncing) due to the upcoming major change in the Firefox mobile browser. An added element is that I have very recently become unexpectedly very sensitive to the glare from light coloured backgrounds (in all programs, not just my web browser), and current (old) and 'old' Firefox mobile is very clunky with Dark Reader. So I'm weighing the two 'browser ecosystems', Firefox and Edge, carefully and in detail, and with certain MUST HAVEs.

 

I'm also disabled, in constant pain and very foggy headed as a side-effect from constant prescription medications. Trying to learn new things is difficult. Focusing to think even vaguely coherently, typing, experimenting - it's all very slow for me and costs a great deal of rapidly mounting extra pain (typing this, the pain shoots up to intolerable after about a short sentence worth and I have to break before typing any more - the whole post will take many hours). Most of the time I'm just lying in a pain-filled fog, incapable of doing anything much, and my ability to do anything is both limited and involves a lot of extra pain. I'm saying this to make clear that the fact that I've actually spent two days learning to and eventually succeeding at changing Firefox's dark mode to look like Edge's dark mode did (with W10 overcast accent), with all the extra pain from the extended focusing, searching, reading, typing and trying to find out what mistake I'd made, means that this is not just some minor matter of taste preference to me.  It is very, very IMPORTANT to me. I can't carry on using Firefox's default theme, or its dark theme as it is unmodified, but require elements from its dark theme that aren't able to be specified in add-on themes. Similarly I can't use Edge with its default theme, and I can't use it now with this new dark theme. If I can't carry on with the dark theme as it was in Edge, then the comparison ends and Firefox themed as Edge was with the Overcast accent wins. Simple as that.

 

Again, I like choice. I don't expect everyone (or anyone) to have the same tastes or needs as me. I don't want people to be forced to have everything 'my way'. If some, even many other people want this new dark theme, that's fine with me AS LONG AS IT IS A CHOICE AN I DON'T GET STOPPED FROM THE OPTION TO CHOOSE WHAT I WANT AND NEED.

 

I'm starting to build up a bad history of this with Microsoft. Early last year I started using Microsoft Launcher, which I really liked although it needed some performance improvements. Then, out of nowhere, they changed two things in the UI which had been things I particularly liked; and changed them to things I hated. In both cases the changes could easily have been new options, but no - just 'take this and screw you'. So I went off and bought Nova Launcher, where they ADD options rather than just changing things away from what at least some of their users like.

@DavidGB 

Spoiler

@DavidGB wrote:

@HotCakeX 

 

This new version doesn't only change the background tabs to near black. It's also made the dropdown and context menus a notably lighter grey.

 

I have the accent colour in Windows set to 'Overcast'. Again, how Edge was with that WAS perfect for me. This new version is horrible - I dislike it exactly the same way I disliked the Mozilla Dark theme in Firefox. If this new version stays with no option for the old, what was a plus for Edge in my ongoing decision as to whether to stay with Firefox (desktop and mobile) or change to Edge (desktop and mobile) has now become a minus, given the fact that yesterday I finished re-creating the now-former Edge Dark theme (as it was with the overcast accent) on Firefox.

 

I did go to that site where you can create themes for Google Chrome and have it then generate the theme install file, and tried to recreate the old version, specifying my system 'overcast' accent as the colour for the tab bar and background tab. Which worked adding the generated Chrome theme to Edge. Unfortunately, everything NOT specified in the Chrome theme reverts to default, so the URLbar, menus etc etc, lose the dark theme effect and they are elements not able to be specified in the theme generator. Which was also the case with Firefox using the colors.Firefox theme generator, which is why in Firefox I've been using userChrome.css to effectively modify just the parts I want on top of the dark theme for every element I haven't specified a change for.

 

And just because some people have asked for this doesn't mean everyone wants it.

 

I started looking at whether to carry on with Firefox (desktop and mobile) or move to Edge (desktop and mobile - needs to be the same on both platforms for syncing) due to the upcoming major change in the Firefox mobile browser. An added element is that I have very recently become unexpectedly very sensitive to the glare from light coloured backgrounds (in all programs, not just my web browser), and current (old) and 'old' Firefox mobile is very clunky with Dark Reader. So I'm weighing the two 'browser ecosystems', Firefox and Edge, carefully and in detail, and with certain MUST HAVEs.

 

I'm also disabled, in constant pain and very foggy headed as a side-effect from constant prescription medications. Trying to learn new things is difficult. Focusing to think even vaguely coherently, typing, experimenting - it's all very slow for me and costs a great deal of rapidly mounting extra pain (typing this, the pain shoots up to intolerable after about a short sentence worth and I have to break before typing any more - the whole post will take many hours). Most of the time I'm just lying in a pain-filled fog, incapable of doing anything much, and my ability to do anything is both limited and involves a lot of extra pain. I'm saying this to make clear that the fact that I've actually spent two days learning to and eventually succeeding at changing Firefox's dark mode to look like Edge's dark mode did (with W10 overcast accent), with all the extra pain from the extended focusing, searching, reading, typing and trying to find out what mistake I'd made, means that this is not just some minor matter of taste preference to me.  It is very, very IMPORTANT to me. I can't carry on using Firefox's default theme, or its dark theme as it is unmodified, but require elements from its dark theme that aren't able to be specified in add-on themes. Similarly I can't use Edge with its default theme, and I can't use it now with this new dark theme. If I can't carry on with the dark theme as it was in Edge, then the comparison ends and Firefox themed as Edge was with the Overcast accent wins. Simple as that.

