Making items on

screen appear

bigger using

Magnifier

A guide on how to use

Microsoft Magnifier

written using Windows 7

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Windows Magnifier is a screen magnification program that

comes built into the Windows operating system. This is part

of the Ease of Access Centre.

An overview

Note: to open the Ease of Access Centre press:

Windows logo key + U

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Opening Magnifier: Part 1

Step 1: click the Start button on the bottom left corner of the

screen

Step 2: at the bottom of the window that appears type

Magnifier in the search box

Step 3: click Magnifier. This will start the program

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For easier/quicker access to Magnifier in the future you can

create a shortcut that will allow ‘one touch’ accessibility to this

feature

Step 1: follow steps 1 & 2 as detailed on the previous page.

Step 2: when Magnifier appears in the search results as shown

in Step 3 on the previous page Right Mouse Click on it

Step 3: from the menu that appears click on Send to and then

Desktop (Create shortcut)

Step 4: you will now have a new icon on your desktop that you

can click on to open Magnifier immediately

Opening Magnifier: Part 2

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Once Magnifier has been opened you will be presented with

the Magnifier toolbar

You will notice that after a few seconds this box will disappear

and be replaced with a magnifying glass symbol.

This happens so the Magnifier options window doesn’t become

intrusive. To return to the toolbar window simply click on the

magnifying glass. Or alternatively click on the Magnifier icon in

the Task Bar at the bottom of the screen.

Opening Magnifier: Part 3

Note: the options box itself can be positioned wherever you want

on the screen. Simply click and drag to the desired spot

Note: To exit Magnifier, press the Windows logo key +Esc

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Magnifier Modes: Option 1

Magnifier has a number of different ‘zoom’ options for you to

choose from. These are detailed below:

Full Screen mode: the entire screen is magnified. Depending on

the size of your screen and zoom level, you might not be able to

see all of the screen at the same time. This is the default mode

In the Magnifier toolbar, you will see the minus and plus (+)

buttons and next to this the current zoom level

100% 1600%

To zoom in, press the plus (.+ button. Each press will enlarge the

screen by 100%. The screen can be magnified up to 16x (1600%)

Note: The plus and minus are used to zoom in/out across

all the various zoom options

When zoomed in, the screen will move according to where you

place the mouse pointer

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Magnifier Viewing Options: Part 2

Lens mode: the area around the mouse pointer is magnified.

When you move the mouse pointer, the area of the screen that's

magnified moves along with it

To activate Lens mode, click on Views and from the menu select

Lens. At this stage you will notice a rectangular window around

your mouse pointer. Moving as the pointer moves.

Click on the Plus button to increase the zoom

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Magnifier Viewing Options: Part 3

Docked mode: only a portion of the screen is magnified,

leaving the rest of your desktop unchanged. You can then

control which area of the screen is magnified

To activate Docked mode, click on Views and from the menu

select Docked. At this stage you will notice a fixed rectangular

window across the top of the screen

Click on the Plus button to increase the zoom. The area

around the mouse pointer will be magnified in the window

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Magnifier Modes: Settings: Part 1

To alter the settings for any of the Magnifier Modes, click on the

Cog icon shown in the Magnifier toolbar

The Magnifier Options window will appear.

(Settings apply to all modes, unless otherwise stated)

Set how much the view changes when zooming in/out:

This dictates the increments the zoom goes up in.

Less = increments of 25% More = increments of 400%

Turn on colour inversion:

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Magnifier Modes: Settings: Part 2

Follow the mouse pointer (Full/Docked):

Displays the area around the mouse pointer in the Zoom

window. When you select this option, you can choose to have

the Zoom window move when the mouse pointer approaches or

when the mouse pointer hits the edge of the Zoom window.

Follow the keyboard focus (Full/Docked):

Displays the area around the pointer when you press the Tab or

arrow keys.

Have Magnifier follow the text insertion point (Full/Docked):

Displays the area around the text that you're typing

Altering the Magnifier Lens size (Lens):

Move the sliders to adjust the size of the Magnifier lens. The

lens size changes right away.

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Magnifier Modes: Settings: Part 3

Altering the Magnifier Lens size (Docked):

When in Docked mode it is possible to change the size and

position of the Zoom window. To alter the height, move your

mouse pointer until its on the edge of the Zoom area and the

cursor changes to . Simply click and drag down to enlarge

To alter the position, place your mouse pointer in the middle of

the docked area. Click and drag the docked area to your chosen

position. Generally the docked area will lock to either the top,

bottom, left or right of the screen

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Magnifier keyboard shortcuts

To achieve this: Do this:

Zoom in or out Windows logo key + plus sign

or minus sign

Preview the Desktop in full-

screen mode CTRL + ALT + SPACEBAR

Switch to Full-screen mode CTRL + ALT + F

Switch to Lens mode CTRL + ALT + L

Switch to Docked mode CTRL + ALT + D

Invert colours CTRL + ALT + I

Pan in the direction of the arrow

keys CTRL + ALT + ARROW KEYS

Resize the lens CTRL + ALT + R

Exit Magnifier Windows logo key + ESC

The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with

Magnifier

For further assistance please contact: peter.rollinson@essex.gov.uk

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