Poll: What is your preferred Micromine Vizex background colour?

Many years of using a GIS have created a very strong mental association of geospatial data = white background, and I don't think I would be comfortable changing to anything else.

However, I do find that my "expected" background colour changes with the context of what I am doing: for example I use a dark background in my text editor, but a light background for geospatial data and Office applications.

In my case, I started my profesional carrer using ACAD, and I loved it. When I used Micromine for first time I was shocked by the white background,lol. After 5 years I still can't work with a white blackground. Always black. I think it is the best background to see the colours (above all, the bright colours).

I find white easier to work wit, its more like working on paper so have used white for ever.  There are odd times when I do change the BG colour, very pale yellow or blue can work well.  That said I appreciate that there are some that like to use a dark B (IMO usually because the tools they have used in the past did not give them the option to use white :)) .  There should be some easy way to change not just the background but also things like grids etc to one of several colour schemes. 

@Keith: I totally agree with your "working on paper" statement. It is one of the things I've always found uncomfortable about a black background when I know the destination will be print.

Cartography has a concept known as the figure-ground relationship, which describes the appearance of the map data (the figure) against the map background (the ground). Switching background colour from black in the display to white in print completely changes that relationship, and as a result it also changes the viewer's perception of the data.

Here's a really simple example using a classic optical illusion:


Your perception of the vase or faces (depending on how you originally saw it) changes when you reverse the colours:


Another thing I've always found uncomfortable about a dark background is that it forces you to use intense colours for your data. Modern map design uses pastel shades and muted colours, but they just look insipid on a dark background.

(I should add that these are strictly my personal opinions that carry no official standing.)

We really do need to hear from users who prefer a dark background so that we can get a better sense of how important it is, and why. And, as Keith suggested, we will consider adding tools to make it easier to switch between colour schemes if the response is significant.

I think one of the main reasons for a dark background is that it is a little easier on the eyes than looking at a white screen. When I'm wireframing, I often set to a grayish gradient to take the sting out, the colour contrasts don't then change to much when swapping back to white for plotting or image generation. Personally I find an all black background a bit too much to look at for a long time and there are the white paper problems talked about above. 

Similarly in MS Word I like to change the background to blue when working on a big report, the text automatically changes to white. This is easier on the eyes and personally I find it easier to read, but many people just can't work with it.   

I find white backgrounds really tire my old eyes.  Like Richard Siddle, I prefer a blue background for text applications, but I always run black for graphic applications such as Micromine, AutoCad, etc.  Other associates would rather run white backgrounds.  Pick your own poison, I guess.

Interesting comments about white being a bit of a strain on the eyes. I wonder if this is related to the monitor being set too bright. All monitors are too bright out of the box, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case. 

A proper monitor calibration device and associated software is the best way to go, but you can still make things a little easier on the eye by using this utility from Microsoft:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows7/calibr...

Although I've linked to the Windows 7 version it is identical in Windows 8/8.1. Otherwise, simply turning down the brightness may help.

There are many online resources for reducing eye strain whilst using a computer monitor. Here is one that turned up when I searched "computer monitor brightness":

Adjusting the display settings of your computer can help reduce eye strain and fatigue. Generally, these adjustments are beneficial:

• Brightness. Adjust the brightness of the display so it's approximately the same as the brightness of your surrounding workstation. As a test, look at the white background of this Web page. If it looks like a light source, it's too bright. If it seems dull and gray, it may be too dark.