Have you ever had to squint to see something on your computer screen? Maybe you couldn't recognize all of the characters in an online 'captcha'. If so, Windows 8 includes a great tool just for this called Magnifier. Magnifier is a useful tool that enlarges part—or all—of your screen so you can see the words and images better. It comes with a few different settings, so you can use it the way that suits you best.

Windows 8 Magnifier main screen

Using Magnifier
You can open and close Magnifier quickly, so it's handy when you need it, and it's out of your way when you don't.

To open Magnifier

1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. (If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
2. Enter Magnifier in the search box, tap or click Apps, and then tap or click Magnifier.

Magnifier will open in Full-screen view unless you change the settings.

To close Magnifier
To exit Magnifier quickly, press the Windows logo key + Esc. You can also tap or click the magnifying glass icon and then tap or click the Close button on the Magnifier toolbar.

Notes:

• If you want to have Magnifier always at your fingertips, you can pin it to the Start screen or taskbar.
• Some people want to change the clarity or size of the words and images on the screen. If this is what you want to do, you can use the app to zoom in on a page or change your screen resolution.

Changing Magnifier views
You can use Magnifier in a few ways, depending on how you like to work: Full-screen, lens, and docked. Try them all to find out which one you prefer.

Full-screen
In this view, your entire screen is magnified. You probably won’t be able to see the whole screen at the same time when it’s magnified, but as you move around the screen, you can see everything. If you have a touchscreen, Magnifier will display white borders around the edge of your screen. Drag your finger or mouse along the borders to move around the screen.

Lens
In this view, when you move around the screen, it’s like moving a magnifying glass around.

Docked
Docked view works on the Windows desktop. In this view, a magnifier is docked to portion of your screen. As you move around the screen, parts of the screen appear magnified in the docking area, even though the main part of the screen is unchanged.

Customizing Magnifier
You can change the way Magnifier works. For example, you can use the zoom buttons (+ and -) to change how much Magnifier enlarges your screen. Pressing Windows Windows logo key + Plus and Windows Windows logo key + Minus on your keyboard is another quick way to zoom in and out. You can also open the Magnifier options button to change Magnifier.

Note:
You can set Magnifier to follow your mouse, the insertion point, or the keyboard. Follow the instructions below to customize Magnifier.

1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. (If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
2. Enter Magnifier in the search box, tap or click Apps, and then tap or click Magnifier.
3. Go to the Windows Desktop and click the Magnifying glass icon.
4. Click the Options button Magnifier options button.
5. Do one or more of the following:

• Use the slider to choose a zoom increment. The percentage you choose here will be the increment by which Magnifier enlarges the screen when you press the zoom in button zoom in button.
• Select the Turn on color inversion check box to reverse colors on the screen. Sometimes reversing colors makes text easier to read.
• Select a check box to choose how Magnifier focuses. Depending on your settings, Magnifier can follow your mouse, the insertion point, or the keyboard.

Note:
When you open Magnifier, the Magnifier toolbar appears briefly. It quickly gets out of your way, but you can display it again by clicking the magnifying glass icon on your screen or the Magnifier icon on the taskbar.

Magnifier enlarges different parts of the screen. This is especially useful for viewing objects that are difficult to see and for seeing the whole screen more easily.

To open Magnifier:

• Click on the Start button, then All Programs, then Accessories, then Ease of Access, then click on Magnifier.

There are three modes:

• Full-screen mode. In full-screen mode, your entire screen is magnified. You can then have Magnifier follow the mouse pointer.
• Lens mode. In 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.
• Docked mode. In docked mode, only a portion of the screen is magnified, leaving the rest of your desktop in a normal state. You can then control which area of the screen is magnified.

Note:

• Full-screen mode and lens mode are only available as part of the Aero experience. If your computer doesn't support Aero, or if you're using a theme other than an Aero theme, Magnifier will only work in docked mode.

1. On the Views menu, click the mode that you want to use.
2. Move the pointer to the part of the screen that you want to magnify.

