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Excel 2020: Use the Windows Magnifier

November 30, 2020 - by

Excel Use the Windows Magnifier. Photo Credit: Marten Newhall at Unsplash.com

Someone always asks how to use Windows Magnifier on my live Power Excel seminars, so I will write up the key steps.

First, there are three versions of the magnifier. To start the magnifier, press the Windows key and + (the Plus sign on the Numeric Keypad). To stop the magnifier, press the Windows key and Esc.

The first time that you use the magnifier, it opens in a view called Full Screen. Everything on the screen becomes bigger and you can use the mouse to move around. I don't like this version. Look for the floating Magnifier toolbar. Open Views and choose Lens.

This shows the Magnifier toolbar. There are three views for Windows Magnifier: Full Screen, Lens, or Docked. In this figure, Lens is chosen.

A magnifier lens follows your mouse cursor around the screen. You can use the Settings (gear wheel) icon in the toolbar to change the size of the lens.

With a lens, a rectangular magnifier surrounds your mouse pointer.

On some computers, the Magnifier toolbar starts out as an icon that looks like a magnifying glass. Click the icon to open the toolbar. More magnifier settings are in Windows, Settings, Ease of Access, Magnifier.

Title Photo: Marten Newhall at Unsplash.com

This article is an excerpt from MrExcel 2020 - Seeing Excel Clearly.