diff --git a/pubs/color.py b/pubs/color.py
index 2319e6a..ef22452 100644
--- a/pubs/color.py
+++ b/pubs/color.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ def generate_colors(stream, color=True, bold=True, italic=True):
     colors[u'bold']   = u''
     colors[u'italic'] = u''
     colors[u'end']    = u''
+    colors[u'']       = u''
 
     if (color or bold or italic) and _color_supported(stream):
         bold_flag, italic_flag = '', ''
@@ -36,6 +37,8 @@ def generate_colors(stream, color=True, bold=True, italic=True):
         if italic:
             colors['italic'] = u'\033[3m'
             italic_flag = '3;'
+        if bold and italic:
+            colors['bolditalic'] = u'\033[1;3m'
 
         for i, name in enumerate(COLOR_LIST):
             if color:
@@ -69,10 +72,17 @@ def dye_err(s, color='end'):
 def _nodye(s, *args, **kwargs):
     return s
 
-def setup(color=False, bold=False, italic=False):
+def setup(conf):
     global COLORS_OUT, COLORS_ERR
-    COLORS_OUT = generate_colors(sys.stdout, color=color, bold=bold, italic=italic)
-    COLORS_ERR = generate_colors(sys.stderr, color=color, bold=bold, italic=italic)
+    COLORS_OUT = generate_colors(sys.stdout, color=conf['formating']['color'],
+                                             bold=conf['formating']['bold'],
+                                             italic=conf['formating']['italics'])
+    COLORS_ERR = generate_colors(sys.stderr, color=conf['formating']['color'],
+                                             bold=conf['formating']['bold'],
+                                             italic=conf['formating']['italics'])
+    for key, value in conf['theme'].items():
+        COLORS_OUT[key] = COLORS_OUT.get(value, '')
+        COLORS_ERR[key] = COLORS_ERR.get(value, '')
 
 # undye
 undye_re = re.compile('\x1b\[[;\d]*[A-Za-z]')
@@ -80,10 +90,3 @@ undye_re = re.compile('\x1b\[[;\d]*[A-Za-z]')
 def undye(s):
     """Purge string s of color"""
     return undye_re.sub('', s)
-
-# colors
-ok       = 'green'
-error    = 'red'
-citekey  = 'purple'
-filepath = 'bold'
-tag      = 'cyan'
diff --git a/pubs/commands/attach_cmd.py b/pubs/commands/attach_cmd.py
index 41bcdea..99bd10b 100644
--- a/pubs/commands/attach_cmd.py
+++ b/pubs/commands/attach_cmd.py
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ def command(conf, args):
             if args.move:
                 content.remove_file(document)
             # else:
-            #     if ui.input_yn('{} has been copied into pubs; should the original be removed?'.format(color.dye_out(document, 'bold'))):
+            #     if ui.input_yn('{} has been copied into pubs; should the original be removed?'.format(color.dye_out(document, 'filepath'))):
             #         content.remove_file(document)
 
-        ui.message('{} attached to {}'.format(color.dye_out(document, 'bold'), color.dye_out(paper.citekey, color.citekey)))
+        ui.message('{} attached to {}'.format(color.dye_out(document, 'filepath'), color.dye_out(paper.citekey, 'citekey')))
 
     except ValueError as v:
         ui.error(v.message)
diff --git a/pubs/commands/import_cmd.py b/pubs/commands/import_cmd.py
index 30d200e..ceda2bd 100644
--- a/pubs/commands/import_cmd.py
+++ b/pubs/commands/import_cmd.py
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ def command(conf, args):
                 ui.error('could not load entry for citekey {}.'.format(k))
             else:
                 rp.push_paper(p)
-                ui.message('{} imported'.format(color.dye_out(p.citekey, color.citekey)))
+                ui.message('{} imported'.format(color.dye_out(p.citekey, 'citekey')))
                 docfile = bibstruct.extract_docfile(p.bibdata)
                 if docfile is None:
                     ui.warning("no file for {}.".format(p.citekey))
diff --git a/pubs/commands/init_cmd.py b/pubs/commands/init_cmd.py
index 6329e0e..048e713 100644
--- a/pubs/commands/init_cmd.py
+++ b/pubs/commands/init_cmd.py
@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ def command(conf, args):
 
     if check_directory(pubsdir, fail=False) and len(os.listdir(pubsdir)) > 0:
         ui.error('directory {} is not empty.'.format(
-            color.dye_err(pubsdir, color.filepath)))
+            color.dye_err(pubsdir, 'filepath')))
         ui.exit()
 
