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My chosen Firefox theme changed my default Windows mode color from light to dark.

  • 12 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 102 views
  • Last reply by CJ

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After choosing a particular theme, Firefox took over my default windows mode color from light to dark (Personalize/Colors/Choose Your Default Windows Mode--light or dark). If I manually switch back to Light then I cannot check the box for colors to be changed for start, task bar and action center since this box is faded out and non-responsive. I greatly dislike the new black background. I do not want my theme choices to affect my default settings. Any way to override this invasive feature?

After choosing a particular theme, Firefox took over my default windows mode color from light to dark (Personalize/Colors/Choose Your Default Windows Mode--light or dark). If I manually switch back to Light then I cannot check the box for colors to be changed for start, task bar and action center since this box is faded out and non-responsive. I greatly dislike the new black background. I do not want my theme choices to affect my default settings. Any way to override this invasive feature?

Chosen solution

You can select a theme that has dark text on the tabs (toolbars) if you currently use a theme with light text to prevent Firefox from using a dark background for webpages.

You can change this pref on the about:config page from 3 to 2 to revert to the Firefox 94 behavior regarding to prefer dark or light background for webpages.

  • layout.css.prefers-color-scheme.content-override [dark:0, light:1, system:2, browser:3]

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I accept the risk!" to continue.

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All Replies (12)

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Chosen Solution

You can select a theme that has dark text on the tabs (toolbars) if you currently use a theme with light text to prevent Firefox from using a dark background for webpages.

You can change this pref on the about:config page from 3 to 2 to revert to the Firefox 94 behavior regarding to prefer dark or light background for webpages.

  • layout.css.prefers-color-scheme.content-override [dark:0, light:1, system:2, browser:3]

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I accept the risk!" to continue.

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I am currently not in"3"...it is Boolean which is checked. Should I change this to Number? If so, will it then allow me to write in 2? Thank you for you assistance.

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I neglected to mention...my options are Boolean, Numbers and String. There doesn't appear to be a 1,2,or 3 option

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layout.css.prefers-color-scheme.content-override is a Number pref and would be '3' by default.

You only get the Boolean and Number and String choices if the pref doesn't exist and you are offered to create a new pref, so make sure you have the correct pref name.

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I apologize; this was an error on my part. The link you provided was accurate. I made the change (from 3 to 2) but I don't see what has changed. With my chosen theme, I am in the "dark" Windows default mode. But, in this mode with this theme, the "Start, taskbar, action center" box cannot be checked--it is faded out and non-responsive. While with other themes, this box can be checked and my taskbar color can be manipulated. Nothing, as far as I can see, has changed by making the value 2.

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To be more clear, my Firefox homepage is black; it is always white. This happened only with my chosen personalized Firefox theme (Happy St Patricks Day Clovers).

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Did you try to set the pref to '1' (light) ?

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I appreciate your continued assistance since I am determined to find a fix to my unwanted black background.. I don't know why my chosen theme has taken over my windows default settings; this is most definitely an undesirable feature. When I went back to the preference, I noticed that the 2 I had set prior did not take as it was still showing a value of 3. It turns out that I needed to have hit the blue icon for it to set. The 2 setting did the job. Now I have set it to 1 and will be leaving there since that is my preference regardless of what theme I will choose. As you can tell, I am by no means a techie, but I was able to achieve my desired outcome with your help. Thank you.

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I was able to change my Firefox homepage to light. Where is the preference in about:config to also change my drop downs from my toolbar to light?

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For webpages you can use layout.css.prefers-color-scheme.content-override, for the menus the only way is to switch the theme to a theme with dark text.

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Is there a way to know if a theme I am about to choose if it will be dark text without having to install it and looking? I experimented with several themes and I did notice how my drop down boxes changed back and forth from light to dark with the chosen themes. But, I did not see any consistency prior to selection as to whether or not the text was going to be dark or not.

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Also, I checked the layout preference...it is marked as 1. What does this value stand for? And how can I find this out myself?