What Is A Screen Magnifier?

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Computer Hardware

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 4/10

CONTENTS

Features
How Do Screen Magnifiers Work?
Are Screen Magnifiers Commonly Used?

Learn about what a screen magnifier is in this article.

A screen magnifier is an accessibility device that attaches to a monitor and magnifies the contents of the screen, including the pointer, words and visual media, to make it easier for people to see. This is useful for users with visual impairments that find the display output difficult to read.

Features

Below are examples of additional features that screen magnifiers may provide:

Colour inversion - People with visual impairments sometimes prefer to invert the colours (e.g. turning black-on-white text to white-on-black text) to reduce screen glare.
Increased contrast - Screen readers may increase the contrast so that the text is easier to read. This is often done by making the colour of the text stand out more from the background colour.
Increased brightness - Screen magnifiers may brighten the images displayed on the screen to make them easier to see and reduce eye strain.
Screen reader - Some magnifiers may also include a built-in screen reader that reads out the text on the screen, which is useful for users with reading or learning disabilities.
Smoothing - When enlarged, text can become harder to recognise and chunky, so smoothing makes the jagged edges of text look smoother and easier to read.
Different magnification modes - Most screen magnifiers come with different magnification modes so that users can adjust how they see the enlarged portion of the screen, including the zoom percentage and whether it enlarges the full screen or specific portions of it. Some screen magnifiers can enlarge the screen by up to 64 times.
Mouse pointer and font customisation - Even with magnification, some users may find the mouse pointer and font hard to see. Some screen magnifiers enable the font and mouse pointer to be customised from the default one to help users find it on the screen more easily.
Sharpening - Some screen magnifiers may sharpen the output displayed on the screen to decrease blur and make it easier to read. However, sharpening cannot correct text or visual media that is greatly blurred.

How Do Screen Magnifiers Work?

Simple screen magnifiers enlarge a portion of the screen content so that the content of interest to the user is easier for them to see. As the user moves the pointer, the screen magnifier will often keep track of its movements and show the new enlarged portion.

Are Screen Magnifiers Commonly Used?

Actual hardware screen magnifiers are not as commonly used now. They were more commonly used before computers were powerful enough to handle the screen magnification tasks themselves. As of now, screen magnification software is often built into most operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS and can be enabled by turning it on in the accessibility settings. Third-party screen magnification software, like ZoomText, is also available if users need to use extra features not provided by the operating system.