Google Workspace Dark Mode - How to Enable Dark Theme on Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets

Google Workspace Dark Mode

The Dark Mode theme is ideal for working in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets at night. It’s debatable whether it genuinely saves battery life, but what isn’t true is that it results in less strain on your eyes.

Dark Mode has grown in popularity in recent years, with practically every central platform and app including it as a built-in option. This includes Google Workspace, which was previously known as Google Suite.

Does Google Docs have a Dark Mode? Google Docs uses the light theme by default. If you prefer Dark Mode, there are various simple ways to enable it in Google Workspace on mobile and desktop devices.

We have shared procedures of enabling Dark Mode in Google Docs, you can use the same in steps for Google Sheets and Google Slides. Google Docs doesn’t have a built-in Dark Mode on a computer, but it does on smartphones. If you use Google Chrome browser on the desktop, you can still use the browser in Dark Mode by using a Chrome flag, as it is an experimental feature of Chrome.

Why Use Dark Mode?

There are various advantages to adopting Google Docs Night Mode over light mode. Some of the benefits of adopting Google Workspace in a black background are as follows:

Blue-light Reduction

Using Google Sheets Dark Mode can limit your exposure to blue light, which is found in the white light of a light-colored theme.

Blue light has been linked to vision loss, wet eyes, cataracts, and eye fatigue.

Many smartphones include an installed blue light filter. You can enable this by navigating your device’s display or accessibility settings.

Improved Battery Life

According to tests, utilizing Dark Mode on your gadgets might increase battery life by roughly 30%. This means you won’t have to recharge your device as frequently, which extends your battery life.

The Dark Mode works better on AMOLED panels since black pixels indicate that a portion of the display switches off altogether, which can significantly increase battery life.

Reduces Glare

Because of the contrast between the surroundings and the screen, the Light Mode in a darker environment can have that dazzling glare that can irritate the eyes. Using Dark Mode can ease the glare since a darker screen eliminates harsh white, blinding lights and replaces them with darker colors.

Let’s learn how to make Google Docs Dark Mode.

How to Enable Dark Theme for Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets on Android and iOS

Why Use Dark Mode?

You can enable Google Docs Dark Mode for mobile devices in two ways. The first way essentially allows the Dark Mode to be enabled system-wide, but the second option enables the Dark Theme within the Google Workspace.

System-Wide Dark Mode

The system-wide Dark Theme turns off the Light Mode in all of your applications. This implies that all apps, whether on Android or iOS, will work seamlessly with the Dark Mode.

Because Android has significant system fragmentation, each phone is unique. However, the following guide basically applies to the majority of Android smartphones:

  1. Navigate to Settings and select the Display tab. There should be a toggle option for Dark Theme or Dark Mode there.
  2. Simply turning the option on will activate the Google Drive Dark Mode on your smartphone.

On the iPhone:

  1. Navigate to Display and Brightness in the Settings menu.
  2. Click on the Dark bubble to enable the Dark Mode.

iOS also lets you set a timetable for Night Mode and can transition between light and Dark Themes based on the time periods you choose.

In-App Google Sheets Dark Mode

Here’s how to enable Google Sheets Dark Mode on mobile:

Step 1: To access the sidebar, click on the three diagonal lines at the upper left of the screen. Click Settings in the sidebar. It’ll bring you to the configuration page.

Step 2: On the settings page, go to the Theme section and click on Choose Theme.

Step 3: To change your theme, click Dark. When you click on it, the colors should change, then Google Sheets will appear in a Dark Mode.

You may need to view how a page displays with the light theme if you use the Dark Theme.

You might view the document to see how the light theme will look without altering the color in the settings.

  • Alternatively, click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Select View in light theme. The page will then be displayed in a light theme.
  • Repeat the previous steps to return to the Dark Mode and select View in Dark Theme.

All Google Docs documents from now on will open in Dark Mode. You can use the same procedure to activate the Dark Theme on Google Sheets and Google Slides. You can, however, view documents in a light theme if you prefer.

It is important to note that the light theme will only be applied to a document if the application is currently using the Dark Mode or if the system default theme is set to the Dark Theme.

View in Light Theme Option in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

View in Light Theme Option in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

The white background may provide the optimum view of a specific diagram or flowchart. Although turning off the Dark Theme is possible, doing so will force the entire app to use the white theme.

So Google added a handy feature that allows you to disable the Dark Mode only for that specific document, slide, or spreadsheet while the rest of the app remains in the Google Drive Dark Mode. View in Light Theme is the name of this function, and the methods to enable it are identical for all three applications.

