by , 7:30 AM EDT, October 20th, 2006

Long hours working in text editors and word processors can be a strain on your eyes, especially since the bright white background of a document window can result in a harsh contrast against the black letters in the words you type. If you don't need to see different colors in your document, switching your display to grayscale can help keep your eyes from wearing out as quickly, and can even help extend your laptop's battery life.

You can switch your display from color to grayscale in the Universal Access Preference Pane. Here's how:

• Launch System Preferences. You can find it by choosing Apple menu > System Preferences.
• Select Universal Access.

Use the Universal Access Preference Pane to switch your display to grayscale.

• Click the Seeing tab.
• Check Use grayscale under the Display options.

Grayscale is still an option on today's modern Macs.

If I plan to work for several hours on text-only documents, I switch my display to grayscale. My eyes appreciate it, and when I am using my PowerBook on battery, it tends to run longer before I have to recharge. When I'm ready to switch back to a color display, I simply uncheck the Use grayscale option.

if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.