Question:

How can I permanently modify the hot tracking and highlight colors in Windows 10 using the registry editor? I have successfully changed the colors temporarily, but they revert to the default ones after restarting or shutting down my laptop. What registry keys or values do I need to edit to make the changes persistent? I am using Windows 10. Thank you for your help.

Answer:

How to permanently change the hot tracking and highlight colors in Windows 10 using the registry editor

If you want to customize the appearance of your Windows 10 desktop, you might want to change the colors of the hot tracking and highlight effects. Hot tracking is the feature that changes the color of an item when you hover over it with the mouse pointer, such as a folder or a link. Highlight is the feature that changes the color of an item when you select it, such as a file or a text.

By default, Windows 10 uses blue for both hot tracking and highlight colors, but you can change them to any color you like using the registry editor. However, you might have noticed that the changes are not permanent, and the colors revert to the default ones after you restart or shut down your laptop. This is because Windows 10 applies a theme at every startup, which overrides your custom settings.

To make the changes persistent, you need to edit some registry keys or values that control the theme settings. Here are the steps to do that:

The registry editor is a tool that allows you to view and modify the registry, which is a database that stores various settings and options for Windows and its applications. To open the registry editor, follow these steps:

• Press the Windows key and the R key at the same time to open the Run dialog box.
• Type regedit in the box and click OK or press Enter. This will launch the registry editor.
• If you see a User Account Control prompt, click Yes to continue.

Step 2: Navigate to the theme settings

The theme settings are located in the following registry key:

`HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes`

To navigate to this key, follow these steps:

• In the registry editor, expand the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder by clicking on the + sign next to it.
• Expand the Software folder, then the Microsoft folder, then the Windows folder, then the CurrentVersion folder, and finally the Themes folder.
• Click on the Themes folder to select it. You should see some values on the right pane.

Step 3: Edit the hot tracking and highlight colors

The hot tracking and highlight colors are stored in two values named HotTrackingColor and HilightColor, respectively. To edit these values, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the HotTrackingColor value and select Modify. This will open the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value dialog box.
• In the Value data box, enter the hexadecimal code of the color you want to use for the hot tracking effect. For example, if you want to use red, enter FF0000. You can use any online color picker tool to find the hexadecimal code of your desired color.
• Click OK to save the changes.
• Repeat the same steps for the HilightColor value, using the hexadecimal code of the color you want to use for the highlight effect.

Step 4: Restart your laptop

To apply the changes, you need to restart your laptop. To do that, follow these steps:

• Close the registry editor and any other open applications.
• Click on the Start button and select Power.
• Click on Restart.

After your laptop restarts, you should see the new colors for the hot tracking and highlight effects. They should remain the same even if you restart or shut down your laptop again.

Conclusion

In

this article, we have shown you how to permanently change the hot tracking and highlight colors in Windows 10 using the registry editor. We hope you found this article helpful and enjoyed customizing your desktop. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below. Thank you for reading.