TLC Tips of the Week:                          from Helen Olberg

This week’s tip is about Windows’ Magnifier.

Sometimes you’d like to see part of your screen a bit bigger. Have you tried using the Windows Magnifier? Magnifier is a standard Windows display utility designed to make the screen more readable for users with slightly impaired vision. Magnifier runs in a separate window that displays a magnified portion of your screen. When using Magnifier, you can

• Change the magnification level
• Change the size of the magnification window
• Change the position of the magnification window on your desktop – you can move, resize, drag it to the edge of a screen, and lock it in place.
• Invert the screen colors

Magnifier also has a number of tracking options, including

• Following the mouse pointer as it moves on your screen
• Following the keyboard focus which centers on the location of the cursor
• Following text editing

When Magnifier is open, you can right-click the magnification window to set these Magnifier options, or to hide or exit Magnifier.

To open Magnifier,

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Accessibility, and then click Magnifier. (If using the keyboard, press CTRL+ESC, press R, type magnify, and then press ENTER.)
2. When the Magnifier Settings window appears, set your desired options and minimize the Magnifier Settings window.

To change the position of the Magnifier window,

1. Place the mouse pointer inside the magnification window. The cursor becomes a hand.
2. Drag the window to the desired area on your desktop. You can dock the magnification window to the top, bottom, or side of your screen, or you can position the window anywhere within the desktop area.

To change the size of the Magnifier window,

1. Move the mouse pointer over the edge of the magnification window. The cursor becomes a double-pointed arrow.
2. Drag the magnification window border to resize the window.

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