In the past few years, dark mode has been widely adopted by computer users because of its numerous advantages. It prevents vision fatigue by reducing the emitted blue rays. It is also good when you’re in a dark room because the light mode can affect your vision in darker environments. 

To keep all of these factors in mind, Windows updated versions come up with built-in dark mode features that help you to enable it when needed. Apart from that, some users like to work with dark screens.

In Windows 10 and 11, Notepad is the widely used editor because of its simple user interface. Write from simple text to complex code; all can be written in the notepad. When changing the dark mode on the Windows screen and app, Notepad dark mode will also be enabled. Remember that this change may not be applicable to some of the applications. 

No worries, if you’re using Windows 10 or 11, this guide will show how to enable dark mode on both of them separately. 

How to Enable Dark Mode in Notepad on Windows 10 

If you’re running Windows 10 in your system, then this section is for you. We have two ways to enable dark mode in Notepad; let’s check:

  1. Through Ease of Access Settings
  2. Through a Third-party app

In Windows 10 and 11, the method is the same to enable the dark mode on the Notepad editor using the third-party app. So, we have mentioned this below; scroll down to get that. 

1. Enable Dark Mode in Notepad Using Ease of Access Settings

The simplest way to set the dark mode on Windows 10 is through the Settings app. In Settings, you will get into the Ease of Access and then change the contrast settings. 

Windows 10 is designed specifically for those users who have some vision problems. Enabling the high contrast darkens the entire theme of Windows to black except for the text color. The Notepad Editor will be updated to dark mode when the theme changes to black. 

Let’s start the process to learn how this could be possible. 

Step 1: Open the Settings app using the start menu or shortcut keys Windows + I:

Step 2: In the Settings app, move to the Ease of Access from the available choices and click it:

Step 3: Select the High Contrast from the Left Panel in the Ease of Access section:

Step 4: At the top of the screen, you will see a toggle in the Use High Contrast option, enable it:

Step 5: The Windows starts loading and updates its mode to Dark after a few minutes. Now launch the Notepad using the Start menu and see if the changes have been applied to Notepad or not:

How to Enable Dark Mode in Notepad on Windows 11

Just Like Windows 10, Windows 11 also allows its users to customize the screen and app themes. If you’re a Windows 11 user, which is the latest release of Windows, and want to enable the dark mode in Notepad, you can use any of the methods mentioned below.

  1. Through Settings App
  2. Through Notepad Settings
  3. Through Third-party app

1. Enable Dark Mode in Notepad using Settings App

Through the Settings app, you would be able to switch the entire system from light mode to dark mode, including applications. The process is very simple and straightforward; you just follow the steps:

Step 1: Get into the Settings app by pressing the shortcut keys Windows + I or using the Start menu and click on the Settings gear icon: 

Step 2: There, move to the Personalization tab displayed on the left panel and hit it:

Step 3:  In the Personalization screen, navigate towards the Colors section and select it:

Step 4: Navigate to the Choose your mode in the displayed window and expend the dropdown icon:

Step 5: Select the Dark option from the dropdown list:

This will switch the whole system to dark mode, including apps:

Step 6: Now open the Notepad editor and check if it’s converted to the dark mode or not; open it using the Windows Search bar and type Notepad in it; when you get it, click on it: 

As you can see, dark mode is enabled in Notepad as well:

2. Enable Dark Mode in Notepad using Notepad Settings

You may be unable to set dark mode on Notepad via the Settings app due to some configuration issues. No worries, you can directly get into the Notepad settings and enable the dark mode. 

Step 1: Launch the Notepad editor using the search menu and select it:

Step 2: In the Notepad window, move to the gear icon located at the top right corner; this is the Notepad Settings icon; click it:

Step 3: Move to the App theme option in the notepad settings window and click its dropdown:

Step 4: There, select the Dark option from the appeared menu:

And the final screen will look like this once you select the Dark option:

3. Enable Dark Mode in Notepad on Windows 10/11 using Third-party App

If you don’t want to change the default Notepad contrast mode, there’s an alternative option to download a third-party app via the Windows Microsoft Store. 

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Store through the taskbar and type dark notepad in the search bar:

Step 2: You will get a list of relevant apps, as mentioned in the above screenshot; choose Dark Notepad, as its features are similar to Windows Notepad:

Step 3: Click the Get button to let the downloading start on Windows 10/11:

And it will start downloading the Black Notepad tool on Windows 10/11:

Step 4: Click on the Open button to redirect towards the editor’s page:

Here’s the screen of Black Notepad Editor:

Conclusion

To reduce eye strain and prevent vision health, dark mode has become quite popular among daily PC users. Enabling the dark mode is beneficial if you’re working in a dark workspace or when there’s no light in the room. When enabling the dark mode in the Windows system, changes will be applied to the Notepad editor as well. Keep in mind that dark mode might not apply to some Windows applications. 

This guide has mentioned all the possible methods to enable dark mode on the Notepad editor in Windows 10/11. You can do it either using Settings or a third-party app. Windows 11 has a pre-built feature to enable dark mode directly from Notepad Settings. All of the methods are mentioned in a step-by-step procedure; no matter if you’re using Windows 10 or 11, the guide is here for both versions.