This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off letting compatible apps in the foreground always control lighting for your account in Windows 11.
If you have Dynamic Lighting-compatible devices (such as LED-lit keyboards, mice, case lighting, or other devices), you can control them both individually or as a group through Windows Settings.
When connected, compatible devices will show up as cards along the top of the page. Select these cards to change individual device settings. Below these cards you can find global Dynamic Lighting settings, where changes affect all connected devices.
A Windows app can control HID LampArray devices when the app is in the foreground and when it's in the background (also known as ambient lighting).
You can customize your LampArray device experience (both foreground and background), letting them synchronize devices from different manufacturers, control brightness and effects across selected devices and form factors, and prioritize access to devices by ambient background apps.
Windows prioritizes dynamic lighting based on app state. By default, a foreground app is always assigned control of a LampArray device unless you specified otherwise. In cases where two or more ambient background apps are trying to control a LampArray device, the system will assign control to the app prioritized in Settings.
The Compatible apps in the foreground always control lighting Dynamic Lighting setting turns the default Dynamic Lighting app behavior On or Off. When this feature is toggled off, a background app can control devices even when a foreground app that wants control is active.
References:
Control your Dynamic Lighting devices in Windows - Microsoft Support
An explanation about how the Dynamic Lighting control feature works in Windows.
support.microsoft.com
Dynamic lighting - UWP applications
This topic describes how to control device lamp arrays using the Windows.Devices.Lights namespace.
learn.microsoft.com
Contents
- Option One: Turn On or Off Compatible Apps in Foreground Control Dynamic Lighting in Settings
- Option Two: Turn On or Off Compatible Apps in Foreground Control Dynamic Lighting using REG file
1 Open Settings (WIn+I).
2 Click/tap on Personalization on the left side, and click/tap on Dynamic Lighting on the right side. (see screenshot below)
3 Turn On (default) or Off Compatible apps in the foreground always control lighting for what you want. (see screenshot below)
4 You can now close Settings if you like.
1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you would like to do.
2 Turn On Compatible Apps in Foreground Control Dynamic Lighting
This is the default setting
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_ON_compatible_apps_in_foreground_always_control_lighting.reg
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Lighting]
"ControlledByForegroundApp"=dword:000000013 Turn Off Compatible Apps in Foreground Control Dynamic Lighting
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_OFF_compatible_apps_in_foreground_always_control_lighting.reg
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Lighting]
"ControlledByForegroundApp"=dword:000000004 Save the REG file to your desktop.
5 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.
6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
7 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
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