Brighten up the Keyboard
Mac Tip #348, 23 July 2008
Sometimes I sit in the semi-dark with my MacBook Pro reading email or news feeds, maybe writing a MacTip. This is especially the case if it’s early morning, and I just don’t want to put on a harsh overhead or desk light.
Luckily the MacBook Pro has a very handy feature that I really miss on my MacBook (not Pro): an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust lights that shine through the keyboard, lighting up the keys.
A recent Tip explained the ambient light sensor that controls monitor brightness on certain models of Mac. The backlit keyboard works in the same kind of way. Brightness is controlled by physical keys in the row at the top of the keyboard.
If you have a Mac equipped with a backlit keyboard try this Tip.
Visit System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard and notice whether you must hold down the fn key in order to use the F keys across the top of the keyboard for the function printed on the key.
Also check the box labelled ‘Illuminate keyboard in low light conditions’ and adjust the slider for when the backlight should turn off if the computer is not being used.
Any light takes power — if you run on battery a lot turning off the keyboard backlight could squeeze a few extra seconds or minutes out of the battery.
Either take your Mac into a darkish room or cover up the sensor — it’s probably under the right side grille on the keyboard.
Now press the 3 keys that control keyboard backlighting. On my MacBook Pro those keys are F8, F9 and F10. The keys display a horizontal line only, with a nearby fringe of dots and a far away fringe of dots respectively.
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The two photos show the keys and the effect of the backlight.
F8 is like the Mute key for sound: it turns off the backlighting altogether. F9 decreases the brightness, while F10 increases brightness.
I find the keyboard backlight feature incredibly useful. How about you?
Popularity: 18% [?]
Dim your monitor to save your eyes
Mac Tip #347, 16 July 2008
Is your screen too bright? Does the glare hurt your eyes, or even give you headaches? Make it a bit dimmer — you may find you’re less tired after a session at your Mac. Here’s how.
Most Macs have a couple of ways to change the screen’s brightness, and if you use an external monitor, that may have its own settings too.
The System Preference Display Pane
Go to System Preferences > Displays and click on the Display tab. Look for a Brightness slider.
Slide the slider all the way to the left but keep your finger pressing down on the mouse button as the screen should turn completely black. If you let go of the button you may be stuck with a black screen where you can’t see the control to make it brighter again.
Now slide the slider slightly to the right again. The screen should light up. Move the slider slowly to the right until you find a brightness that is comfortable for you.
Light levels tend to change during the day so you may need to adjust the brightness according to the ambient light.
Mac laptops usually include buttons for changing screen brightness. On my MacBook and MacBook Pro the F1 and F2 keys make the screen dimmer and brighter respectively.
if you have a desktop Mac check the keyboard and also the Mac itself for buttons that may change brightness. Try the Mac’s Help menu if you need further assistance.
My MacBook Pro includes an ambient light sensor. The screen automatically changes brightness according to the light falling on the computer. In the screenshot above you can see I enabled this option below the brightness slider.
That same option is not available on my MacBook, because it doesn’t contain an ambient light sensor.
In fact, with the ambient light sensor enabled, the dot on the brightness slider pulsates gently as a subtle reminder that brightness will change automatically.
The ambient light sensor must be under the right-hand speaker on my MacBook Pro as if I cover that speaker grille with my hand the screen dims.
Whichever Mac you use, try out the Brightness slider. You may find your eyes are less tired after using the computer.
Popularity: 26% [?]