-    ui.message('Initializing pubs in {}'.format(color.dye_out(pubsdir, color.filepath)))
+    ui.message('Initializing pubs in {}'.format(color.dye_out(pubsdir, 'filepath')))
 
     conf['main']['pubsdir'] = pubsdir
     conf['main']['docsdir'] = docsdir
diff --git a/pubs/commands/open_cmd.py b/pubs/commands/open_cmd.py
index fa4cec0..226d236 100644
--- a/pubs/commands/open_cmd.py
+++ b/pubs/commands/open_cmd.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def command(conf, args):
 
     if paper.docpath is None:
         ui.error('No document associated with the entry {}.'.format(
-                 color.dye_err(citekey, color.citekey)))
+                 color.dye_err(citekey, 'citekey')))
         ui.exit()
 
     try:
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def command(conf, args):
         cmd = with_command.split()
         cmd.append(docpath)
         subprocess.Popen(cmd)
-        ui.message('{} opened.'.format(color.dye(docpath, color.filepath)))
+        ui.message('{} opened.'.format(color.dye(docpath, 'filepath')))
     except OSError:
         ui.error("Command does not exist: %s." % with_command)
         ui.exit(127)
diff --git a/pubs/commands/remove_cmd.py b/pubs/commands/remove_cmd.py
index 47e20d8..ec39f48 100644
--- a/pubs/commands/remove_cmd.py
+++ b/pubs/commands/remove_cmd.py
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@ def command(conf, args):
     if force is None:
         are_you_sure = (("Are you sure you want to delete paper(s) [{}]"
             " (this will also delete associated documents)?")
-            .format(', '.join([color.dye_out(c, color.citekey) for c in args.citekeys])))
+            .format(', '.join([color.dye_out(c, 'citekey') for c in args.citekeys])))
         sure = ui.input_yn(question=are_you_sure, default='n')
     if force or sure:
         for c in args.citekeys:
             rp.remove_paper(c)
-            ui.message('The paper(s) [{}] were removed'.format(', '.join([color.dye_out(c, color.citekey) for c in args.citekeys])))
+            ui.message('The paper(s) [{}] were removed'.format(', '.join([color.dye_out(c, 'citekey') for c in args.citekeys])))
             # FIXME: print should check that removal proceeded well.
     else:
-        ui.message('The paper(s) [{}] were *not* removed'.format(', '.join([color.dye_out(c, color.citekey) for c in args.citekeys])))
+        ui.message('The paper(s) [{}] were *not* removed'.format(', '.join([color.dye_out(c, 'citekey') for c in args.citekeys])))
diff --git a/pubs/commands/tag_cmd.py b/pubs/commands/tag_cmd.py
index fb8e9a2..29e1078 100644
--- a/pubs/commands/tag_cmd.py
+++ b/pubs/commands/tag_cmd.py
@@ -83,13 +83,12 @@ def command(conf, args):
     rp = Repository(conf)
 
     if citekeyOrTag is None:
-        ui.message(color.dye_out(' '.join(sorted(rp.get_tags())), color.tag))
+        ui.message(color.dye_out(' '.join(sorted(rp.get_tags())), 'tag'))
     else:
         if rp.databroker.exists(citekeyOrTag):
             p = rp.pull_paper(citekeyOrTag)
             if tags == []:
-                ui.message(color.dye_out(' '.join(sorted(p.tags)),
-                                           color.tag))
+                ui.message(color.dye_out(' '.join(sorted(p.tags)), 'tag'))
             else:
                 add_tags, remove_tags = _tag_groups(_parse_tags(tags))
                 for tag in add_tags:
diff --git a/pubs/config/spec.py b/pubs/config/spec.py
index 6f8be61..699a26d 100644
--- a/pubs/config/spec.py
+++ b/pubs/config/spec.py
@@ -13,10 +13,6 @@ docsdir = string(default="docsdir://")
 # linked when adding a publication.
 doc_add = option('copy', 'move', 'link', default='move')
 
-# if True, pubs will ask confirmation before copying/moving/linking the
-# document file.
-doc_add_ask = boolean(default=True)
-
 # the command to use when opening document files
 open_cmd = string(default=None)
 
@@ -41,7 +37,34 @@ color = boolean(default=True)
 
 [theme]
 
-
+# Here you can define the color theme used by pubs, if enabled in the
+# 'formating' section. Predefined theme are available at:
+# https://github.com/pubs/pubs/blob/master/theme.md
+
+# Available colors are: 'black', 'red', 'green', 'yellow', 'blue', 'purple',
+# 'cyan', and 'grey'. Bold colors are available by prefixing 'b' in front of
+# the color name ('bblack', 'bred', etc.), italic colors by prefixing 'i',
+# and bold italic by prefixing 'bi'. Finally, 'bold', 'italic' and
+# 'bolditalic' can be used to apply formatting without changing the color.
+# For no color, use an empty string ''
+
+# messages
+ok       = string(default='green')
+warning  = string(default='yellow')
+error    = string(default='red')
+
+# ui elements
+filepath = string(default='bold')
+citekey  = string(default='purple')
+tag      = string(default='cyan')
+
+# bibliographic fields
+author    = string(default='bold')
+title     = string(default='')
+publisher = string(default='italic')
+year      = string(default='bold')
+volume    = string(default='bold')
+pages     = string(default='')
 
