Update ANSI color articles based on UUF notes (#12571)

sdwheeler · web-flow · commit 4b3492591502 · 2025-12-09T15:39:18.000-06:00
* Update ANSI color articles based on UUF notes

* Fix suggestion from Copilot and normalize colors
diff --git a/reference/7.4/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_ANSI_Terminals.md b/reference/7.4/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_ANSI_Terminals.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 description: Describes the features of PowerShell that use ANSI escape sequences and the terminal hosts that support them.
 Locale: en-US
-ms.date: 08/27/2024
+ms.date: 12/09/2025
 online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_ansi_terminals?view=powershell-7.4&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
 schema: 2.0.0
 title: about_ANSI_Terminals
@@ -183,8 +183,23 @@ The following members control how or when ANSI formatting is used:
   - **SymbolicLink** - Built-in member to specify color for symbolic links
   - **Executable** - Built-in member to specify color for executables.
   - **Extension** - Use this member to define colors for different file
-    extensions. The **Extension** member pre-includes extensions for archive
-    and PowerShell files.
+    extensions. The **Extension** member predefines colors for archive and
+    PowerShell file extensions.
+
+    The following example shows how to change the colors for various `FileInfo`
+    settings and specific file extensions. The colors are chosen to work well
+    on a light terminal background.
+
+    ```powershell
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Directory = $PSStyle.Background.FromRgb(0x2f6aff) +
+        $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightWhite
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.SymbolicLink = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Executable = $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightMagenta
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1xml'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psd1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psm1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    ```
 
 ## Cmdlets that generate ANSI output
 
diff --git a/reference/7.5/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_ANSI_Terminals.md b/reference/7.5/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_ANSI_Terminals.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 description: Describes the features of PowerShell that use ANSI escape sequences and the terminal hosts that support them.
 Locale: en-US
-ms.date: 08/27/2024
+ms.date: 12/09/2025
 online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_ansi_terminals?view=powershell-7.5&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
 schema: 2.0.0
 title: about_ANSI_Terminals
@@ -183,8 +183,23 @@ The following members control how or when ANSI formatting is used:
   - **SymbolicLink** - Built-in member to specify color for symbolic links
   - **Executable** - Built-in member to specify color for executables.
   - **Extension** - Use this member to define colors for different file
-    extensions. The **Extension** member pre-includes extensions for archive
-    and PowerShell files.
+    extensions. The **Extension** member predefines colors for archive and
+    PowerShell file extensions.
+
+    The following example shows how to change the colors for various `FileInfo`
+    settings and specific file extensions. The colors are chosen to work well
+    on a light terminal background.
+
+    ```powershell
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Directory = $PSStyle.Background.FromRgb(0x2f6aff) +
+        $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightWhite
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.SymbolicLink = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Executable = $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightMagenta
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1xml'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psd1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psm1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    ```
 
 ## Cmdlets that generate ANSI output
 
diff --git a/reference/7.6/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_ANSI_Terminals.md b/reference/7.6/Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_ANSI_Terminals.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 description: Describes the features of PowerShell that use ANSI escape sequences and the terminal hosts that support them.
 Locale: en-US
-ms.date: 08/27/2024
+ms.date: 12/09/2025
 online version: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_ansi_terminals?view=powershell-7.6&WT.mc_id=ps-gethelp
 schema: 2.0.0
 title: about_ANSI_Terminals
@@ -183,8 +183,23 @@ The following members control how or when ANSI formatting is used:
   - **SymbolicLink** - Built-in member to specify color for symbolic links
   - **Executable** - Built-in member to specify color for executables.
   - **Extension** - Use this member to define colors for different file
-    extensions. The **Extension** member pre-includes extensions for archive
-    and PowerShell files.
+    extensions. The **Extension** member predefines colors for archive and
+    PowerShell file extensions.
+
+    The following example shows how to change the colors for various `FileInfo`
+    settings and specific file extensions. The colors are chosen to work well
+    on a light terminal background.
+
+    ```powershell
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Directory = $PSStyle.Background.FromRgb(0x2f6aff) +
+        $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightWhite
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.SymbolicLink = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Executable = $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightMagenta
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1xml'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psd1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    $PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psm1'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+    ```
 
 ## Cmdlets that generate ANSI output
 
diff --git a/reference/docs-conceptual/learn/shell/using-light-theme.md b/reference/docs-conceptual/learn/shell/using-light-theme.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 description: >
   This article shows how to configure PSReadLine color settings for a light themed terminal.
-ms.date: 11/21/2025
+ms.date: 12/09/2025
 title: Configuring a light colored theme
 ---
 # Configuring a light colored theme
@@ -11,6 +11,14 @@ terminal. However, some users might choose to use a light background with dark t
 the default colors don't set the background, using light foreground colors on a light background
 produces unreadable text.
 
+Beginning in PowerShell 7.2, PowerShell adds colorized output to the default console experience. The
+`$PSStyle` feature is not natively available in Windows PowerShell. However, using the [PSStyle][05]
+module from the PowerShell Gallery, you can set color values using these same techniques described
+in this article.
+
+The colors used are defined in the `$PSStyle` variable and are designed for a dark background. You
+can change these colors to work better for a light background terminal.
+
 **PSReadLine** allows you to define colors for 18 different syntax elements. You can view the
 current settings using the `Get-PSReadLineOption` cmdlet.
 
@@ -96,13 +104,9 @@ $ISETheme = @{
 ```
 
