The rectangular translucent box that appears when you left-click, and drag it around items is called the Selection box. It allows you to drag, and select multiple items on the desktop or any folder. The default color or the box, and the color of the border is blue. If you ever wanted to change it, there is a way to do it. In this guide, we are sharing how you can change the translucent selection box rectangle color in Windows 11/10/8/7.
Change Translucent Selection Rectangle Box color
Just before we start, when you finally change the color, you will need an RGB color code. There is no option to enter the value as ‘Red or Blue’. To get the RGB color, you can use Settings > Personalization > Colors section and note it somewhere. If you want a different color for rectangle and its border, make sure to note two of them.
The RGB code has three values. When providing the value, make sure to leave space between them. So if you selected R(0) G(120) B(215), when finally entering the value, enter it as 0 120 215.
Read: Dotted square white border around desktop icons
Change Border Color of Translucent Selection Rectangle
Launch Registry Editor by typing Regedit in the Run prompt.
Navigate to the following key in the Registry Editor.
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors
On the right pane, double-click on the string value Hilight. The pop-up box will let you enter a new value.
Now type the new RGB numbers, and then click on OK. Make sure to leave a space between each value.
Restart your computer, and you should see the changes.
If you want to also change the inside color, follow the next set of instructions.
TIP: You can also change the Background Color of the selected or highlighted Text.
Change Inside Color of Translucent Selection Rectangle
Like in the first section, navigate to:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors
On the right pane, double-click on the HotTrackingColor string value. The pop-up box will let you enter a new value.
Now type the new RGB numbers, and then click on OK. Make sure to leave a space between each value.
Restart your computer, and you should see the changes.
There are reasons why Microsoft hasn’t allowed users to change it, and it’s mostly because if the colors are mismatched, it will create confusion.
Maybe one day, we will see a setting for this as well as other theme properties in Windows 11/10.
