How to Set Colors for Active and Inactive Title Bars in Windows 11

Windows 11 comes with a sleek, modern design—but sometimes, it’s too subtle. If you’re tired of squinting to figure out which window is active or just want to inject some personality into your desktop, tweaking title bar colors is a simple fix. Here’s how to set distinct colors for active and inactive title bars in Windows 11.

Step 1: Enable Accent Color on Title Bars

Before anything else, make sure Windows is actually applying your chosen accent color to title bars.

1. Right-click on the desktop and select Personalize.
2. Go to Colors.
3. Scroll down and toggle “Show accent color on title bars and windows borders” to On.

This will apply your current accent color to the active title bar. But Windows 11 doesn’t give you a built-in option for customizing the inactive title bar color. That’s where a little registry editing comes in.

Step 2: Set Custom Inactive Title Bar Color (Registry Edit)

⚠️ Important: Editing the registry can affect system behavior. Follow these steps carefully.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to this path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

3. Look for a value called AccentColorInactive. If it doesn’t exist:
   • Right-click in the right pane, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
   • Name it AccentColorInactive.
4. Double-click AccentColorInactive and set a hexadecimal color value.
   • For example, d3d3d3 gives you a light gray.
   • The format is BBGGRR, so reverse the usual RGB order.
     • For RGB(100, 150, 200), use: C89664.
5. Restart your PC or log out and back in to see the change.

Step 3: Pick the Right Accent Color (Optional)

To change the active title bar color:

1. Go back to Settings > Personalization > Colors.
2. Pick your accent color or click Custom Colors.
3. Make sure “Show accent color on title bars” is still on.

Quick Tips

• Use contrasting colors to clearly distinguish active vs. inactive windows.
• You can use online color pickers to find the RGB/hex values you want.
• To reset everything, just delete the AccentColorInactive value in the registry.

Final Thoughts

Windows 11 keeps things clean, but that doesn’t mean you can’t customize it to match your workflow or mood. Setting clear colors for your title bars gives your desktop a visual upgrade—and it makes multitasking a lot less confusing.

Want more Windows 11 customization tips? Bookmark this site and stay tuned.