Microsoft first quietly started testing improvements in Windows 11’s dark mode in August preview builds of the operating system. Now it’s making the changes official, with improvements to the dark mode consistency throughout File Explorer actions like copying, moving, or deleting files and folders.
If you try to copy a large file in Windows 11 it will show a light mode dialog even if you have dark mode enabled. This is changing, alongside the move and delete dialogs and some other parts of Windows 11. Microsoft says it’s also working on a more “consistent dark mode experience” in progress bars and charts views, confirmation and error dialogs, and prompts for skipping, overriding, and file selection.
Microsoft first introduced a dark mode option in Windows 10 in 2016, and it has taken almost a decade for the company to focus on making it more consistent. There are still plenty of areas Microsoft will need to improve, including the Run prompt, file properties UI, Control Panel, and Folder Options UI in File Explorer.
