How do I use visual studio 2012 dark theme with windows 8 high contrast theme?
When I use a standard Windows aero theme in Windows 8, the VS2012 lets me to choose between light and dark themes, but I created myself a convenient high contrast theme in Windows 8, and now there is only a greyed option in the VS settings that says "high contrast", and I cannot change it.
I belong to the few people, who like the new dark theme of Visual Studio, but unfortunately I can't use it with the new high contrast Windows themes.
Can someone help me with this one?
Answer
My colleague found a way to use the Dark theme in Visual Studio when Windows uses the High Contrast mode. He followed these steps:
- Export this registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\11.0_Config\Themes{1ded0138-47ce-435e-84ef-9ec1f439b749} (this should the key of the Dark theme)
In the exported file replace the GUID of the Dark Theme ({1ded0138-47ce-435e-84ef-9ec1f439b749}) with the GUID of the High Contrast theme ({a5c004b4-2d4b-494e-bf01-45fc492522c7}):
Import the reg file
Start Visual Studio. This works for him. It's even possible to mix theme settings from the High Contrast theme with those of the Dark theme. Just replace one of the subkeys content with one of the subkeys of another theme.
The GUID's for the themes appear to be the same on both our systems. But you should always check them before you try this. Also a backup of the keys is recommended!