14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s most recent Windows 10 Redstone 5 preview build expands the dark theme in File Explorer and now covers more parts of the file manager.
As Microsoft’s Jen Gentleman revealed on Twitter, the File Picker in Windows 10 now features a dark theme as well, coming in line with the rest of File Explorer as well.
While there still are things that need to be further refined in order for the dark theme to be finalized, it’s pretty clear that this feature evolves, and the File Picker is living proof. But as Jen Gentleman explains, using colored title bars for the time being is a way to resolve the white header, which should be getting the dark theme treatment in a future build as well.
Coming in Windows 10 Redstone 5
The dark theme in File Explorer has been one of the most requested features in Windows 10, and Microsoft is now actively developing it with the public release planned for the fall of 2018.
If everything goes according to the plan, the dark theme will be included in the Redstone 5 update, currently in the works as part of the Windows Insider program and projected to be finalized in September.
Alongside the dark theme, File Explorer was also supposed to get tabs as part of Sets, a new feature bringing such functionality across the entire operating system. But as compared to the dark theme, Sets has been retired temporarily, with Microsoft most likely to ship it in Redstone 6 in the spring of 2019.
In the meantime, Windows insiders can try out the dark theme in File Explorer by enabling it in the Settings app. The system style must be set to dark, as Microsoft isn’t yet offering separate options just for File Explorer to use the dark theme and keep the rest of the operating system with a light visual style.