Visual Comfort
Dark Mode, screen overlays, text customization, and display settings for eye comfort.
What’s in This Section
Visual Comfort helps reduce eye strain and make screens more comfortable to view. Adjust colors, contrast, fonts, and motion to match your visual preferences.
Features: Dark Mode, Screen Color Overlay, Text Customization, Reduced Motion, Media Control, Stargardt Mode
Dark Mode
What It Does
Inverts page colors to light text on dark backgrounds. Reduces eye strain, especially in low-light environments.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Dark Mode ON
- Choose a preset
Dark Mode Presets
| Preset | Description |
|---|---|
| AMOLED | True black background, saves battery on OLED screens |
| Dark Gray | Softer dark background, easier on eyes |
| Navy | Blue-tinted dark mode, calming |
| Sepia | Warm brown tones, reduces blue light |
Settings
- Respect system preference — Follow OS dark/light mode setting
- Preset — Choose your preferred color scheme
- Contrast — Adjust text/background contrast ratio
Tips
- AMOLED works best on phones and OLED monitors
- Navy preset is popular for evening use
- Sepia reduces blue light without a separate filter
Screen Color Overlay
What It Does
Applies a transparent color layer over the entire screen. Helps with visual processing, reduces glare, and can make reading easier.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Screen Overlay ON
- Choose a color
Or press Alt+Shift+O to toggle.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Alt+Shift+O | Toggle Screen Overlay |
Overlay Options
| Color | Helps With |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Reduces glare, popular for dyslexia |
| Blue | Can improve focus for some users |
| Pink/Rose | Scotopic sensitivity, Irlen syndrome |
| Green | General eye comfort |
| Gray | Reduces brightness without color shift |
Settings
- Overlay color — Choose from presets or custom color
- Opacity — How strong the overlay appears (10-70%)
- Blue light filter — Reduces blue light emission
Tips
- Start with low opacity (20-30%) and increase as needed
- Yellow overlays are most commonly helpful for reading
- Blue light filter is great for nighttime use
Text Customization
What It Does
Changes how text appears across all websites. Adjust font, size, spacing, and colors for comfortable reading.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Text Customization ON
Available Fonts
| Font | Best For |
|---|---|
| Default | Uses website’s font |
| OpenDyslexic | Dyslexia-friendly, weighted bottoms |
| Lexie Readable | Clean, accessible sans-serif |
| Comic Sans | Familiar, informal, easy to read |
| Arial | Clean sans-serif |
| Georgia | Readable serif |
| Verdana | Wide letter spacing |
| Trebuchet | Modern, distinct letterforms |
| Tahoma | Compact, clear |
| Courier | Monospace, code-like |
| Times New Roman | Classic serif |
Settings
- Font family — Choose from 11 options
- Font size — 12px to 32px
- Line spacing — 1.0 to 3.0
- Letter spacing — 0 to 0.3em
- Word spacing — 0 to 0.5em
- Text color — Custom text color
- Background color — Custom background
Want full control? See Text Customization Deep Dive.
Reduced Motion
What It Does
Disables animations, transitions, and moving content across websites. Reduces visual overwhelm and prevents motion sickness.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Reduced Motion ON
What It Affects
- Page transitions and animations
- Scrolling effects (parallax, smooth scroll)
- Animated images and GIFs
- Hover effects and transitions
- Video auto-play (combined with Media Control)
Tips
- Works with the browser’s
prefers-reduced-motionsetting - Some sites may not fully respect this setting
- Combine with Media Control for complete stillness
Media Control
What It Does
Blocks auto-playing videos and audio across websites. Prevents unexpected sounds and visual distractions.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Media Control ON
What It Blocks
- Auto-playing videos (with or without sound)
- Background audio
- Video advertisements
- Animated hero sections
Settings
- Block video auto-play — Prevents videos from starting
- Block audio auto-play — Prevents audio from playing
- Allow on click — Media plays when you explicitly click
Stargardt Mode
What It Does
Specialized settings optimized for Stargardt disease (macular degeneration). Adjusts contrast and display to work around central vision loss.
How to Enable
- Click the AssisT icon
- Expand Visual Comfort section
- Toggle Stargardt Mode ON
What It Adjusts
- High contrast display
- Optimized text sizes
- Color adjustments for peripheral vision
- Central vision compensation techniques
For Educators & Parents
Why Visual Comfort Matters
For students with visual processing difficulties:
- Color overlays reduce visual stress
- Text customization improves readability
- Dark mode reduces glare
For students with sensory sensitivities:
- Reduced motion prevents overwhelm
- Media control eliminates surprises
- Customizable appearance matches needs
For students with specific conditions:
- Stargardt mode for macular degeneration
- Color overlays for Irlen syndrome
- OpenDyslexic font for dyslexia
Classroom Tips
- Start with color overlay — Simple, non-disruptive, helpful for many
- Try OpenDyslexic font — Popular but not universally preferred
- Enable Reduced Motion — Helps focus during lessons
- Use Dark Mode for evening homework — Reduces eye strain
Student Preferences Vary
Important: What helps one student may not help another. Allow students to:
- Try different overlay colors
- Test different fonts
- Adjust their own settings
Privacy Note
All Visual Comfort settings work locally. No visual preferences or usage data is collected.
Learn More
- Text Customization Deep Dive — All font and spacing options
- User Profiles — Pre-configured visual comfort profiles