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On Windows 11, you can customize many settings to change the appearance and other elements of the desktop, thereby making the experience more personalized or refreshing quickly to avoid maintaining the same look every day.
Although the experience is not as customizable as on Windows 10, you can still change the desktop background using your personal picture or themes in the Microsoft Store. You can switch between dark and light modes, or use custom accent colors on the desktop. You can organize your favorite applications in the "Start" menu. You can change the alignment of the taskbar, decide which items to display in the experience, adjust the system tray settings, and more.
In this Windows 11 guide, we will guide you through the different ways to customize your appearance to make your computer experience more personalized.
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On Windows 11, the fastest way to make the desktop look different is to change the background image, configure the slideshow, or choose a pure background color. If you are using the virtual desktop function, you can now set a custom background for each desktop.
To change the desktop background on Windows 11, use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
Click the Browse Photos button.
Alternatively, you can right-click the image and select the Set as desktop background option to apply the image as a new desktop background.
To set up a slideshow on the desktop, use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
After completing these steps, the desktop will rotate the collection of pictures in the background at the interval you specified in the settings.
To apply a solid color on the Windows 11 desktop, use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
After completing these steps, the desktop will display a solid color background.
On Windows 11, you can also set a different background for each virtual desktop to make it easier to distinguish them.
To set a different background for each desktop (not the monitor), use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
Right-click the image, select the Set as Desktop submenu, and then select the desktop to which you want to apply the background.
After completing these steps, each virtual desktop will contain a different desktop background.
You can also set a different background image for each monitor. However, this option is not available when using virtual desktops.
To set a custom background for each monitor on Windows 11, use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
Right-click on the image and select the Set on monitor (N) option.
After completing these steps, you may need to repeat the instructions to apply another image to the remaining displays.
Windows 11 allows you to choose different colors for the elements on the desktop. You can choose light mode or dark mode, and you can also choose a custom accent color that will appear in the Start menu, taskbar, notification center and quick settings, title bar, borders, and applications.
To switch between dark or light systems on Windows 11, use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
Use the "Choose Your Mode" setting and choose the light or dark mode option.
After completing these steps, the desktop experience (including taskbar, start menu, and applications) will switch to the color mode of your choice.
To apply a custom system color mode, use the following steps:
Click the "Background" page on the right.
Use Choose your default Windows mode setting to decide whether the Start, taskbar, and other elements should use light or dark mode.
After completing these steps, the custom color mode will be available for Windows 11, depending on your configuration.
Some elements such as the start menu, taskbar, shortcut settings, notification center, and applications can display translucent effects. You can decide whether to use these effects in the "color" page.
To configure transparency effects on Windows 11, use the following steps:
Click on the color page on the right.
Use to select your mode setting and turn the transparency effect switch on or off.
After completing these steps, a transparent effect will be provided according to your choice.
To apply custom color accents to your Windows 11 experience, use the following steps:
Click on the color page on the right.
Use the "Accent Color" setting and select the "Manual" option.
After completing these steps, system icons, links, buttons, and many other elements will reflect the new automatic colors.
If you want the start menu, taskbar, notification center, quick settings, and other elements to use the same color scheme instead of the system color mode, please use the following steps:
Click on the color page on the right.
Use the "Accent Color" setting and select the "Manual" option.
Quick tip: You can also use the "Auto" option.
Use the "Choose your mode" setting and choose dark or custom options.
Quick tip: If you use custom options, make sure to use the dark option for the "Select default Windows mode" option.
Under the "Accent color" setting, turn on the display of accent color on the start and taskbar toggle switch.
After completing these steps, the Start menu, taskbar, and other visual elements will now be emphasized using the color you selected in the settings.
To enable accent colors for the title bar and border, use the following steps:
Click on the color page on the right.
Turn on the display accent color switch on the title bar and window frame to allow accent colors to be displayed on the frame and title bar.
After completing these steps, the accent color will be displayed in the border and title bar of the application (except File Explorer).
The theme is a package that contains one or more background images, accent colors, mouse pointer customization, and in some cases sounds, you can get them from the Microsoft Store (most of them are free, others are paid) .
To change the desktop theme, use the following steps:
Click the topic page on the right.
Under the "Current theme" setting, select one of the available themes.
Quick note: Windows 11 comes with six default themes with different wallpapers and settings, including Windows (light), Windows (dark), Glow, Sunrise and Flow.
After completing these steps, the theme will be applied to your computer.
To get new themes for your Windows 11 desktop, use the following steps:
Click the topic page on the right.
Under the "Current Theme" setting, click the "Browse Theme" button.
Click the Get (or Install) button.
After completing these steps, the newly downloaded theme will be reflected in the desktop and the entire experience.
As part of the accessibility experience, Windows 11 also provides four different high-contrast themes. Although these themes are reserved for people with low vision, anyone can use them.
To switch to one of the contrasting Windows 11 themes, use the following steps:
Click on the compare topics page on the right.
Under "Comparison Themes: Settings", select one of the available themes, including:
After completing these steps, the Windows experience will switch to high-contrast mode.
On Windows 11, the "Start" menu is the basic component for launching applications and finding almost everything on your computer (including applications, settings, and files). You can customize it in many different ways.
To customize the Windows 11 start menu settings, use the following steps:
Click the start page on the right.
Turn on or off the "Show recently opened items" in the "Start", "Jump List" and "File Explorer" toggle switches.
When the recently added or most used application options are enabled, the Start menu will display these items in the "Recommended" section and in the "All Applications" list.
