How To: Magnify Your Computer Screen

On a recent, quick visit with my parents in Florida, we tried unsuccessfully to connect their Dell laptop to their TV to see if they liked using a bigger screen since they're finding the print on many web sites small and difficult to read.

Long story short, it didn't work, I think because it is an older-model TV. I am not convinced the small-print issue would have been resolved using the TV screen anyway. We've tinkered with font settings and DPI resolution to make the print larger and easier to read on most of the sites they view. But I downloaded iTunes so my dad, who loves music, could download some songs he may not have. The print size on iTunes is very small, so my mom switched gears to see how to magnify their computer screen.

Which brought her to Microsoft Magnifier, a built-in Windows magnifier you can access by clicking on Start > Accessories > Accessibility > Magnifier. After playing with it for awhile, I've found it is not the easiest tool to use, and I suspect even more difficult if you're visually impaired. But it can help magnify a part of the screen at a time.

This is how it works:  A magnifier window pops up, and you drag it to make it bigger and move it to a corner of your screen. When you place your cursor on words in the other window, they appear magnified in the magnifier window. It's cumbersome, to say the least.

My mom has been tinkering with it, too. In the meantime, I searched for some computer screen magnifiers to see if a manual magnifier may do the trick. I ordered the Carson Magniscreen Magnifier for a 15-inch screen.

The next step is to consider screen-magnification software, such as Zoomtext and Lunarplus, but some reviews say they are difficult to learn to use. But thanks to Peter Verhoeven, who offers low-vision product advice on magnifiers.org, I found a free 30-day trial download for my parents to try: iZoom.

It downloads quickly, doesn't take up a lot of hard drive space, and is easy to use. There's no box to move around on the screen, but you have to become adept at moving the cursor to the part of the screen you want to see since you can't see the whole magnified screen.

It's worth a try. And if anyone has other advice on magnifying screens for yourself or family members, please post below.