 
 [plugins]
diff --git a/pubs/pretty.py b/pubs/pretty.py
index 307637a..0859b61 100644
--- a/pubs/pretty.py
+++ b/pubs/pretty.py
@@ -33,10 +33,11 @@ def bib_oneliner(bibdata):
         journal = ' ' + bibdata.get('booktitle', '')
 
     return u'{authors} \"{title}\"{journal}{year}'.format(
-        authors=color.dye_out(authors, 'bold'),
-        title=bibdata.get('title', ''),
-        journal=color.dye_out(journal, 'italic'),
-        year=' ({})'.format(bibdata['year']) if 'year' in bibdata else '',
+        authors=color.dye_out(authors, 'author'),
+        title=color.dye_out(bibdata.get('title', ''), 'title'),
+        journal=color.dye_out(journal, 'publisher'),
+        year=' ({})'.format(color.dye_out(bibdata['year'], 'year'))
+            if 'year' in bibdata else ''
         )
 
 
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ def paper_oneliner(p, citekey_only=False):
     else:
         bibdesc = bib_oneliner(p.bibdata)
         tags = '' if len(p.tags) == 0 else '| {}'.format(
-            ','.join(color.dye_out(t, color.tag) for t in sorted(p.tags)))
+            ','.join(color.dye_out(t, 'tag') for t in sorted(p.tags)))
         return u'[{citekey}] {descr} {tags}'.format(
-            citekey=color.dye_out(p.citekey, 'purple'),
+            citekey=color.dye_out(p.citekey, 'citekey'),
             descr=bibdesc, tags=tags)
diff --git a/pubs/uis.py b/pubs/uis.py
index 82e8744..ac566bf 100644
--- a/pubs/uis.py
+++ b/pubs/uis.py
@@ -44,9 +44,7 @@ class PrintUI(object):
         :param conf: if None, conservative default values are used.
                      Useful to instanciate the UI before parsing the config file.
         """
-        color.setup(color=conf['formating']['color'],
-                    bold=conf['formating']['bold'],
-                    italic=conf['formating']['italics'])
+        color.setup(conf)
         self.encoding = _get_encoding(conf)
         self._stdout  = codecs.getwriter(self.encoding)(_get_raw_stdout(),
                                                         errors='replace')
@@ -59,11 +57,11 @@ class PrintUI(object):
 
     def warning(self, message, **kwargs):
         kwargs['file'] = self._stderr
-        print('{}: {}'.format(color.dye_err('warning', 'yellow'), message), **kwargs)
+        print('{}: {}'.format(color.dye_err('warning', 'warning'), message), **kwargs)
 
     def error(self, message, **kwargs):
         kwargs['file'] = self._stderr
-        print('{}: {}'.format(color.dye_err('error', 'red'), message), **kwargs)
+        print('{}: {}'.format(color.dye_err('error', 'error'), message), **kwargs)
 
     def exit(self, error_code=1):
         sys.exit(error_code)
@@ -97,14 +95,12 @@ class InputUI(PrintUI):
         :returns: int
             the index of the chosen option
         """
-        char_color = 'bold'
         option_chars = [s[0] for s in options]
         displayed_chars = [c.upper() if i == default else c
                            for i, c in enumerate(option_chars)]
 
         if len(set(option_chars)) != len(option_chars): # duplicate chars, char choices are deactivated. #FIXME: should only deactivate ambiguous chars
             option_chars = []
-            char_color = color.end
 
         option_str = '/'.join(["{}{}".format(color.dye_out(c, 'bold'), s[1:])
                                 for c, s in zip(displayed_chars, options)])
diff --git a/pubs/update.py b/pubs/update.py
index 7f90832..71c582c 100644
--- a/pubs/update.py
+++ b/pubs/update.py
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
+import shutil
+import StringIO
+
 from . import config
 from . import uis
+from . import color
 from .__init__ import __version__
 
 
-def update_check(conf):
+def update_check(conf, path=None):
     """Runs an update if necessary, and return True in that case."""
 
     code_version = __version__.split('.')
@@ -24,18 +28,18 @@ def update_check(conf):
                 'newest version.')
         sys.exit()
 