Enable View in Light Theme in Docs, Sheets, and Slides

How to change theme colors in Google Slides? Follow these steps to enable the View in Light Theme feature:

  1. Open the document for which you want to enable the feature.
  2. Once opened, click the hamburger menu in the upper right corner.
  3. Choose the View in Light Theme option, and you’re done. The Light Mode will be applied to the selected document, sheet, or slide.
  4. When you’re finished, press on the overflow menu again, and this time, you will see the View in Dark Theme option; click on it.

Enable Dark Mode in Google Docs on Google Chrome

Enable Dark Mode in Google Docs on Google Chrome

Google Chrome for desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux) supports the Dark Theme in Google Docs (but remember: this method applies Dark Mode across all websites).

  1. Select the Force Dark Mode checkbox.
  2. Open the Google Chrome browser and write the following into the address bar: chrome:/flags/#enable-force-dark
  3. Enable the Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents option from the drop-down menu. Google Docs Dark Mode is enabled.
  4. Once finished, click the Relaunch button to let the changes take effect.

If you wish to turn off Dark Mode, look for the same flag and choose Disabled in the drop-down menu.

Enable Dark Mode in Google Docs on Microsoft Edge

Google Chrome isn’t the only browser that lets you forcefully enable a Dark Mode; most Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, support the Dark Mode flag. Rather than expecting all websites to enable Dark Mode, this flag forces Dark Mode on all web pages. Due to the forced solution, the result will be inferior to that of websites that offer Dark Themes on their own.

  1. Enter edge:/flags into the address bar of Microsoft Edge and press Enter. In the top search bar, type “Dark Mode.”
  2. Select “Enabled” from the available drop-down menu next to “Auto Dark Mode for Web Content.”
  3.  A popup will come up at the bottom; click “Restart.”

Microsoft Edge will force every website to appear in Dark Mode if it can. Keep in mind that not every website is designed to be shown in Dark Mode; thus, certain content may not be displayed correctly.

Turn on the Dark Mode Browser Extension

Turn on the Dark Mode Browser Extension

Chrome

If you use Google Chrome as your primary browser, enabling the Dark Mode for Google Docs couldn’t be simpler.

You need to install the Google Dark Mode extension.

Edge

If you use Edge, however, you can install the specific Edge Google Docs Dark Mode extension and achieve the desired result.

Firefox

Installing the Darkdocs extension in Firefox and other browsers will make all Google Docs interfaces dark.

Regardless of the browser you use, all you need to do is add the extension to your device and enjoy working in the Dark Mode on just about any online document, even Google Docs.

What Should I Do If Google Docs Dark Theme Doesn’t Work?

Because there isn’t a built-in option to activate Dark Mode on Google Workspace on PC yet, so you may encounter errors. And it also depends on the method you choose.

Flags are transient features that frequently cause problems. Similarly, extensions are prone to issues. To resolve the issue, re-enable the flag or reinstall the extension being used to enable Dark Mode in Google docs on PC.

However, using a browser that offers the Dark Mode feature is recommended to reduce the possibility of encountering errors. The best browsers for using Google Docs in Dark Mode are Google Chrome and Opera.

As this post demonstrates, you can quickly activate Dark Theme on Google Docs in Windows 10 and 11 to improve your Google Workspace experience. Furthermore, enabling the Dark Mode is beneficial because it helps save battery life.

Search for “Dark Mode” in the search box typically located at the top.

Select “Enabled” beside Force Dark Mode for Web Contents from the drop-down option.

Chrome will request you to restart your browser in order for the changes to take effect. Check that there is no unsaved data in the browser, then click “Relaunch.”

When you launch the Google Docs website, you’ll find that the page color has changed to black, and the text color has changed to white.

Closing Words

We hope that you’ll now easily be able to switch to Google Docs Dark Theme on all devices. We have shared all possible methods of enabling Dark Theme on Google Workspace; if we have skipped any method, please share it with your Reviewsed family in the comments below.

Do you have any tech-related questions? Please ask the team Reviewsed in the comments. Also, read How to Change Google Chrome Into Dark Mode.

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Sarah is a writer by profession and passion. She is a real tech-savvy who loves everything tech! Talk about the latest tech releases, latest news from the tech world, on-trend tech gadgets, or simple tech hacks – Sarah knows it all! Being a movie enthusiast, she always has a close eye on the latest releases. Her insights about how well the movie will do on the box offices are surprisingly always correct! We call her the “Encyclopaedia of Movies”.