Note:

To exit Magnifier, press the Windows logo key + Esc.

When you're using full-screen mode, you can quickly preview your entire desktop by clicking the Views menu and then clicking Preview full screen.

For a list of keyboard shortcuts that you can use with Magnifier, see the following links:

General keyboard shortcuts

Natural keyboard shortcuts

Dialog box keyboard shortcuts

Accessibility keyboard shortcuts

File Explorer keyboard shortcuts

To choose where Magnifier focuses

Click the Options button, and then select the option that you want:

To change the zoom level

Do one of the following:

To set the zoom increment

The zoom increment determines how quickly Magnifier zooms in and out.

Click the Options button, and then move the slider to adjust the zoom increment. Moving the slider to the left causes Magnifier to zoom slower, with smaller changes between zoom levels. Moving the slider to the right causes Magnifier to zoom faster, with larger changes between zoom levels.

To set the lens size

When you're using lens mode, you can adjust the size of the Magnifier lens.

Click the Options button, and then, under Magnifier Lens Size, move the sliders to adjust the size of the Magnifier lens. The lens size changes right away. Adjust the level until it's right for you.

Note:

• You must be using lens mode for the lens size options to appear.
• You can quickly change the lens size by pressing Ctrl+Alt+R, and then moving the pointer up and down to change the height, and left and right to change the width.

To turn on color inversion

Turning on color inversion increases the contrast between items on your screen, which can help make your screen easier to see.

Click the Options button, and then select the Turn on color inversion checkbox.

To display the Magnifier toolbar

Click the magnifying glass icon or click Magnifier on the taskbar.

Magnifier is a display utility that makes the screen more readable for users who have impaired vision. Magnifier creates a separate window that displays a magnified portion of your screen. You can also change the color scheme of the magnification window for easier visibility. You can move or resize the Magnifier window, or drag it to the edge of the screen and lock it into place. Magnifier is intended to provide a minimum level of functionality for users with slight visual impairments.

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
• Invert the screen colors

Magnifier also has several 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 hide or exit Magnifier.

• To open Magnifier, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Accessibility, and then click Magnifier.
• To open Magnifier using the keyboard, press CTRL+ESC, press R, type magnify, and then press ENTER.
• Utility Manager enables users to check an Accessibility program's status and start or stop an Accessibility program. Users with administrator-level access can designate to have the program start when Utility Manager starts. Users can also start Accessibility programs before logging on to the computer by pressing the Windows logo key () + U at the Welcome to Windows dialog box that appears when Windows starts.

Maginifer is also useful when used with dual-monitors. Click below for more details.

Using Dual-monitors

Magnifier enlarges part of the screen. This is especially useful for viewing objects that are difficult to see. It's also helpful for people who generally have difficulty seeing the screen.

To open Magnifier:

• Click on the Start button, then All Programs, then Accessories, then Ease of Access, then click on Magnifier.

Move the pointer to the part of the screen that you want to magnify.

Change any of the following Magnifier settings:

To invert the colors for better readability Select Invert Colors.
This might be useful if, for example, a document has black text on a white background, but for you, white text on a black background is easier to read.

To dock the Magnifier window to the edge of the screen
Select Docked, and then click a location from the Dock Position list.

To keep the Magnifier settings dialog box minimized when you open Magnifier
Select Minimize on Startup.

To resize the Magnifier window.
Move the mouse pointer over the edge of the magnification window until the pointer becomes a double-headed arrow (on some computers, the pointer might change to a different form).

Drag the window border to resize the window.

To move the Magnifier window.
Move the mouse pointer over the magnification window.
Drag the window to where you want it on your desktop.

To see an enlarged version of what your mouse is pointing at
Select Follow mouse cursor.

To see the area where your pointer moves when you press the TAB or arrow keys
Select Follow keyboard focus.

To see what you're typing
Select Follow text editing.

In the Scale Factor list, select a level. The zoom level in the Magnifier window will change right away. Adjust the level until it's right for you.