-    elif repo_version < code_version:
-        return update(conf, code_version, repo_version)
+    elif repo_version <= code_version:
+        return update(conf, code_version, repo_version, path=path)
 
     return False
 
-def update(conf, code_version, repo_version):
+def update(conf, code_version, repo_version, path=None):
     """Runs an update if necessary, and return True in that case."""
+    if path is None:
+        path = config.get_confpath()
 
     if repo_version == ['0', '5', '0']: # we need to update
         default_conf = config.load_default_conf()
-        uis.init_ui(config.load_default_conf())
-        ui = uis.get_ui()
 
         for key in ['pubsdir', 'docsdir', 'edit_cmd', 'open_cmd']:
             default_conf['main'][key] = conf['pubs'][key]
@@ -46,13 +50,15 @@ def update(conf, code_version, repo_version):
         else:
             default_conf['main']['add_doc'] = 'link'
 
-        backup_path = config.get_confpath() + '.old'
-        config.save_conf(conf, path=backup_path)
+        backup_path = path + '.old'
+        shutil.move(path, backup_path)
         config.save_conf(default_conf)
 
+        uis.init_ui(default_conf)
+        ui = uis.get_ui()
         ui.warning(
             'Your configuration file has been updated. '
-            'The old file has been moved to `{}`. '.format(backup_path) +
+            'Your old configuration has been moved to `{}`. '.format(color.dye_out(backup_path, 'filepath')) +
             'Some, but not all, of your settings has been transferred '
             'to the new file.\n'
             'You can inspect and modify your configuration '
@@ -60,4 +66,35 @@ def update(conf, code_version, repo_version):
         )
 
         return True
+
+    # continuous update while configuration is stabilizing
+    if repo_version == code_version == ['0', '6', '0']:
+        default_conf = config.load_default_conf()
+        for section_name, section in conf.items():
+            for key, value in section.items():
+                try:
+                    default_conf[section_name][key]
+                    default_conf[section_name][key] = value
+                except KeyError:
+                    pass
+
+        # comparing potential changes
+        with open(path, 'r') as f:
+            old_conf_text = f.read()
+        new_conf_text = StringIO.StringIO()
+        default_conf.write(outfile=new_conf_text)
+
+        if new_conf_text.getvalue() != old_conf_text:
+
+            backup_path = path + '.old'
+            shutil.move(path, backup_path)
+            config.save_conf(default_conf)
+
+            uis.init_ui(default_conf)
+            ui = uis.get_ui()
+            ui.warning('Your configuration file has been updated.\n'
+                       'Your old configuration has been moved to `{}`.'.format(color.dye_out(backup_path, 'filepath')))
+
+        return True
+
     return False
diff --git a/pubs/utils.py b/pubs/utils.py
index 8ca1a2a..ed06087 100644
--- a/pubs/utils.py
+++ b/pubs/utils.py
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ def resolve_citekey(repo, citekey, ui=None, exit_on_fail=True):
     citekeys = repo.citekeys_from_prefix(citekey)
     if len(citekeys) == 0:
         if ui is not None:
-            ui.error("no citekey named or beginning with '{}'".format(color.dye_out(citekey, color.citekey)))
+            ui.error("no citekey named or beginning with '{}'".format(color.dye_out(citekey, 'citekey')))
             if exit_on_fail:
                 ui.exit()
     elif len(citekeys) == 1:
         if citekeys[0] != citekey:
             if ui is not None:
-                ui.warning("provided citekey '{}' has been autocompleted into '{}'".format(color.dye_out(citekey, color.citekey), color.dye_out(citekeys[0], color.citekey)))
+                ui.warning("provided citekey '{}' has been autocompleted into '{}'".format(color.dye_out(citekey, 'citekey'), color.dye_out(citekeys[0], 'citekey')))
             citekey = citekeys[0]
     elif citekey not in citekeys:
         if ui is not None:
diff --git a/tests/test_color.py b/tests/test_color.py
index 0590ecf..ee86c42 100644
--- a/tests/test_color.py
+++ b/tests/test_color.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from pubs import color
 def perf_color():
     s = str(list(range(1000)))
     for _ in range(5000000):
-        color.dye(s, color.red)
+        color.dye_out(s, 'red')
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
diff --git a/tests/test_pretty.py b/tests/test_pretty.py
index be0648d..3985361 100644
--- a/tests/test_pretty.py
+++ b/tests/test_pretty.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import os
 import dotdot
 import fake_env
 
-from pubs import endecoder, pretty, color
+from pubs import endecoder, pretty, color, config
 
 from str_fixtures import bibtex_raw0
 
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ from str_fixtures import bibtex_raw0
 class TestPretty(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        color.setup()
+        conf = config.load_default_conf()
+        color.setup(conf)
 
     def test_oneliner(self):
         decoder = endecoder.EnDecoder()