Feature: Dark mode

[ShamblerBishop]

Working with WinMerge on a 32" 4K monitor, alt-tabbing between dark-mode Visual Studio, and a full screen WinMerge - is pretty jarring/searing on my eyes - be nice to have a dark mode, like VS!

[ShamblerBishop]

Ah, duplicate.

[ikappas]

@ShamblerBishop I don't think this should be a duplicate of Dark theme since Dark mode is NOT Dark theme.

As implemented in latest Windows 10, Dark mode refers to adjusting the whole application look an feel to be presented in dark colors including main window, menus, icons instead of just theming the content area.

@sdottaka Perhaps this should be re-opened/re-considered?

[Neustradamus]

Any news about it?

[sdottaka]

So far I haven't done anything about dark mode.

I expected to improve Dark Mode support for Win32 applications on Windows 11, but I haven't seen any improvement.

Currently, I'm not very enthusiastic because dark mode can only be achieved using an undocumented API. Pull Requests are welcome.

[PwrSrg]

+1 This is desperately needed. The "dark" theme (which is hideous btw) is not the same thing as dark MODE.

But for the PRICE, I cannot complain! 😊 Though I am about to switch to Beyond Compare which is rolling out Dark Mode in the upcoming v5 release. 🌑

[andresbnd]

+1 Please we need that! It will be amazing

[rigiddesign]

Considering WinMerge is free software, perhaps it would be worth the author offering up a crowdfunding option to try and fund the development of this.

[bamtang-dev]

Hi, I guess the undocumented API calls are these?
https://github.com/ysc3839/win32-darkmode/tree/master
I tested this on my PC and it didn't work, and my Windows 10 is in theory "updated"
Since the program uses MFC that doesn't support dark mode at all I guess supporting it is out of the question, isn't it?

[flappysquirrel]

I just went down this rabbithole.

Free alternatives with an actual dark UI:

Meld (meldmerge.org)

P4Merge (perforce.com)

Actually, the perforce website gives off strong Oracle vibes, so I'm not too sure about the 'free' part.

[oeloo]

I like WinMerge, but the lack of dark mode makes it unusable for me: when WIndows OS is in dark mode, using WinMerge makes white flashes in your eyes each time you open its window, which is killing the eyes.
WinMerge definitely needs a dark mode. Almost all applications, now end 2023, have a light/dark mode automatically switching with Windows OS light/dark mode.