Make Microsoft Word Dark Mode Really Dark
Microsoft Word has a dark mode you can use right now, but it’s not as dark as you might prefer if you’re the kind of person who likes to work on projects in the wee hours of dawn.
When you start Word normally, here’s what you’ll see when you use its Colorful theme:
If you go to the theme switch (via File> Options> General> Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office or File> Account> Office Theme ), you can choose to use a slightly darker gray:
And even a straight black setting, the “dark mode” of the application, as it now exists:
Even in dark mode, a large chunk of white stares in your face: the very page you are working on. This kind of removes the purpose of having a dark mode.
You can certainly change that yourself though, using the Page Color option in the Design section , which changes the document for anyone viewing it. And it’s possible that whoever you submit your work might not want white text on a black background.
To get around this, Microsoft is testing a new iteration of dark mode for Word, which turns the page to black if you prefer, but only as a view mode. This document will still look fine in whatever view the other person has set for themselves.
To access this feature, you must first register to become an Office Insider. You’ll find this option in the account window on the Office home screen:
Sign up to the Insider Beta Channel, not the Insider Channel, and then click the Update Options box on your account screen to download any updates that Word asks of you. You will now be “at the forefront,” as Microsoft says:
Close Word and reopen it. From there, go back to File> Options and set your theme back to Black. You should now see a blissful black background that you can type on:
And if you want to go back to the white page at any time, just open the View tab in your document and click the new Toggle Modes button: