dark/night mode is essential

Nowadays a dark or night mode is a necessary feature IMO.

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Daniel shared this idea · August 09, 2017 · Flag idea as inappropriate… · Admin →

Completed ·

AdminPhilip at Outlook (Outlook Web Advocate, Outlook.com) responded · July 25, 2018

It is my greatest pleasure to share this piece of news with you: Dark Mode is here, on the new Outlook.com!

What is Dark Mode?
Dark Mode is a more-pleasant way to read your Outlook.com email if you prefer interfaces that are less bright or if you are in a low-light environment. Dark Mode is available on the new Outlook.com experience (formerly known as the Outlook.com Beta experience) only.

How do I turn it on?
To turn on Dark Mode, open the Quick Settings panel by selecting the Gear icon at the top of your screen. The option to enable Dark Mode is near the top of the panel, immediately under Theme selection. If your browser is unable to support Dark Mode, consider using Microsoft Edge.

Why is Dark Mode not a theme?
When we designed Dark Mode, we debated having it exist in Outlook.com as a theme. We quickly concluded that the way most people would expect themes to work and the way Dark Mode works were fundamentally different. Also, we imagine that there would be a dark experience for all available themes in the future, so having Dark Mode be a separate toggle would facilitate that. Plus, this is consistent with many other applications that have a dark mode.

Will Dark Mode support themes?
Dark Mode only supports the default blue theme right now.

Why does my reading pane have a dark background for email messages I receive?
One of the most crucial principles we had when designing Dark Mode was to minimize the amount of eye strain that people felt. Many email clients on the web today advertise a dark mode, but we learned from interviews with others and our own usage that having the reading pane be on-light while the rest of the interface was left on-dark often made the experience worse than if the full screen were left on-light.

For 2017’s Halloween Theme, we experimented with placing a light gray background in the reading pane. While that resulted in a decrease in eye strain, the design wasn’t ultimately one that we liked for various reasons. We iterated on this problem a couple more times before landing on the solution that you now see, where email messages that you receive are recolored in a secret way that preserves the readability of the original message and preserves the intent of the original sender.

How do I see the original formatting?
You can see any email message that you receive in the original formatting by using the “Turn on the lights” button.

Thank you so much for your patience and support. We hope you love this!

>> Philip.

Show previous admin responses (4)

Working on it ·

AdminPhilip at Outlook (Outlook Web Advocate, Outlook.com) responded · July 03, 2018

Thanks for your continual support of Outlook Web. We’ve actually been working on Dark Mode for a few months now and you can expect this in the product soon.

One reason for the delay is our insistence that we deliver the best Dark Mode of any leading email client (you’ll understand when you see it, I guarantee). The sneak preview you saw last year at Halloween was a prototype that required a lot more work to be ready for prime time. We’ve redesigned the colors and code multiple times and are proud to enter the final stretch.

Like you, we eagerly await the day this is finally available to the public. I am elated to announce that that day is very soon.

Planned ·

AdminPhilip at Outlook (Outlook Web Advocate, Outlook.com) responded · November 14, 2017

Update November 13:

Hey, this is Philip at Outlook, and I am personally responsible for some of the fun features you’ve been seeing, including the special theme around Halloween time (I personally call it “spooky mode”). I am pleased to inform that we are planning on providing dark themes in Outlook.com — in fact, thanks to your overwhelming support, my team is super excited to do it and can’t wait to turn the lights off again. There are a few loose ends that we need to tie up before making the feature available (for example, you’d want this to work when you’re in the Outlook.com Calendar too, right?)

Rest assured that we will see this done, even if we have to work in the shadows (that’s just night mode imagery, not literal). While waiting, please keep using Outlook.com, and feel free to reach out with any comments.

P.S.: I promise there is no trick, only a treat!

Under review ·

AdminPhilip at Outlook (Outlook Web Advocate, Outlook.com) responded · October 27, 2017

Update October 27:

We are still considering a dark mode for Outlook.com. However, relatedly, you can sign into Outlook.com today and see a Halloween surprise for a limited time.

We look forward to your continued support!