Accessibility iPad Trick: Toggle White on Black

The Apple iPad has some Accessibility tools that make the device more usable for a variety of users. Apple includes assistive technology in its products as standard features — at no additional cost. For example, iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Mac OS X include screen magnification, VoiceOver, a screen-access technology, for the blind and visually impaired, and one of my new favorite feature which is the focus of this article.

Today, I will focus on one particular feature: White on Black

Use White on Black to invert the colors on the iPad display, which may make it easier to read the screen. When White on Black is turned on, the screen looks like a photographic negative. Apple makes it very easy to setup and then to toggle this feature on and off with a Triple-click of the Home button.

Triple-click Home is an easy way to turn some Accessibility features on or off by quickly press the Home button three times. You can set Triple-click Home to turn VoiceOver on or off, turn White on Black on or off, or ask if you would like to:

Turn VoiceOver on or off

Turn Zoom on or off

Turn White on Black on or off

Triple-click Home is normally turned off.

Set the Triple-click Home function: In Settings, choose General > Accessibility > Triple-click Home, then choose the function you want.

On the device
Tap Settings > General > Accessibility.



Click on the "Triple-click Home" option,




Click the "Toggle White to Black" option.

Now you can turn the "White to Black" option on and off any time by clicking the Home button three (3) time quickly in a row.

Let say you are reading your email and you want to toggle to White on Black.



You would Click, Click, Click the Home button. BAMB! Your screen turns black with white letters for better visibility in the dark or due to sight issues.




You can turn the "White to Black" option back any time by clicking the Home button three (3) time quickly in a row again.

I encourage you to investigate the other options that are available in the Accessibility area in the Settings app. There are also some accessibility options available in iTunes on the desktop (Mac and PC) that you may want to checkout too. You can learn more about this and other things about your iPad in the free Apple iBooks manual called iPad User Guide (iPad 1) or iPad User Guide for iOS 4.3 (iPad 2).

Other iBooks iPad Books that may interest you:

iPad Starter Guide - Macworld Editors

iPad 2 Starter Guide - Macworld Editors

iPad Survival Guide - Toly K

iPad 2 Survival Guide - Toly K

Meet the iPad 2 - Jeff Carlson

iPad 2: The Unofficial Guide - Tim Will

Tips and Tricks for the iPad 2: The Video Guide - Simon Williams

Tips and Tricks for the iPad 2: The How-To Guide - Simon Williams

Free Books For Your iPad and How to Find Them - Michael Gallagher

iPad For Dummies - Edward C. Baig & Bob LeVitus

By Carl W. Brooks
Editor, iamthereforeipad.com