this would be nice. I don't think its current possible without adding a mod and editing files?
Well, it's not possible without adding a mod, but there was (is?) a mod that did it without editing files because such things are entirely possible. I don't know if it's still maintained though.
But if 'editing files' is your concern, don't install any mods because almost all of them do that.
I also guarantee this won't happen in 2.1, but I guess it could happen in whatever version comes next.
theirs only a few mods Ive installed on smf, don't care to edit files. most of them require file edits as you said.
if you use the package manager almost all mods dont need you to do manual file edits if you use the default theme.