Make it easier to see what’s on the screen of your Mac

Make the desktop less transparent: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Accessibility , click Display, click Display, then select “Reduce transparency.” The transparent areas of the desktop and app windows become gray.

Choose a desktop picture with fewer colors or shapes: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Desktop & Screen Saver , click Desktop, browse through the picture folders on the left, then select a less busy picture or a solid color on the right.

Make borders darker: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Accessibility , click Display, click Display, then select “Increase contrast.” macOS automatically reduces transparency and makes the borders of buttons, boxes, and other items on the screen more visible.

Use a dark appearance: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click General , then click the Dark appearance. You can change the accent and highlight colors.

Invert colors: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Accessibility , click Display, click Display, then select “Invert colors.” If you turn on Night Shift, “Invert colors” is automatically disabled.

Make colors easier on your eyes at night: Use Night Shift to make the colors on the screen warmer.

Differentiate or tone down colors: Apply color filters or tint the entire screen.

Make the pointer easier to see: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Accessibility , click Display, then click Pointer. You can change the pointer’s size and color.

Increase the text size of emails in Mail: In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences, click Fonts & Colors, click Select next to “Message font,” then select a font size in the Fonts window.

Increase the text size of messages in Messages: In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, click General, then move the “Text size” slider to the right.

Increase the text size in other apps: In many apps, you can press Command-Plus ( ) or Command-Minus (–) to adjust text size. If that doesn’t work, check the app’s preferences.

Increase the size of icons and text on the desktop: Control-click the desktop, choose Show View Options, then move the “Icon size” slider to the right. Click the “Text size” pop-up menu, then choose a text size.

Increase the size of icons and text in the Finder: Select an item in the Finder, then choose View > Show View Options. The view you’re using determines how you increase the size.

• Icon view: Move the “Icon size” slider to the right. Click the “Text size” pop-up menu, then choose a text size.

• List view: Select the larger icon size to the right of “Icon size.” Click the “Text size” pop-up menu, then choose a text size.

• Column view: Click the “Text size” pop-up menu, then choose a text size. You can’t choose an icon size.

• Gallery view: Select the largest thumbnail size. You can’t choose a text size.

Increase the size of items in sidebars: Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click General , click the “Sidebar icon size” pop-up menu, then choose Large. The icons and text in the Mail and Finder sidebars, for example, appear larger.

Zoom in on the screen: Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Accessibility , then click Zoom.

• When “Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom” is selected, you can zoom in (press Option-Command-Equal sign), zoom out (press Option-Command-Minus sign), or quickly switch between the two settings (press Option-Command-8).

• When “Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom” is selected, you can zoom in by pressing and holding the Control key (or another modifier key) and swiping up with two fingers on your trackpad.

• Use the Zoom style pop-up menu to customize zoom—you can choose to zoom the entire screen, an area of the screen, or just the area where the pointer is located. To set additional options for the zoom style you selected, click Advanced.

Zoom in on the item under the pointer: Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Accessibility , click Zoom, then select Enable Hover Text. See Use Hover Text.

Zoom in on webpages: In Safari, choose View > Zoom In, or press Command-Plus ( ). You can choose Zoom In or press Command-Plus multiple times to continue zooming in. If you want to zoom just the text and not images, choose Zoom Text Only.

Zoom in on PDFs, images, and webpages: If your mouse or trackpad supports it, you can zoom in or out using a simple gesture. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then either click Mouse , then Point & Click, or click Trackpad , then Scroll & Zoom, and select Smart zoom. Now to zoom in or out, double-tap on your mouse with one finger or on your trackpad with two fingers.