Auto, Light and Dark themes

Last Updated: 15 September 2026 Hits: 78

Panel appearance

Alamarte Admin Menu provides Auto, Light and Dark themes to adapt the panel appearance to the Joomla! administrator environment. The theme can be selected from the module configuration and, when the corresponding selector is available, from the panel itself.

Available themes

Alamarte Admin Menu provides three appearance modes:

Auto: adapts the panel appearance to the mode used by the Joomla! administrator when that information is available.
Light: keeps the panel in its light appearance.
Dark: keeps the panel in its dark appearance.

The theme affects Alamarte Admin Menu; it does not globally change the Joomla! administrator template.

Auto theme

Auto mode is intended to keep the panel visually integrated with the appearance used by the administrator.

When Joomla! provides information about the active colour mode, Alamarte Admin Menu uses it to determine whether the panel should use its light or dark appearance.

Light theme

The Light theme keeps the panel in its light appearance regardless of the mode used elsewhere in the administrator.

Use it when you prefer to keep the same light presentation at all times.

Dark theme

The Dark theme keeps the panel in its dark appearance.

Use it when the administrator is normally used in dark mode or when you want to keep that presentation fixed in Alamarte Admin Menu.

Select the theme from the configuration

Open the module configuration, locate the theme option and select Auto, Light or Dark.

Save the module and reopen Admin Menu to check the result.

Theme selector in the panel

Depending on the available configuration, Alamarte Admin Menu can display a theme selector at the top of the panel.

If the selector is hidden, the panel continues to use the theme configured in the module.

Relationship with the Joomla! appearance

Alamarte Admin Menu uses its own styles to present the panel, while maintaining a visual appearance that is consistent with the administrator.

Auto makes this integration easier; Light and Dark allow a specific appearance to be selected manually.

The theme belongs to the panel: changing Auto, Light or Dark in Alamarte Admin Menu does not globally change the Joomla! administrator template.

Follow us on: