Red-green colour blind? Make charts and colours easier to tell apart on your Mac

Why it happens

With a colour-vision difference, some pairs of colours look almost the same, so chart lines, map keys and status dots blur together. Color filters shift the colours on the whole screen so those pairs separate. There are filters for the common types, and you can adjust how strong they are.

How to fix it

1. Click the Apple menu, choose System Settings, and click Accessibility in the sidebar. Then click Display.

2. Scroll down and turn on Color filters.

   Accessibility›Display›Color filters

3. Choose your type from the Filter type pop-up. Red/Green filter (Protanopia) and Green/Red filter (Deuteranopia) are for red-green colour blindness, and Blue/Yellow filter (Tritanopia) is for blue-yellow.

   Accessibility›Display›Color filters

4. Open a chart you struggle with and move the Intensity slider until the colours are easiest to tell apart. If one red-green filter doesn't help, try the other.

Still not fixed?

1. Turn on Differentiate without color in the same Display settings. Apps that support it add shapes or labels, so you don't have to rely on colour alone.

   Accessibility›Display›Differentiate without color

2. Turn on Increase contrast too. It darkens outlines and borders, which helps tell chart parts apart.

   Accessibility›Display›Increase contrast

3. Not sure which type of colour vision you have? An optician or eye doctor can test it, and then you'll know which filter to pick.

4. If turning on Color filters changes nothing on screen, restart your Mac and try again. If it still has no effect, contact Apple Support.