If you work during the day and night, staring at a bright screen in a dark room leads to eyestrain.
The latest versions of MS Word have a remedy for this. You can choose to switch MS Word to a dark mode. The palette will transform into darker colors, reducing eye strain in low ambient light settings.
2 ways to enable MS Word Dark Mode
- From the Account panes;
- From the Options dialog box.
In dark mode, you can toggle the background of a document from light to dark or reverse.
We will show you how to switch to a dark mode in MS Word in easy, step-by-step instructions.
Let us begin.
Method #1: Dark Mode from the Account Panes
Step #1: Open Word
Start MS Word.
Two panes will become visible
Step #2: Open the ‘Account’ pane
Click on Account at the bottom in the left pane.
The right pane will change.
Step #3: Choose the Office Theme
In the right pane, click on the small triangle to the right of the field under ‘Office Theme:’
A menu will open, offering five choices:
- Colorful — The ribbon will change to a light background;
- Dark Gray — The ribbon will change to a dark gray background;
- Black — The background of the ribbon changes to black color;
- White — The background of the ribbon changes to a white color;
- Use system setting — The background follows the color scheme chosen for the Windows system.
Click on the Black theme.
The entire background of the interface is now black.
Step #4: Open a new document
Note: you can also open an existing document.
In the left pane, click on New at the top.
In the right pane, click on the Blank document icon to open a new document.
You will see a new document with a black background.
The top menu will also have a black background.
Step #5: Toggle the color of the document
Click on the View tab in the top menu bar to change the ribbon.
In the section Dark Mode, click on the Switch Modes icon.
The color of the document will change to white.
In the section Dark Mode, click on the Switch Modes icon once again.
The color of the document changes back to black.
Method #2: Dark Mode from Options Dialog Box
Step #1: Open Word
Start MS Word.
Two panes will become visible.
Step #2: Open the ‘Options’ dialog box
Click on ‘Options’ at the bottom in the left pane.
The Word Options dialog box will open.
In the left pane, click on the General tab to open the General Options in the right panel.
In the right pane, under Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office, click on the small triangle beside Office Theme:.
Step #3: Choose the theme
A menu will open, offering five choices:
- Colorful — The ribbon will change to a light background;
- Dark Gray — The ribbon will change to a dark gray background;
- Black — The background of the ribbon changes to a black color;
- White — The background of the ribbon changes to a white color;
- Use system setting — The background follows the color scheme chosen for the Windows system.
Click on the Black theme.
Click on the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box to exit.
Word now has a black background.
Step #4: Open a new document
Note: you can also open an existing document.
Click on the File tab in the top menu bar to change to the File panes.
In the left pane, click on New at the top.
In the right pane, click on the Blank document icon to open a new document.
You will see a new document with a black background.
The top menu will also have a black background.
Step #5: Toggle the color of the document
Click on the View tab in the top menu bar to change the ribbon.
In the section Dark Mode, click on the Switch Modes icon.
The color of the document changes to white.
In the section Dark Mode, click on the Switch Modes icon once again.
The color of the document changes back to black.
Conclusion
We have shown you two methods for turning on dark mode in MS Word. We have also shown you how to set the background color of your document in dark mode. Use the method you find most suitable.