To add or remove quick access to different locations (such as documents, downloads, etc.) through the Start menu, use the following steps:
Click the start page on the right.
Turn on or off the items displayed next to the power button in Start.
After completing these steps, the quick access button will appear next to the power button in the Start menu.
To organize the fixed parts of the start menu, use the following steps:
Right-click the application and select the pin to start option.
(Optional) Right-click the application in the "Pin" section and select the "Move to Top" option to place the item in the upper left corner.
If you don't want a specific application in the pinned section or want to get rid of it, right-click the app and select the Start or Uninstall button to unpin it. If this is a Microsoft Store application, the application will be deleted without further steps. If this is a classic app, you may need to continue to follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstall process.
In the "Recommendations" section, you can find suggestions for recently opened files and installed applications. This area contains up to six items, but you can click the More button to access more content (if applicable). Although you cannot remove this feature, you can customize it to make it more comfortable.
To remove items from the "Recommendations" section individually, use the following steps:
Under the "Recommended" section, right-click on the item and select the "Remove from List" option.
After completing these steps, the item you selected will be removed from the Start menu.
To prevent content from appearing in the "Recommended" section, use the following steps:
Click the start page on the right.
Turn off the display of recently added applications toggle switch.
After completing these steps, no more items will be displayed in the recommendation section. However, because you have disabled recently added applications and open items, the recently added applications list will no longer appear in the list of all applications, the application jump list in the taskbar, and the list of applications in the file explorer The quick access page will no longer display recently opened items.
The taskbar on Windows 11 is not as customizable as previous versions, but you can still manage various settings to adjust the appearance. You can change the alignment of items, delete system items you don't use, and manage various settings from the system tray.
To align the taskbar buttons and the start menu to the left, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Use the "Taskbar Alignment" setting and select the left option.
After completing these steps, the taskbar items (including the Start menu) will shift the alignment to the left. If you want the item to be centered, use the instructions outlined above, but in step 5, select the centered option.
To customize the system application icons that appear next to the Start menu, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Use "Taskbar Items" to set and close the items you don't want to see in the taskbar, including:
After completing these steps, the system application icons you disabled will no longer appear in the taskbar.
To determine the icon displayed in the system tray, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Use the "Taskbar corner icon" to set and close the items you don't want to see in the system tray, including:
After completing these steps, only the icons you have enabled will appear in the system tray of the taskbar.
To show or hide items in the taskbar overflow, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Use the "Taskbar corner overflow" setting and turn off application icons that you don't want to see in the system tray, such as OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, and Windows Update Status.
After completing these steps, only enabled items will appear outside of the overflow pop-up window.
To decide whether the app should display a badge counter for unseen messages, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Check or clear the Show badge (unread message counter) option on the taskbar application to enable or disable the unseen message counter.
After completing these steps, a badge counter will appear, depending on your configuration.
To automatically hide the taskbar on Windows 11, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Check the Automatically hide taskbar option.
After completing these steps, the taskbar will automatically hide when you move the mouse pointer away.
To allow the taskbar to appear on all displays, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Check the Show my taskbar on all displays option.
This option is only available when you have multiple monitors connected to the computer.
To disable or enable the option to display the desktop on Windows 11, use the following steps:
Click the taskbar page on the right.
Check or clear the far corner of the taskbar to display desktop options.
After completing these steps, the taskbar will no longer provide buttons to show or hide the desktop.
To add or remove items from the "Quick Settings" pop-up button, use the following steps:
Click the network and volume button.
Quick tip: You can also use the Windows key A keyboard shortcut to open pop-up windows.
Click the Edit Quick Set (Pen) button.
Select the item you want to add.
After completing these steps, Quick Setup will provide options in the order you like.
You can also customize the lock screen, which is the screen that swipes up every time you need to enter the Windows 11 login screen.
To use a custom image on the lock screen, use the following steps:
Click the lock screen page on the right.
Use the "Personalize your lock screen" setting and select picture options.
After completing these steps, the lock screen will display the image you selected in the settings.
To use custom slideshows on the Windows 11 lock screen, use the following steps:
Click the lock screen page on the right.
Quick note: Windows 11 adds local picture folders and picture folders in OneDrive by default. You can use these locations, or delete them to add other folders.
After completing these steps, the lock screen will rotate the pictures in the folder you selected in the settings when you start your computer.
The Windows Spotlight feature is the default experience for the lock screen, but if you are using something different or want to revert the changes, please use the following steps:
Click the lock screen page on the right.
Use the "Personalize your lock screen" setting and select the Windows Spotlight option.
After completing these steps, every time you enter the lock screen, you will see a new image from Microsoft Bing.
To view notifications from apps on the lock screen, use the following steps:
Click the lock screen page on the right.
Use the "Lock screen status" setting and select the information you want to view, such as weather, mail, or calendar.
After completing these steps, the lock screen will display notifications for the app you specified.
Windows 11 uses the same background on the lock and login screens, but if you only want to display a solid color background, you can disable this behavior.
To disable the login screen background, use the following steps:
Click the lock screen page on the right.
Turn off the display lock screen background image on the login screen toggle switch.
After completing these steps, the login screen will display a solid color background.
Although you still have many different ways to customize the look and feel of Windows 11, many changes have taken place in this version, and you can use many customization features in previous versions, and they are no longer available.
This is a list of visual and functional customization options that Microsoft removed from Windows 11.
For more useful articles, reports and frequently asked questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, please visit the following resources:
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