Change color used to highlight search matches

UserNeeds changes for IntuneL_HitHighlightingcolor

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows7 (defined in the Windows templates)

5568.1000

What it does

By default, search matches are highlighted in yellow. This setting allows you to change the color used for highlighting matches in search results.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key: software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search

Why it needs changes for Intune

Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
Background ColorDefault: Yellow	Drop-down list	`hithighlightingbackgroundcolor`	Black`0` Silver`12632256` Gray`8421504` White`16777215` Aqua`65535` Fuchsia`16711808` Lime`8453888` Yellow`16776960` Olive`8421376` Purple`8388736` Green`32768` Red`16711680` Maroon`8388608` Navy`128` Teal`32896` Blue`255`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search]
"hithighlightingbackgroundcolor"=dword:00FFFF00

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Change color used to highlight search matches
# Name: L_HitHighlightingcolor
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: outlk16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search' -Name 'hithighlightingbackgroundcolor' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 16776960

The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_outlk16/L_HitHighlightingcolor

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_outlk16/L_HitHighlightingcolor</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="L_BackgroundColorcolon" value="16776960"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>

Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Change color used to highlight search matches
# Name: L_HitHighlightingcolor
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: outlk16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search' -Name 'hithighlightingbackgroundcolor' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 16776960
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search\hithighlightingbackgroundcolor') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Change color used to highlight search matches
# Name: L_HitHighlightingcolor
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: outlk16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search' -Name 'hithighlightingbackgroundcolor' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 16776960

History 1 retained release

5568.100010 Aug 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name: L_HitHighlightingcolor
Namespace: outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows
Template file: outlk16.admx
Release: Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set 8be05d876aae137d…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.L_HitHighlightingcolor)" explainText="$(string.L_HitHighlightingcolorExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search" name="L_HitHighlightingcolor" presentation="$(presentation.L_HitHighlightingcolor)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_SearchOptions" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="L_BackgroundColorcolon" valueName="hithighlightingbackgroundcolor">
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Black)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="000000" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Silver)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="12632256" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Gray)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="8421504" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_White)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="16777215" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Aqua)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="65535" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Fuchsia)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="16711808" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Lime)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="8453888" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Yellow)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="16776960" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Olive)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="8421376" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Purple)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="8388736" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Green)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="32768" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Red)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="16711680" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Maroon)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="8388608" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Navy)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="128" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Teal)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="32896" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Blue)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="255" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="L_HitHighlightingcolor" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="7" noSort="true" refId="L_BackgroundColorcolon">Background Color:</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_OutlookOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_OutlookOptions)" name="L_OutlookOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" />
    </category>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Preferences
<category displayName="$(string.L_Preferences)" name="L_Preferences" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_OutlookOptions" />
    </category>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_SearchOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_SearchOptions)" name="L_SearchOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Preferences" />
    </category>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook">Microsoft Outlook 2016</string></strings>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_OutlookOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_OutlookOptions)" name="L_OutlookOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_OutlookOptions">Outlook Options</string></strings>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Preferences
<category displayName="$(string.L_Preferences)" name="L_Preferences" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_OutlookOptions" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Preferences">Preferences</string></strings>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_SearchOptions
<category displayName="$(string.L_SearchOptions)" name="L_SearchOptions" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Preferences" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_SearchOptions">Search Options</string></strings>