 > [!NOTE]
-> In PowerShell 7.2 and higher you can use the `FromRGB()` method of `$PSStyle` to create the ANSI
-> escape sequences for the colors you want.
->
-> For more information about `$PSStyle`, see [about_ANSI_Terminals][01].
->
-> For more information about ANSI escape sequences, see the [ANSI escape code][04] article in
-> Wikipedia.
+> You can use the `FromRGB()` method to create the ANSI escape sequences for the colors you want.
+> For more information about `$PSStyle`, see [about_ANSI_Terminals][01]. For more information about
+> ANSI escape sequences, see the [ANSI escape code][04] article in Wikipedia.
 
 ## Setting the color theme in your profile
 
@@ -116,38 +120,36 @@ Add the `$ISETheme` variable and the following `Set-PSReadLineOption` command to
 Set-PSReadLineOption -Colors $ISETheme
 ```
 
-Beginning in PowerShell 7.2, PowerShell adds colorized output to the default console experience. The
-colors used are defined in the `$PSStyle` variable and are designed for a dark background. The
-following settings work better for a light background terminal.
+The following settings work better for a light background terminal.
 
 ```powershell
-$PSStyle.Formatting.FormatAccent       = "`e[32m"
-$PSStyle.Formatting.TableHeader        = "`e[32m"
-$PSStyle.Formatting.ErrorAccent        = "`e[36m"
-$PSStyle.Formatting.Error              = "`e[31m"
-$PSStyle.Formatting.Warning            = "`e[33m"
-$PSStyle.Formatting.Verbose            = "`e[33m"
-$PSStyle.Formatting.Debug              = "`e[33m"
-$PSStyle.Progress.Style                = "`e[33m"
+$PSStyle.Formatting.FormatAccent       = $PSStyle.Foreground.Green
+$PSStyle.Formatting.TableHeader        = $PSStyle.Foreground.Green
+$PSStyle.Formatting.ErrorAccent        = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+$PSStyle.Formatting.Error              = $PSStyle.Foreground.Red
+$PSStyle.Formatting.Warning            = $PSStyle.Foreground.Yellow
+$PSStyle.Formatting.Verbose            = $PSStyle.Foreground.Yellow
+$PSStyle.Formatting.Debug              = $PSStyle.Foreground.Yellow
+$PSStyle.Progress.Style                = $PSStyle.Foreground.Yellow
 $PSStyle.FileInfo.Directory            = $PSStyle.Background.FromRgb(0x2f6aff) +
                                          $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightWhite
-$PSStyle.FileInfo.SymbolicLink         = "`e[36m"
-$PSStyle.FileInfo.Executable           = "`e[95m"
-$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1']    = "`e[36m"
-$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1xml'] = "`e[36m"
-$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psd1']   = "`e[36m"
-$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psm1']   = "`e[36m"
+$PSStyle.FileInfo.SymbolicLink         = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+$PSStyle.FileInfo.Executable           = $PSStyle.Foreground.BrightMagenta
+$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1']    = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.ps1xml'] = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psd1']   = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
+$PSStyle.FileInfo.Extension['.psm1']   = $PSStyle.Foreground.Cyan
 ```
 
 ## Choosing colors for accessibility
 
 The ISE color theme might not work for users with color-blindness or other conditions that limit
 their ability to see colors.
 
-The [World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)][05] has recommendations for using colors for accessibility.
+The [World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)][06] has recommendations for using colors for accessibility.
 The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 recommends that "visual presentation of text and
 images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1." For more information, see
-[Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)][06].
+[Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)][07].
 
 The [Contrast Ratio][03] website provides a tool that lets you pick foreground and background
 colors and measure the contrast. You can use this tool to find color combinations that work best for
@@ -158,5 +160,6 @@ you.
 [02]: creating-profiles.md
 [03]: https://contrast-ratio.com/
 [04]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code
-[05]: https://www.w3.org/
-[06]: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/#contrast-minimum
+[05]: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/PSStyle
+[06]: https://www.w3.org/
+[07]: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/#contrast-minimum
