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 Theme MenuPersonally, I like the new Visual Studio 2010 IDE colors but I got this comment recently from a helpful reader:

Why did the default colour theme for VS 2010 have to be so hideously ugly? Why put all that work into making the most advanced IDE ever, and then present it with a look that screams "we didn't care?" ... An official facelift patch would be nice, if just the 2008 look was applied to 2010.

Well, each to is own. Just like Henry Ford said, "You can have any color you want as long as it's black." Seriously, though, you can change the colors if it makes you happy. Folks feel strongly about their colors, like our friend above.

There's a free Visual Studio Color Theme Editor by Matthew Johnson that you can download and modify the VS IDE theme however you like. Once you've installed it (it's a VSIX - an extension to VS2010 - not an MSI, so don't be scared) there will be a new menu in VS called "theme."

Here's the built in themes. Remember these are VS themes, not Windows themes, so they won't affect Windows colors. Also, this is changing the colors of the IDE itself, not the text editor. You can choose your text styles at http://studiostyles.info.

Windows XP Silver

MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (5)

Windows Classic

MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (9)

Windows XP Emerald

MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (7)

Windows XP Autumn

 MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (6)

Windows XP Olive

MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (4) 

Windows XP Blue

MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (3)

Windows Aero

MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (2)

Windows XP Blue

 MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio

Default Visual Studio 2010 Theme

 MvcMusicStore - Microsoft Visual Studio (8)

Have fun! You can make your own themes as well and import/export them. Enjoy.



Friday, May 14, 2010 10:51:14 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Wow... what a great utility! Thanks for posting this one.
Mark Erikson
Friday, May 14, 2010 11:08:01 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Pretty nice, but Wondered why there is no "Black" theme like Blend???
Friday, May 14, 2010 11:17:32 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Hey Scott, I stopped using this because it appears to Bork the WF4 Designer...
Friday, May 14, 2010 7:52:55 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Yup scott, there should be a black theme. I really love the charm of Blend.
Nishit
Saturday, May 15, 2010 8:53:30 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
To all of you who want a black theme - there are plenty out there. I am currently using this one: http://www.nerdpad.com/visual-studio/visual-studio-2010-dark-expression-blend-color-theme
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 11:26:06 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Emerald is AWESOME!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:02:15 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Hey Scott,
I think you may also want to have a look at "Visual Studio 2010 Dark Expression Blend Color Theme".
http://www.nerdpad.com/visual-studio/visual-studio-2010-dark-expression-blend-color-theme

Here is how it looks: http://www.nerdpad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/vs2010_expression_thumb.jpg

Those who use dark editor colors will love it - me included :)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:13:42 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Hey Scott,
I think you may also want to have a look at "Visual Studio 2010 Dark Expression Blend Color Theme".
http://www.nerdpad.com/visual-studio/visual-studio-2010-dark-expression-blend-color-theme

Here is how it looks: http://www.nerdpad.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/vs2010_expression_thumb.jpg

Those who use dark editor colors will love it - me included :)
Sunday, May 23, 2010 11:12:43 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

like yor site, for it looks serious and never provides useless info, Thx and wish your site better...
Wednesday, June 09, 2010 9:06:40 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
I prefer the preset and really like the new WPF UI - some of the themes like Emerald look terrible ...

Where do these two buttons (left to the minimize / maximize / close buttons, shown on all the screenshots) come from?
Wednesday, June 09, 2010 9:45:57 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Ah, that's Ultramon from RealTimeSoft.
Sunday, June 27, 2010 10:52:43 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Scott,

The extension is not marked to work with the express versions? Is there any chance you can do that so that people with express version (like myself) can use it?

Eddie
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