Can no longer change Theme UI Color in After Affects?

[drewc15557864]

Hi:

Up until the latest update (2025) for After Effects. I was able to change my Theme UI Color. This link shows a video of how you used to able to change the Theme UI Color: (Mod note: Link removed)

I contacted an Adobe Agent and he said several changes were included in this latest update of After Effects. He said to file a feature request here in hopes of getting that feature back again. The After Effects Version I am using is: 25.0.0 (Build 53) and I am running it on a PC with a Windows 11.  This may not seem like a big issue to some people but it's something I got used to as part of my workflow.  If you could bring this feature back it would greatly be appreciated!

Mod note: Please do not condone the use of internal engineering tools like Console. The link showing how to change engineering settings in the UI has been removed. The text was also modified. Thanks.

[Warren Heaton]

The October 2024 (25.0) release uses Adobe's Spectrum UI.  As far as I am aware, prior modifications to the UI are no longer available. .

[Warren Heaton]

Multi-frame render cut render time in half.  Not sure why you haven't seen similar results.  

I've also found 24.x to be the most stable release yet.  

[drewc15557864]

Well, I sure hope Adobe brings back that UI option. I guess I will have to get used to seeing that boring "default blue" again:( 

[drewc15557864]

I contacted Adobe Support yesterday 12/5/2024.  The option to change your theme color has been removed from After Effects.  The tech I talked to had no idea why they removed it.  I could have worked my way up the chain of command to try and get a real answer. However, I do not think I would get a better answer. More importantly, if and when it will be brought back (if thats even possible)? I guess for now, we are stuck with the three "Primitive" options.  

[Warren Heaton]

@drewc15557864 

As mentioned earlier in this support thread, it's due to the change to Spectrum UI across the Adobe applications.

Even thought it was not officially supported in the prior versions, it was nice to be able to change it and it would be great to see this in a future version - but we need to let the After Effects team know it's important and that requires a feature request with a good number of votes.

[magical_style1939]

I can't wait for it! Hopefully, they'll fix it in the next update.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @drewc15557864,

I upvoted your feature request. On behalf of all users, I agree that releasing this functionality would be ideal. I'd love the feature myself. Please get your colleagues, friends, and family press the upvote button in the upper left corner of the post. The same request is being made for other applications using the new Spectrum UI, like Premiere Pro. Thanks raising the issue.

Cheers,
Kevin

[drewc15557864]

Thanks Kevin:

It's nice to see my original post is getting noticed. Let's hope it gets
seen by the right people:)

[nsorce]

Can we pin this reply so that it can be at the top of the section? 

[Liz5EDC]

As a UX designer, I strongly recommend Adobe reconsider the UI design in After Effects 2025 and revert to the previous version where ALL buttons/icons featured distinct highlight colors for their pressed/active states. While the specific highlight color isn't critical, the current implementation—using a barely visible faint gray square—is problematic. It creates a frustrating user experience, as users struggle to quickly differentiate between inactive and activated features. Clear visual feedback is essential for efficient interaction, and this subtle change significantly hinders usability.