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Use a High Contrast Mode to See Text Clearly

Improving your reading experience can be as simple as contrasting a dark background with white text. Using a non-white background can reduce screen glare and lower bright light exposure, making it easier on your eyes. High contrast themes or dark mode options are excellent choices for reducing eye strain and enhancing content visibility. There are several ways to adjust background and text colors on your screen: you can modify settings within your internet browser or specific applications, or change your computer’s operating system settings to suit your visual preferences. In this article, we’ll show you the different options to help you see text clearly.


The benefits of a high contrast theme:

  • Improves the visibility and readability of the text
  • Choosing a background color other than white reduces screen glare
  • Decreases eye strain

Microsoft Edge

Dark theme in the Edge web browser

  1. Open the Edge web browser (Mac or Windows).
  2. Click More (three dots next to your profile picture).
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Choose Appearance under settings.
  5. Under the Customize Browser heading, select Dark under the drop down across from the Default Theme.

Note: The browser tabs and menu will be displayed in the dark theme; however, the web pages are not displayed in a dark theme. To view the web page in contrasting colors, use the Page Theme feature in Immersive Reader in Edge. See below.

Edge settings menu with a black background, white text, and blue links.
Dark theme in the Edge web browser settings

Choose a color theme with Immersive Reader in the Edge web browser or Word Online

  1. Open either web page in the Edge web browser (Mac or Windows) or a document in Word Online.
  2. Select Immersive Reader. Where is Immersive Reader?
  3. Press the Text Preferences icon (AA icon).
  4. Pick a preferred color Theme.
  5. The customized settings will save. Now, every document you open in Immersive Reader will be viewed with your personal preference.
  6. To exit Immersive Reader, press the back arrow to return to the original formatting of the document.
View of a webpage in Edge with high contrast colors - a black background and white text.
High contrast page theme in Immersive Reader in Edge

Google: High Contrast extension for the Chrome web browser

Google has developed a High-Contrast extension that you can add to the Chrome browser. Once installed, web pages and files in the Google applications (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides) will display in high-contrast colors. Instructions for installing extensions can be found in this Google Help article: Install and manage extensions

View of a Google Docs page in high contrast colors - a black background with yellow and white text.
Google Docs with the High Contrast Extension enabled in Chrome

You can also customize your computer’s operating system to a high contrast theme or dark mode. Below you will find links to step-by-step instructions for three operating systems: Windows, Mac, and Chrome.

AbilityNet has created a wonderful resource called My Computer My Way that provides instructions for finding the accessibility features in multiple operating systems and mobile devices. Rather than write out detailed instructions for multiple operating systems, I will be linking to AbilityNet. Then, you can select the instructions for your specific operating system.

Microsoft: Dark mode in Windows

On a Windows computer, when the dark mode is turned on, the background color changes to black, the text color to white, and the link color to yellow on the home screen and in applications.

Try the dark mode by following the instruction in the AbilityNet article How to switch from Light Mode to Dark Mode in Windows 11

View of a Windows computer screen with a black background, white text, and activate tabs in blue.
Dark mode on a Windows computer

Apple: High contrast in macOS

Discover how to switch to high contrast mode on a Mac computer by reading the following AbilityNet articles: 

View of a portion of an internet window and a portion of the home screen on a macOS 12 computer. The home screen is dark and the internet window has a black menu bar with white text. The open webpage background is white.
Dark mode appearance on a macOS 12 computer

Google: High contrast theme in Chrome OS

To learn how to change your Chromebook to high contrast, either read the AbilityNet instructions Invert the colours on the screen in Chrome OS or watch the Google Chrome YouTube video for instructions: Making Your Chromebook Easier to See The high contrast theme is mentioned at 2 minutes 16 seconds into the video.

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Additional tools for seeing text more clearly

There are 5 more ways to improve the visibility of text and make reading online easier.

  1. Increase spacing between words, lines, or letters
  2. Personalize font type and size
  3. Zoom tool
  4. Magnification tools
  5. Adjust screen brightness

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