We live in a world dominated by digital devices.  Studies have shown that an average person spends over six hours each day looking at various electronic screens, whether it's a laptop, desktop, tablet, phone, or TV.  Numerous studies have also demonstrated that prolonged exposure to bright emitted light can put serious strain on a person's eyes.  Many people complain of having blurry vision, headaches, and inability to see well in dark settings after looking at digital screens all day.  These are typical symptoms of eye strain and are caused by the emission of bright light with excessive blue tones typical of most screens.  Bright blue light is on the harsher end of the visible light spectrum, not far from ultraviolet rays, which are very harsh and can be damaging after prolonged exposure.  As a point of reference, sunburn is caused by ultraviolet light.

Many software developers and electronic hardware manufacturers are introducing various techniques to combat the causes of eye strain to make exposure to electronics more comfortable and safer on the eyes.  Many new monitor screens have blue light filters that reduce the amount of the harmful color that is emitted and reaches the eyes.

From a software standpoint, one solution that has been proven to help reduce eye strain is the use of darker color themes.  "Dark Themes" as they are known, reduce both the intensity of light and the amount of blue components of it.  The way emitted light works is by combining Red, Green, and Blue colors.  A white background, for example, has the maximum amount of all three colors, while a black background has none.

In an effort to help our customers enjoy our product more and be able to use it for long periods of time without eye strain, we have introduced a Dark color theme.  It is very simple to turn on and off, and, if your browser supports it, will automatically set itself to Dark if the browser theme is set to dark, or the operating system is set to use a dark theme.

There is a new toggle at the top of the app that lets you easily switch the color theme.

Select Light, Dark, or Auto to change the color theme.  In Auto mode, the app will determine the appropriate theme based on browser or operating system color setting.  Of course, you can always change it to your liking.

Here are some examples of the differences between Light and Dark settings.  To see how the dark mode helps your eyes, try this exercise: stare at each sample for about 30 seconds, and then look away.  Take note at how well and quickly your eyes can focus on other objects.  You will notice that your eyes adjust much quicker after viewing the dark theme examples.

A typical data grid using Light Mode:

Same data grid using Dark Mode:

A typical data form using Light Mode:

Same data form using Dark Mode:

We hope that you take advantage of various continuous improvements we implement to make this app more enjoyable and efficient for our customers.  Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to see additional features or improvements.