# New Feature: Change Light/Dark Theme without restarting

**URL:** <https://discourse.jabref.org/t/new-feature-change-light-dark-theme-without-restarting/3041>\
**Category:** Features\
**Tags:** ui\
**Created:** [November 15, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/new-feature-change-light-dark-theme-without-restarting/3041 "2021-11-15T13:21:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![evanhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@evanhorn](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/evanhorn)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/new-feature-change-light-dark-theme-without-restarting/3041/1 "2021-11-15T13:21:32Z")

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I use JabRef on my laptop, and my theme preference depends on my location and/or time of day. I would like to be able to switch between the themes without having to restart JabRef.

* * *

Please vote if you support this proposal:

_Poll ([view on site](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/new-feature-change-light-dark-theme-without-restarting/3041/1))_

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**Author:** ![Siedlerchr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.jabref.org/siedlerchr/32/216_2.png) [@Siedlerchr](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/Siedlerchr)\
**Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/new-feature-change-light-dark-theme-without-restarting/3041/2 "2021-11-15T15:17:52Z")

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Hi,

good news: We are working on it since a while already.  
bad news: Does not yet work reliable/not yet completed:  
See:

> <https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/pull/7336>
>
> This resolves enhancement #7335
> 
> Theme preferences can be changed without relo…ading. Supporting the enhancement is a refactoring of Theme which lays the groundwork for further enhancements #7322 and #7323.
> 
> This is a draft PR, for visibility and Continuous Integration purposes. Some code changes are outstanding:
> 
> \- \[X\] Live reload when changing between light/dark/custom
> \- \[x\] Review live reloading for web engine (Preview Viewer)
> \- \[x\] If all live reloading is fully effective, remove reload warning
> \- \[\] Rework ThemeTest now that the Theme interface has changed for web engine stylesheets
> \- \[\] Review JavaDoc and comments to explain solution
> \- \[\] Summarise solution here to assist review
> 
> Followed by standard PR tasks:
> 
> \- \[\] Change in CHANGELOG.md described (if applicable)
> \- \[\] Tests created for changes (if applicable)
> \- \[\] Manually tested changed features in running JabRef (always required)
> \- \[\] Screenshots added in PR description (for UI changes)
> \- \[\] \[Checked documentation\](https://docs.jabref.org/): Is the information available and up to date? If not created an issue at \<https://github.com/JabRef/user-documentation/issues\> or, even better, submitted a pull request to the documentation repository.