Fixes Microsoft Excel appearance when custom Windows theme is used
Fixes Microsoft Excel appearance when custom Windows theme is used.
When the custom dark Windows theme is used, sheets, graphics items, charts and everything that have an "Automatic color" are displayed, exported and printed in the wrong colors.
This happens because Excel picks system colors (instead of using predefined ones) for the "Automatic color" which are altered by the themes.
This Add-In aims to fix this issue by setting colors to normal.
Check out project's DeviantArt page for general discussion.
If you find this Add-In useful, you also might want to get PowerPointDarkThemeFix.
Enabling configurable options is described under the Configuration section.
Shape.Type
s.If you know how to fix any of these things, please, fill out an issue and describe a solution. I will greatly appreciate your effort!
Fully compatible with Microsoft Office 2016, 2019 and 2021 (starting from build 14430.20306).
Reportedly, doesn't fully work in 365, requires installation using "hard way" instructions and has to be put in a localized "AddIns" folder.
If you can test it with Office versions other than listed above, please, fill out an issue and I'll update this list.
Basically, you just need to install an Add-In. You can either stick to the instructions below or google a better guide.
Warning: this method uses XLSTART folder which appears to be working fine, but it's not an exactly correct way to install Add-Ins.
ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam
file and ExcelDarkThemeFixBG
folder.%AppData%\Microsoft\Excel\XLSTART
and put both ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam
and ExcelDarkThemeFixBG
here. Do NOT move anything from ExcelDarkThemeFixBG
and don't rename it!
If this method didn't work for you, please, create an issue and try method below.
This is more correct way to install an Add-In, but it's hard to follow.
ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam
file and ExcelDarkThemeFixBG
folder.ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam
, click right mouse button and click "Properties".%AppData%\Microsoft\AddIns
and put both ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam
and ExcelDarkThemeFixBG
here. Do NOT move anything from ExcelDarkThemeFixBG
and don't rename it!
ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam
to the exceptions. Some antiviruses might prevent Add-Ins from running. Don't worry, this Add-In won't make you computer explode :p Check the sources if you're unsure.Unblock-File -Path "AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\AddIns\ExcelDarkThemeFix.xlam"
and hit Enter.%AppData%\Microsoft\AddIns
(find a localized "AddIns" folder for non-English Office 365 verison) and click "OK".Edge case: If you've just installed MS Office and haven't rebooted, install ExcelDarkThemeFix and reboot your PC.
Add-In does everything automatically. However, if you've set automatic colors to something and don't want to fix it yourself, in Excel:
This Add-In provides some cool but unsafe options that you can enable. In order to do this, in Excel:
You'll see some code. Don't freak out, just follow the instructions in it. Read everything carefully!
When you're done, press Ctrl+S
and restart Excel.
Yes, if your theme uses colors different from white for window and black for text. It is recommended to always use this Add-In with custom themes since one usually doesn't checks the colors.
No.
Note: this question is NOT about high contrast looking themes (they're working fine) but about an actual Windows feature.
Yes, startup will be a bit slower. The more cells you have the bigger the impact.
Note: we can't optimize this by changing the whole used range because we need to modify each individual parameter of each individual cell.
Yes, there's an option for it, see "Configuration" section.
No. It's almost (if not entirely) impossible because there's no way of tracking which cell should use which colors. Same goes for every MS Office application.
Please, fill out an issue on this repository and provide as much information as possible.
If you're regular user, you can test this Add-In with different kinds of workbooks and report found issues, or install an older version of Microsoft Office and check if this Add-In works with it.
You can also spread the word about this Add-In (especially in non-English speaking parts of the Internet), so other people could have a less of a headache.
If you're developer, you can add some useful features or fix things described above. Start by setting DebugLevel
option and thoroughly reading the code to understand what it does. Then do the coding. When you're done, create a pull request with your code. If it's not hard, please, provide the code in plain text instead of .xlam file even if you've changed entire Add-In.