Change back to black background in Safari reader.

While /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Safari.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Reader.ht ml

contains the css information which specifies the background....

it'd be much easier & safer to use http://canisbos.com/customreader

Canisbos has some good, useful extensions - well worth a look. http://canisbos.com/gdirectlinks allows copying google search links without google's redirect, for example.

The actual file is /System/Library/StagedFrameworks/Safari/Safari.framework/Versions/A/Resources/R eader.html

I am not an expert of CSS, but I modified it without any apparent consequences. Here is the process (do so at your risk):

0. Close Safari

1. Locate the file in the afore-mentioned folder

2. Drag it on your desktop (this will create a copy)

3. IMPORTANT: Rename the file in the original folder to Reader.html.backup or similar (this will keep the original file, should anything go wrong) - you'll have to type your admin password

4. Open the Reader.html on your desktop with TextEdit

5. Find the following section (about midway through)

body {

margin: 0;

padding: 0;

background-color: transparent;

-webkit-user-select: none;

overflow-x: hidden;

6. Replace the third line with

background-color: rgb(40, 40, 40);

This is dark grey, but you can obviously use any other rgb combination. Black is 0, 0, 0.

(Unfortunately I haven't found a way to restore the transparency—it looked way better)

7. Save the file, and copy it back in the original folder (you will have to type in your password again.)

8. Open Safari and off you go!

I couldn't get Andre b's instructions to work in Mavericks. When I opened the html file in text edit, it was blank and locked. Wshen I unlocked it, it was still blank. I'vd downloaded the Canisbos Safari extention, which is good but it doesn't change the background. I suggest, for those of you who are as frustrated as I am about this change to Safari, that you simply export as a PDF whatever you want to read to your desktop and read it in Preview with whatever background you have on your desktop. A lot easier!

OK - just to update, I downloaded Text Wrangler and opened the html file with that, no problem. I followed andre b's instructions as above and I now have a much-preferred black background to Reader and have also dowloaded and used Custom Reader from Canibos, so have the best of both worlds. I can expand the width of Reader with Custom Reader and it is now much easier for me to use (I have sight difficulties). Thanks to both of you for posting.

Yes one thing I fogot to mention is that a stupid setting in TextEdit renders all html files by default (instead of displaying the actual code.)

So before starting with all the instructions above, open TextEdit, then Preferences > Open and Save > tick "Display HTML files as HTML code"

Best wishes!

Thank you so much! This corrected the problem. (I opened it in Text-Wrangler as well.)

Semi-transparent was okay, but I think I like reading it now with just the solid black background; it's less distracting to me visually. The white on white Safari gave me was unreadbale, way too bright, much like iOS7 on my iPad. Thank you again for the fix.

An untimely update for Mavericks (10.9).

The position of the file to be edited (Reader.html) changed to:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Safari.framework/Versions/A/Resources/

while the rest of the procedure is the rest as above.

Are you referring to the Reading LIst?

The background is gray.

Click the Bookmarks icon top left side of the Safari menu bar then cilck Reading List.

Same here!!

Same here!! I can't use reader this way! Someone managed to change this?

Ah - I didn't know that. Thanks for that tip, Andre b.

Bro you're a champ. Thanks for the fix. If you do find out how to restore the transparency of the older Reader style let us know.