How to use visual and color accessibility options on your Mac

How do you change colors, contrast, transparency, cursor size, and otherwise make your Mac easier to see? With accessibility!

If you have certain sensitivities or color blindness, there are accessibility features on Mac that can help you get the most out of your experience. You can invert colors, increase contrast, and more. Here's how to get your Mac display working for you.

• How to invert colors
• How to switch to grayscale
• How to use shapes to differentiate some settings
• How to reduce motion
• How to increase contrast
• How to reduce transparency
• How to change the display contrast
• How to change cursor size
• How to enable/disable shake mouse pointer to locate

How to invert colors

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Invert colors.

   

How to switch to grayscale

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Use grayscale.

   

How to use shapes to differentiate some settings

In the example of Messages, when you click Messages in the menu bar, you have the option to switch from "Available" to "Away" and these are denoted by colored bubbles (green for Available, red for away), but by enable Differentiate without color, you'll see a green circle and a red square instead, which is a boon to color blind folks.

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Differentiate without color.

   

How to reduce motion

Reducing motion on your Mac is new to macOS Sierra, and it makes animations more subtle. For instance, when you activate the dashboard, the windows jump instead of slide, and they crossfade back into place.

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Reduce motion.

   

How to increase contrast

Increasing contrast on your Mac can help text stand out more clearly and can help buttons and app icons appear more pronounced as well.

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Increase contrast.

   

How to reduce transparency

Reducing transparency helps your Dock and desktop icons stand out more and also makes the top menu bar opaque so that you can clearly see all your app icons and menu items.

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Reduce transparency.

   

How to change the display contrast

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click and drag the slider next to Display contrast to increase or decrease.

   

How to change cursor size

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click and drag the slider next to Cursor size.

   

How to enable/disable shake mouse pointer to locate

If you can't find your mouse cursor on your screen, you can enable the shake feature and your mouse cursor will get bigger when you shake your mouse.

1. Click the Apple menu () on the top left of your screen.
2. Click System Preferences.

3. Click Accessibility.

   

4. Click Display in the menu on the left.

5. Click the checkbox next to Shake mouse pointer to locate.

   

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below!