Saturday, June 2, 2018

High Contrast: Google Chrome accessibility extension

Anyone who needs (or wants) the ability to quickly invert web page colors -- black backgrounds to white, dark text to light, etc. -- should check out Google's High Contrast Chrome extension.

This free extension is simple to use and works very well.  It allows you to change web page coloring with either a keyboard shortcut or a few quick clicks.


When you first install the extension, it will by default invert the colors on all web page that you visit.  This setting may not be desirable, in which case you can easily disable it.  On any web page where High Contrast inverted the colors:

- Click the extension's icon (the half-black/half-white circle).
- Select Normal.
- Select Set as default scheme.

Once you do that, web pages will load as the normally do.  You can select which pages you want the color inverted for by pressing Shift F12 or by selecting Inverted Color from the extension's list of settings.  Other options are available as well, which can make web browsing easier on the eyes: Increased Contrast, Grayscale, Inverted Grayscale, and Yellow on Black.

One of High Contrast's cool features is that it remembers which customizations you've selected for which sites.  Going back to a site later will load the color scheme as you specified it last time.  Different pages on the same site (i.e. my.site.com/page1 and my.site.com/page2) will have the same settings applied, but third-level domains won't share the same settings as their parents (i.e. my.site.com and your.site.com).

To toggle this extension on or off at any time, press Shift F11 or select Disable/Enable from the extension's menu.  The extension works well for text and background colors, but it has mixed results with photos.

Overall, High Contrast (available from the Google Web Store) is a beneficial accessibility extension that will improve your web browsing experience by allowing you to adjust color and contrast on any web page.


1 comment:

  1. High Contrast is a really useful extension. Installed and loving it.
    Daownlod

    ReplyDelete