Mail and Calendar applications which are preinstalled in Windows 10 have been updated with a new functionality: the dark mode. The dark theme has been available in Windows 10 for some time already, but Mail and Calendar have only partially implemented it. It now applies to all displayed items and allows you to set it independently from the rest of the operating system and other apps you use. Let’s find out how you enable or disable the dark mode for Mail and Calendar apss in Windows 10.
Mail and Calendar applications: a single app with two different views
Microsoft presents the preinstalled Mail and Calendar applications as two separate applications. When you start using them, you quickly realize that they are interconnected to the point where you can say that this is a single app with two different views. The first thing that shows the connection between the two is the email account setting. Once you set up an account in one of them, it automatically becomes available in the other. Choosing the email address and the authentication is done once for both Mail and Calendar applications. You set it in one of them and it is immediately reflected in the other.
This connection also extends to the subject of this guide: activating the dark theme. When you enable or disable the Dark Mode for Mail or Calendar, the other application instantly uses the same setting.
In this tutorial, you first find how to enable or disable the dark mode in the Mail application and then in Calendar. On your Windows 10 device, choose one of these two applications because you need to set it once.
How to turn dark mode on or off in Mail application
Open the Mail app and click the Settings button in the lower left corner of the window. In the menu that appears on the right, click Personalize.
The Settings menu is replaced by a Customization panel on the right. Scroll down the panel by preview image and the Colors section until you get to the three radio buttons:
• Bright mode: The classic Windows color scheme where dark letters are displayed on a light colored background.
• Dark mode: The application is displayed using light colored letters on a dark background. This mode saves battery on laptops and protects your eyes especially if you use the application in a dark environment.
• My Windows mode is used: instead of having its own separate light or dark mode setting, Mail and Calendar applications align with the Windows 10 setting.
Choose the desired setting.
The change is instantly applied to the Mail app window.
If other Mail or Calendar windows are open at this time, they all adopt the new dark or bright mode you have set. The setting remains valid for any subsequent use of Mail or Calendar applications. If you want to change the setting using the Mail application, follow the same steps as above to make a new choice.
How to turn dark mode on or off in Calendar application
The same bright or dark mode setting can be changed using the Calendar application. Click the Settings button at the bottom of the left panel of the Calendar window. In the menu that appears to the right, click Personalize.
The Settings menu is replaced by a Customization panel on the right side of the window. After the Preview and Colors sections, you have three radio buttons identical to those in the Mail app:
• Bright mode: The classic Windows color scheme, where dark letters are displayed on a light colored background.
• Dark mode: The application is displayed using light colored letters on a dark background. This mode saves battery on laptops and protects your eyes especially if you use the application in a dark environment.
• My Windows mode is used: instead of having its own separate light or dark mode setting, Mail and Calendar applications align with the Windows 10 setting.
Click on the setting you want for your Calendar and Mail apps.
The change is immediately applied to the Personalization panel and to the rest of the Calendar application window.
The setting affects all open Mail and Calendar windows and also those that you open from now on. If you want to change this setting, follow the same steps as above.
How to turn the light on for an email
The dark mode works very well for most situations except for messages that have color settings for fonts. If it’s difficult for you to read an email, there’s a tool called “Light up” that lets you temporarily disable the dark mode for the message you’re looking at. To activate it in the Mail app, click the button with a sun icon located at the top of the email window.
The part of the window that displays the email begins to use the bright mode immediately. If you need to go back to dark, press the button with a moon icon that is in the same position as the sun.
This setting is temporarily enabled and affects only the current window. Once you close the Mail window, the setting is lost and all new Mail windows use dark mode over the entire window.
Do you prefer bright or dark mode in Mail and Calendar for Windows 10?
The main reasons why dark mode appears in Windows 10 (or any other platform) are reducing power consumption, saving your battery and protecting your eyes. I like dark design and I prefer to use dark mode wherever I can.