How to Prevent or Allow Users from Changing Color and Appearance in Windows 10?

How can I stop or prevent users from changing accent color in Windows 10? Is there a way to disable the accent color of the Start Menu and taskbar on Windows 10? If you are searching for these questions answers, then you have come to the right webpage.

Microsoft has provided a lot of control to users on Windows 10. Users can change the Windows appearance and colors associated with their accounts. They can choose an accent color, turn on or off transparency effects, show accent color on Title bars, and many more. But there are no settings available to prevent users from changing color and appearance. If you share your computer or laptop with others and don’t want to change your system’s appearance of colors, it is possible using two methods. These are the following:-

  1. Using Local Group Policy Editor
  2. Via Registry Editor

How to Prevent Users Changing Color and Appearance in Windows 10 Using Local Group Policy Editor?

Please note that Local Group Policy Editor is not a part of Windows 10 Home edition; either enable gpedit.msc on your PC or use the Registry hacking method.

To stop users from changing color and appearance in Windows 10 using Group Policy, perform the following steps:-

Step 1. Click on the Start button and type gpedit.

Step 2. In the available search results, click on the Edit group policy.

After completing the above steps, the Local Group Policy Editor window will open.

Step 3. In the Local Group Policy Editor windows, navigate or browse for the following path:-

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

Step 4. On the right side pane of the Personalization, look for the policy name “Prevent changing color and appearance.”

Step 5. Double-click on the policy “Prevent changing color and appearance” to change its settings.

Step 6. Select the Enabled option.

Step 7. Click Apply.

Step 8. Click OK.

Once you complete the above steps, when someone tries to access the Colors option through Settings >> Personalization, they will see a message “Some of the settings are hidden or managed by your organization.”

How to Permit Users to Change Color and Appearance in Windows 10 using Local Group Policy Editor?

Once you change your mind and want to give access to users to change Color and Appearance in Windows 10, do the following steps:-

Step 1. Click on the Start button and type gpedit.

Step 2. In the available search results, click on the Edit group policy.

After completing the above steps, the Local Group Policy Editor window will open.

Step 3. In the Local Group Policy Editor windows, navigate or browse for the following path:-

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

Step 4. On the right side pane of the Personalization, look for the policy name “Prevent changing color and appearance.”

Step 5. Double-click on the policy “Prevent changing color and appearance” to change its settings.

Step 6. Select the Not Configured option.

Step 7. Click Apply.

Step 8. Click OK.

After executing the above steps, all user accounts on your PC will have access to the Colors option. That means all user accounts of your computer can change the color and appearance.

How to Stop Users from Changing Color and Appearance in Windows 10 Using Registry Editor?

Registry Editor is another method to disallow user accounts on your Windows 10 PC from changing color and appearance. Execute the following recommended methods:-

Step 1. Click on the Search button and type regedit.

Step 2. In the available search results, click on the Registry Editor to open it.

If the User Account Control dialog appears, click the Yes button to continue.

Step 3. In the Registry Editor window that opens, navigate to the following registry key:-

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

Step 4. Right-click on the Policies key, select New, and then Key.

Step 5. Rename the newly-created key as System.

Step 6. Now, right-click on the System key, select New, and then DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 7. On the right side pane of the System key, rename the newly created DWORD value as NoDispAppearancePage.

Step 8. Double-click on the NoDispAppearancePage on the right side pane and set its Value data to 1.

Step 9. Click OK.

Step 10. Reboot your computer to apply the changes.

After accomplishing the above steps, when someone tries to access the Colors option through Settings > Personalization, they will see the message “Some of the settings are hidden or managed by your organization.”

How to Permit Users from Changing Color and Appearance in Windows 10 using Registry Editor?

If you change your mind anytime and want to allow access to change color and appearance in Windows 10, perform the following registry editor steps:-

Step 1. Click on the Search button and type regedit.

Step 2. In the available search results, click on the Registry Editor to open it.

If the User Account Control dialog appears, click the Yes button to continue.

Step 3. In the Registry Editor window that opens, navigate to the following registry key:-

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Step 4. On the right side pane of the System key, right-click on NoDispAppearancePage and select the Delete option.

After achieving the above steps, all user accounts on your PC will have access to the Colors option. That means all user accounts of your computer can change the color and appearance of your Windows 10 machine.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Windows 10 offers a great deal of customization options to its users, including the ability to change accent colors and the appearance of the Start Menu and taskbar. However, if you share your computer or laptop with others and want to prevent them from changing these settings, you can use either the Local Group Policy Editor or the Registry Editor. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily disable or enable the ability to change color and appearance settings on your Windows 10 machine. Keep in mind that if you change your mind later and want to permit access to these settings, you can easily do so by following the steps in this guide as well.

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