 

Again, I like choice. I don't expect everyone (or anyone) to have the same tastes or needs as me. I don't want people to be forced to have everything 'my way'. If some, even many other people want this new dark theme, that's fine with me AS LONG AS IT IS A CHOICE AN I DON'T GET STOPPED FROM THE OPTION TO CHOOSE WHAT I WANT AND NEED.

 

I'm starting to build up a bad history of this with Microsoft. Early last year I started using Microsoft Launcher, which I really liked although it needed some performance improvements. Then, out of nowhere, they changed two things in the UI which had been things I particularly liked; and changed them to things I hated. In both cases the changes could easily have been new options, but no - just 'take this and screw you'. So I went off and bought Nova Launcher, where they ADD options rather than just changing things away from what at least some of their users like.


 

drop down where?

the context menu is the same as before, I don't notice any changes at all.

 

I've been waiting for this change for a long time, so were many other people in the community.

you'll get used to it too, the old design wasn't going to be permanently like that, things are constantly changing because the browser is new and this change was logical, it doesn't break anything or hurt anything, it's just the way it was supposed to be from the beginning.

 

You said that yourself, that site creates theme for chrome, Not Edge, so you shouldn't expect it to generate theme for every chromium-based browser and they work perfectly.

 

Microsoft should add a Themes section to their own Addons store and offer users tools to create custom themes and share it with others.

this tool will be compatible with Edge and its unique superior design.

 

 

this change isn't that big anyway, again it's just how it was supposed to be from the beginning. it doesn't need anything to learn, it's not anything new, it doesn't cause any problem nor hurt anyone or anything.

@HotCakeX

MS should have left as it was before with the clear theme
In Windows, the color of the active and inactive windows is the same, just the font which is gray for the inactive windows and white for the active windows

 

So the stable version will never have Canary features?
No interest in making a stable version then

@tistou 

Spoiler

@tistou wrote:

@HotCakeX

MS should have left as it was before with the clear theme
In Windows, the color of the active and inactive windows is the same, just the font which is gray for the inactive windows and white for the active windows

 

So the stable version will never have Canary features?
No interest in making a stable version then


umm It's not, this is file explorer when active

 

active.png

 

and when inactive

 

inactive.png

 

but if the Windows accent color is set to dark, both active and inactive file explorer window will look the same, black.

 

 

there is no stable version, only stable channel, and stable channel WILL have the features in Edge canary 82 when Edge 82 will reach the stable channel.

 

think of channels as streets and versions as cars.

there will always be 4 streets (Stable/Beta/Dev/Canary), they never change, they are static.

but there will be many many cars passing through them. each car has its own set of features and when it reaches each street, it will give those features to that street.

 

Edge version 82 is currently in Canary and Dev streets, approximately in 2 weeks it will go to the Beta street and will take all of its features with itself and give it to the Beta street.

after 6 More weeks that Edge version 82 spends in Beta street, it will move on and will go to the Stable street and will bring along all of its features to that street.

 

this procedure goes on and on forever. I hope you get the point

@HotCakeX 

 

For me, active file explorer

 

active.PNG

 

Inactive file explorer

 

Inactive.PNG

 

Which is much better (with Windows we have a choice, not with Edge ...)

 

I don't think the stable version will ever go to 82.0


If we take the example of Chrome, the official version is still in 80.0, and the Canary in version 82.0

Except that Google integrates the features of Chrome Canary as and when in the stable version

 

The + button for adding a new tab is always black with the .457

@tistou 

Spoiler

@tistou wrote:

@HotCakeX 

 

For me, active file explorer

 

active.PNG

 

Inactive file explorer

 

Inactive.PNG

 

Which is much better (with Windows we have a choice, not with Edge ...)

 

I don't think the stable version will ever go to 82.0


If we take the example of Chrome, the official version is still in 80.0, and the Canary in version 82.0

Except that Google integrates the features of Chrome Canary as and when in the stable version

 

The + button for adding a new tab is always black with the .457


My Windows 10 settings, you must have one of these boxes unchecked then

 

dsadsa.png

 

Ahh...again, Stable is a channel, not version.........

 

"I don't think the stable version will ever go to 82.0"

 

why do you think that? you think stable channel will always stay in version 80 and not go to 81 or 82?

Google has the same workflow for managing their Chrome browser features.

https://chromiumdash.appspot.com/schedule

https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/master/docs/process/release_cycle.md#Branch-Poi...

 

 

@HotCakeX 

 

Ah ok, we will see if in 1 or 2 months, the "stable" goes to 82.0 :)

Sure, wanna bet? ;)

Always the + (new tab) in black with the .458


MS may have been able to set up the requested features (some requested for several months) instead of this one which does not appear anywhere (list of feeback) or I have not seen it in the list

 

There is nothing to say, it is really "ugly" :cryingwithlaughter: :facepalm:
All Windows fonts are in white (in the top windows) except Edge C