How to Dim Background Windows for Better Focus on Windows (2026)

FocusDim dims the windows behind the one you are using. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+D turns that dim on, and Active mode leaves the foreground window bright when the other windows are only in the way of a single document or a single browser window. Active mode is the wrong mode for a second window or for a file you are dragging, with the terminal, the notes, or the drop target dark once that window is no longer in front. App mode leaves every window from that app bright. All Windows mode dims the desktop and the taskbar, with the windows left bright under the highlight modes control.

Windows switches that leave every window bright

Windows has no switch that darkens every window except the one in front. The control people open by mistake is the notification switch, called Focus Assist on Windows 10 and listed on Windows 11 under Settings, then System, then Focus. Pressing Win+A opens Quick Settings, where that switch mutes banners and sounds, while the window behind the editor stays just as bright as the editor itself. Virtual desktops hide windows rather than dimming them. Win+Tab adds a desktop, with Win+Ctrl+Left and Win+Ctrl+Right moving between those desktops. A chat on the other desktop stays off this screen, a poor fit for a chat you still need beside the window you are typing in. Dark mode, under Settings, then Personalization, then Colors, changes the color of Windows without making a background chat any dimmer than the front window. The Clock app on Windows 11 can run a timer with Do not disturb on for that stretch. That timer still leaves every window bright, with the steps written up in the Clock app timer on Windows 11.

What stays bright in each mode

Active mode is the single bright window, and it fits a task that really does live in one window. App mode keeps every window of the foreground app bright, so an editor and a terminal from that same app stay readable together, while a click over to the browser dims the editor and lights the browser windows instead. All Windows mode dims the desktop and the taskbar, leaving every window bright, a fit for two apps you still need to see when the wallpaper or the taskbar badges are the part pulling your eyes. The strength slider runs from 10% to 90% with a default of 60%, and both the dim color and the exclusion list live in settings. An excluded app stays bright even when another app is in front. A monitor you do not want dimmed can be turned off there, with the other screens still following the mode you picked.

Drag escape during a file move

Drag escape is on by default for the moment when Active mode would hide the drop target. During a drag the dimming fades so you can see the drop target, with the dim back once the file is released and with no extra key to hold. Leave it on when you move a file from a folder into an editor or into a chat, because that destination window is exactly the window Active mode had dimmed.

The installer and the first settings

The Windows download for version 1.6.5 is the PeakFlow installer at 134 MB. If Windows shows the SmartScreen panel, choose More info, then Run anyway, and FocusDim then sits in the system tray. Ctrl+Shift+D is the default chord for turning the dim on or off, and you can replace that chord in settings when another app already uses it. The mode names in settings are Active Window, App Windows, and All Windows, with the strength slider starting at the 60% default inside the 10% to 90% range. Adding an app to the exclusion list keeps that app bright, and FocusDim can be turned off without removing the other five tools in the installer, since each tool can be switched on or off on its own.

The work timer in the same installer

The dimmer changes which window is bright, but it does not stop a clock and it does not block a site. LiquidFocus, the work timer beside it, defaults to 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break, with a 15 minute longer break after 4 work runs, and a break does not start by itself unless you turn that on. During a running work run, a helper on 127.0.0.1 tells the PeakFlow browser extension which sites to block, using a default list of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Netflix, Twitter, and X. That block lasts for the work run only, so a block that should outlast one timer is a different job, with the steps in the guide to blocking sites on Windows. Hiding the taskbar from taskbar settings, or clearing Show desktop icons from the desktop View menu, removes icons and badges without dimming a window that is still open. High contrast, from Alt plus Left Shift plus Print Screen, changes the whole display rather than one window. The Win chords above are collected in the keyboard guide, a longer desktop setup is in the guide to a desktop arranged for one long task, and HazeOver is the Mac app that dims the windows behind the front one. Readers who keep losing the window they meant to finish can follow the guide to keeping one task in front, and the Pomodoro timer guide on Windows covers the timer pattern LiquidFocus is using.

FAQ