When you’re writing a script in [Highland](http://quoteunquoteapps.com/highland), you can turn on Dark Mode (⌘D) to flip the colors in the edit view. So instead of this:
In Dark Mode, you get this:
Dark Mode is useful for writing at nighttime or in darker locations, when you don’t want to be staring at a bright screen. It can also be easier on your eyes.
But you’re not limited to white text on a black background. You can customize the colors to your heart’s content in Preferences.
Under Colors, click on any of the color swatches to bring up the color picker. Here you can set your choices for text, background, scene headings and notes, for both Normal and Dark Mode.
In the color picker, I often click the magnifying glass, which sets the color to anything I can click on screen. It’s a handy way to get exactly the color I want. (In the first version of this post, I called this an eyedropper instead of a magnifying glass, because in most image editing apps, the equivalent tool is an eyedropper. As a UI metaphor, which tool makes more sense? Discuss.)
Most days, this is the color scheme I use in Highland:
It’s pretty close to Ethan Schoonover’s [Solarized Dark](http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized) theme, and works particularly well with Highland’s default typeface (Highland Sans).
If you feel like going down the color theme rabbit hole, there are [myriad options](http://eclipsecolorthemes.org) out there, most of which were originally designed for coders. ((In many ways, screenwriting resembles coding; you’re writing the plan for creating something else, using specific and esoteric terminology.)) The magnifying glass is usually the easiest way to try these different configurations. Just click on a theme’s color swatches in the website. ((We’re discussing whether to build editor themes into a future edition of Highland. If you have an opinion, let us know.))
Because Highland will let you pick any colors you want, we have to be smart about what color we use for selecting text. We’re generating the highlight color programmatically, using the following code:
CGFloat selectionAlpha = 0.2;
NSColor *invertedBackgroundColor = [NSColor colorByInvertingColor:backgroundColor];
[self.textView setSelectedTextAttributes:@{NSBackgroundColorAttributeName: [invertedBackgroundColor colorWithAlphaComponent:selectionAlpha], NSForegroundColorAttributeName: invertedBackgroundColor}];
In English, this means we’re setting the background color of the selection to the inverse of the normal background color, with the opacity knocked down to 20%. Meanwhile, the text color is set to the inverted normal background color. As a result, you’ll always be able to read highlighted text, no matter what colors you choose.
If you haven’t tried Dark Mode or customizing colors, give them a shot. They’re both small things, but they make working in Highland just a little more delightful.
As always, you can find Highland in the [Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/highland/id499329572?mt=12).