PitchDark

Latest News | Upcoming Changes | About | Download | Donate | Awards/Recognition | Changelog

Latest News

PitchDark for FX 4.0.5 is complete and submitted to Mozilla Addons.

PitchDark for TB 4.0.1 is complete and submitted to Mozilla addons.

Keep the feedback, suggestions, bug reports, and extension request coming – Feel free to leave a comment on the page or contact me.

Upcoming Changes (Reported Bugs)

Firefox/Browser

Modified icon set
Additional application compatibility:
- Flock
- K-Meleon
- Chrome
Addon fixes:
- MR Tech Toolkit(error console)

Thunderbird/Email

Addon fixes:
- Thundernote
- Xnote compatibility font color
- MR Tech Toolkit (options menu and error console) colors

About

PitchDark is a dark theme set for Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird aimed at users who prefer the negative color scheme (light text on dark background). While it is a dark theme it is designed with visibility, usability, and maximum screen real estate in mind. My inspiration was the Phoenity Dark themes (by Lim Chee Aun and Tom Wilson), which are currently outdated.

PitchDark project

Design Considerations

PitchDark is meant to maintain the light text on dark background look, but instead uses dark harmonious natural tones, with black as accents. I like grays and blacks, but most dark themes take it to an extreme. The “birch” colored dark brown was chosen specifically to avoid blending in or detracting from fresh website designs that use black and gray for webpage backgrounds.

To reduce the amount of image work required, I’ve moved to the standard icon sets for Firefox and Thunderbird. Future versions may make use of the Tango icon set or have custom icons.

Download

The lastest builds and previous versions can be found at the Mozilla Addons site:

PitchDark for Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1529
PitchDark for Thunderbird: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2106

Donate

I’m a proponent of free software, but members of the community sometimes ask for a way to show their support. If you happen to be in a giving mood, please consider donating (securely) to me via paypal. Thanks!

Awards and Recognition

Chosen from a select group of Firefox add-ons to be included in the new Collections from Mozilla
Editors have selected PitchDark for Fx to be listed on CNET Download.com
PitchDark for Fx received “100% CLEAN” award on DownloadRoute.com
PitchDark for Fx has been listed on Softpedia’s database of MS Windows software programs and been granted the “100% Clean” award
PitchDark for Tb 2.0.2 has been tested by the Softpedia labs and found to be completely clean of adware/spyware components
Mashable.com named PitchDark for Fx one of the The Top 20 Firefox 3.0 Compatible Themes Worth Upgrading For
MakeUseOf.com named PitchDark for TB one of the 10 Best Mozilla Thunderbird Themes
Granted the “Famous Software Award” by Download.FamousWhy.com.

Changelog

Firefox

Version 4.0.5

fix for colors on sync manager
fix for colors on about:cache
fix for colors on about:memory
fix for colors on about:permissions
added new style inspector theming
bugfix for “door hangers” (remember password, location, install, etc.)
bugfix for tabgroup text labels overlapping

Version 4.0.4

Fix for icons on about:Add-ons page (extensions, appearance, plugins, language)
Updated compatibility with Firefox 10

Version 4.0.3

Minor color fix for new blank tabs

Version 4.0.2

Exclude app content from Aero Glass effects (i.e. fix plugin washout problems)
Minor update to color definition in browser.css that was causing a warning

Version 4.0.1

Added compatibility for Firefox 6.*
Small visual improvements to downloads window

Version 4.0.0

Full theme update for compatibility with FX 4.0+
Added custom styling to fix bug where caption buttons appear black in maximized mode on Windows
Small image enhancements

Version 3.6.3

Fix for font colors on download window
Fix autocomplete url color on awesome bar

Version 3.6.2

Fixed extension specific theming
Adjusted menu color when browser is inactive
Fixed button colors
Removed border definitions that created warnings

Version 3.6.1

Change Chrome registration (rdf to chrome.manifest)
Fix for RSS button in address bar
Moved extensions chrome up to xpi_skins folder

