How to Reduce Computer Eye Strain by Switching to High Contrast (Windows 7)

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Updated: August 23, 2018

The high contrast themes change the background to black and the text to white. This high contrast theme is vastly easier on the eyes and reduces eye strain. If you're looking at a monitor for extended periods, this will make your day easier. It will seem weird at first, but give it a try! You will wish you had found this sooner! There are three pre-made high contrast themes built into Windows 7. The change can be done easily and quickly. Just a few clicks.

Part 1 of 2:
Understanding How High Contrast Reduces Eye Strain

  1. 1
    Note that monitors have a backlight. When you look at your monitor, you are essentially staring into a lamp. If you do this for extended periods, you can understand how this would fatigue your eyes. The default windows setting has an incredible amount of bright white areas. Keep in mind that white on a computer monitor is not like white on paper. A computer monitor is white because it's a lamp - a light source.

Part 2 of 2:
Switching to High Contrast

  1. 1
    Right click on your screen. Scroll down to 'Personalize'.
  2. 2
    Scroll down to 'Basic and High Contrast Themes'.
  3. 3
    Select the High Contrast Black.
    • You can also select High Contrast #1 for yellow text on black background or # 2 for green text on black background.

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      • The theme tends to use a sledgehammer approach. It converts everything without much regard. For instance, in MS word all the text is converted to white. Any text that is blue, red, etc is converted to white. Solution: For fine-tuning before printing/sending switch back to Windows Aero.
      • MS Excel can look quite goofy. The gridlines will convert from grey to white, making borders difficult to see. Solution: Turning off gridlines helps a lot. (Go to View, Gridlines)
      • Not everything switches perfectly. E.g. on some dialog boxes, some fields, or colored text may be blacked out. Solution: For installing software, etc. switch back Windows Aero.
      • There are no stability issues or the like. However there may be some cosmetic issues. The solution invariably involves switching back to Windows Aero temporarily. The vast majority of the time you can work in High Contrast. When you do have to switch to Windows Aero, you'll want to switch back to High Contrast as soon as you can.
      • Google Chrome has an extension for internet use. It switches the colors to make the background black and the text white (although you can change this default setting). It is called 'Change Colors'. To install, go to the wrench in the top right corner, Options, Extensions, Get more extensions, search for Change Colors from Strav (current version is 2.144)

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