Find out what colour something is on your Mac screen

Why it happens

Hover Color shows a large view of whatever colour is under your pointer, along with a description of it. It's built for anyone who finds colours hard to tell apart, for example when matching clothes in a photo. It works anywhere on screen: photos, web pages, documents.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, and click Accessibility in the sidebar.

2. Click Hover Text and turn on Hover Color.

   Accessibility›Hover Text›Hover Color

3. Hold Control and point at the thing you want to check. A panel shows the colour and a description of it. The line under the switch tells you which key to hold, in case it has been changed.

4. Let go of the key to hide the panel.

Still not fixed?

1. Want the panel to look different, or show colour values? Open the settings for Hover Color next to its switch to choose a preview and whether to show values such as hexadecimal.

2. Find it hard to tell colours apart all day? Color filters can adjust the whole screen for red and green or blue and yellow colour blindness.

   Accessibility›Display›Color filters

3. Nothing appears when you hold the key? Check the line under the Hover Color switch to see which key it uses, then turn the switch off and on again.

4. If Hover Color still won't show after a restart, contact Apple Support. Their accessibility team can help you set it up.