Do you find yourself lost in space looking at the same screen day in and day out? Want to change it up a bit? Give it fresh new look and feel?
Microsoft 365 has enabled Dark Mode in its suite of office products. So instead of constantly looking at a big ol’ white screen you can now view your work in “Dark Mode.”
What is Dark Mode?
Dark mode is a display setting for user interfaces, such as a laptop or smartphones. So instead of the default dark text appearing on a white screen (known as Light mode), white text (or grey) is displayed on a dark or black screen. Light mode is the default setting for most phones, apps and laptops.
Is Dark Mode Better for Your Eyes?
This is a very good question, especially in a world where we are constantly looking at screens. It is important to take steps to protect your vision and dark mode does indeed cut the glare and reduce blue light. However, if you are having vision problems it is best to see an eye specialist to rule out any issues. Here is a great article that explains whether dark mode is better or worse for your eyes and what benefits dark mode has.
How Do I Turn on Dark Mode?
I have found there are two ways in which you can switch your Microsoft 365 apps to dark mode and I will walk you through both here.
While in one of your apps (Word, Outlook, Excel, etc.), click on the File menu on the ribbon and scroll down to select Options. Once you have selected options a dialog box will appear. Staying in the General area roll your eyes over to Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office section.
Here you will find a variety of fields set at default settings. Your username, initials, use these values regardless checkbox, office background options and Office theme.
Click on the drop-down menu under Office theme.
Then select the type of theme you would like to use.
Try them all out, see which one you like the best:
Dark Gray Mode:
Black Mode:
White Mode:
Colorful Mode:
The one thing to keep in mind especially in Word, is no matter what mode you select, the page will always be white unless you are in Outlook.
The second way to enable Dark mode is to go to the File menu in the ribbon bar and then scroll down to Account and then again, selecting the Office Theme drop down menu.
This time I have selected Black mode and instantly the app is changed to Black with white text and color icons as seen below.
Note, except for Outlook, all apps will display in Dark mode with documents in white. Emails in Outlook however will remain all black with white text and blue hyperlinks.
If you prefer to see your email content in white you can select the Sun icon in your email on the ribbon bar at the upper right-hand side of the email. Or you can switch it to back to Dark mode by selecting the Moon icon. It’s that simple.
I hope you find this tip helpful and it gives you a fresh new look upon your device. For more tips and tricks visit and subscribe to our blog.