Version 3.6.0

Firefox 3.6 compatibility
Fix for new tab button and scrollbar-button arrows
Color fix on Untrusted Connection page (AboutCertError)
Improved hover color for active menubar menu items
Fix for toolbarbutton border color – hover/click (pop vs. punch)
Slightly lightened up the inactive tabs color
Updated options icons
Enabled rating view in extensions window
Fix for image shift on unified key (Large back/forward) button
Fix for groupbox titles
Addon fixes
- Facebook Toolbar
- Google Toolbar (v6)
- Live Http Headers
- ReminderFox
- Update Notifier
Addon Tests (no code added, but verified compatibility)
- Feed Sidebar
- FootieFox
- Fox Clocks
- OpenBook
- Speed Dial
- WizzRSS (being retired anyway)

Version 3.5.0

Firefox 3.5 compatibility

Version 3.0.4

Fix for larger height menu items introduced in last version (now condensed again)
KwiClick compatibility

Version 3.0.3

Firefox 3.1 compatibility
aboutCertError, aboutPrivacyBrowsing, aboutSessionRestore
Color fix on “about:robots” page
Color fix on combined back/forward button
Lightened throbber color
Fix for Large back/forward button (image shift)
Sidebar text color
Sidebar close button color
Searchbar engine button fix (too rounded)
Tab bar/tab contrast adjustment
Tab icon / loading icon image change
White areas in the configuration dialogs/richlistboxs
Dropdown arrows on the navigation bar seem very small
Dropdown padding fix (main bar and bookmarks)
Changed inactive tab/textbox color to gray instead of white
Enforced 16×16 favicon for bookmarks
Changes for All in One Sidebar
DOM Inspector fixes
GoogleToolbar fixes

Version 3.0.2

Code sync and graphic update with the RC1 release
Removed unused graphics

Version 3.0.1

Fix for toolbar colors in Linux/OS X

Version 3.0.0

Complete recode from Firefox 3.0 classic theme.
Customize toolbar fix
Graphics inherited from classic theme
notification/progress bar fix
tab improvements
import screen fix
proper handling for DOM inspector
netError styling

Version 2.0.2

Code sync (communicator, global, mozapps folders) with PitchDark for TB
improved tab handling

Version 2.0.0

Compatibility fix for Firefox 2.0
Options Menu changes
Addons Menu changes
Tab bar changes

Version 1.5.6

fixed annoying pixel jump in toolbarbuttons (caused by disabled buttons having borders)
Console spacing changes

Version 1.5.5

HelpfileLayout.css added
NetError.css added
synchronized code to latest classic.jar
end of lines changed to just line feeds
all images re-exported to decrease theme size
small visibility changes

Version 1.5.4 – DROPPED

decreased tabbox size
modified splitter borders
separator size/color changes
added netError.css
small visibility changes

Version 1.5.3

extension compatibility – mininova menu, forecastfox, wellrounded, search bar style extensions
download manager visibility issues
menulist and searchbar fixes
help toolbar fixed
chevron color change
tab loading throbber color change

Version 1.5.2

numerous changes for compatibility with extensions
improves menulist borders
fixes searchbox for OSX users

Version 1.5.1

improves visibility for fonts and icons and fixes glitches with menulists

Version 1.5.0

PitchDark has been approved!
Update for Firefox 1.5
minor visibility improvements

Version 1.0

Original port from Phoenity Dark for Phoenix/Firebird(Pre-Firefox 0.7)

Thunderbird

Version 4.0.2

Bugfix for smileys
Fix for icons on about:Add-ons page (extensions, appearance, plugins, language)
Fix for button appearance on headers

Version 4.0.1

Bug fix for attachment list color

Version 4.0.0

Full theme update for compatibility with TB 5.0+ and Lightning 1.0+

Version 3.1.1

Fix for find button styling and toolbar (Ctrl-F)/colors on quick filter bar
Fix for Manage Identities and Config buttons being hidden in the account settings
Minor visual changes

Version 3.1.0

Updates for full compatibility with TB 3.1 and Lightning 1.0b2 (including tabbar icons)
Change Chrome registration (rdf to chrome.manifest)
Moved extensions chrome up to xpi_skins folder
Additional minor color adjustments
Image optimization to improve theme size