Summary:  When the Windows 8 Basic theme is applied, menus do not render correctly in the XAML Designer in Visual Studio 11 Beta and in Blend for Visual Studio 11 Beta

If the Windows 8 Basic theme (the default theme for Windows Server “8″) is applied, you can’t read the following items unless you hover the pointer over them:

• The context menus and property marker menus in XAML Designer.
• The main menus, context menus, and property marker menus in Blend.

To work around this issue, change the default theme to a theme that is not Windows 8 Basic by doing one of the following:

• From the Windows 8 Start page:

1. Move your pointer to the bottom left corner of your screen to bring up the search charm.
2. Click the search charm and type “Control Panel”.
3. Click Control Panel, and under Appearance and Personalization, click Change the theme.
4. Under Change the visuals and sounds on your computer, select a theme that is not Windows 8 Basic.

• From the desktop:

1. Right-click the desktop, and then click Personalization.
2. Under Change the visuals and sounds on your computer, select a theme that is not Windows 8 Basic.