How to magnify the screen in macOS 10.13 High Sierra

If you have enabled ‘Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys’ under ‘Keyboard’ settings in ‘System Preferences’ then omit the ‘Fn’ key from the keyboard shortcuts shown in this article.

Open ‘Zoom’ settings

1. Open ‘Accessibility Preferences’: Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accessibility. (See the article Open Accessibility Preferences on this website for more information.)
2. In the left-hand column of the ‘Vision’ section, click on ‘Zoom’ or press ‘Tab’ key to highlight one of the options in the list (for example ‘General’) and then press the up or down arrow key to select the ‘Zoom’ item, see Fig 1.
   
   Fig 1

Zoom settings

In the ‘Zoom’ settings pane you can select (tick) to enable the following options (see Fig 2).

Fig 2

1. ‘Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom’
   If you tick this item you will be able to use the following shortcuts to activate zoom and zoom in and out:
   • Toggle Zoom: ‘Alt (⌥)’ + ‘Command (⌘)’ + ‘8’
   • Zoom In: ‘Alt (⌥)’ + ‘Command (⌘)’ + ‘=’ (equals)
   • Zoom Out: ‘Alt (⌥)’ + ‘Command (⌘)’ + ‘-’ (hyphen)
   • Toggle smooth images (see below): ‘Alt (⌥)’ + ‘Command (⌘)’ + ‘\’ (backslash)
2. ‘Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom’
   This enables you to activate zoom by holding down a modifier key (by default this is the ‘Control (⌃)’ key) and using a two-finger scroll gesture (or mouse wheel) to zoom in and out.If you would like to change the modifier key, click on the drop-down menu to select ‘Control (⌃)’ (), ‘Option (⌥)’ or ‘Command (⌘)’. Fig 3.
   
   Fig 3
3. ‘Smooth images’
   When the screen is zoomed in, text and images can become pixelated. Tick ‘Smooth images’ to rectify this.
4. ‘Zoom follows keyboard focus’
   If you ordinarily use the keyboard to navigate the screen and activate menus you may find this option useful – with it enabled, the screen automatically moves so that the area where the keyboard is currently focused is always visible and zoomed in.
5. ‘Speak items under the pointer’
   When enabled, the computer will read aloud the item that is currently under the pointer. You can adjust the delay for how long the pointer needs to be over an item after which the computer starts talking Fig 4.
   
   Fig 4
   
   By default, ‘Speak items under the point’ is only active when the screen is zoomed in. If you would prefer to use this option even when the screen is zoomed out, click on the drop-down menu next to ‘Speak items under the pointer’ and select ‘Always’. Fig 5.
   
   Fig 5

Zoom style

There are two ‘Zoom’ style options (see a side-by-side comparison in Fig 6):

• ‘Full Screen Zoom’ (default) - the entire screen becomes magnified.
• ‘Picture-in-picture Zoom’ - only a small section of the screen surrounding the mouse pointer becomes magnified.

Fig 6

You can customise the settings for both ‘Zoom’ styles, see the steps below

Full Screen Zoom settings

To change the settings for ‘Full Screen’ Zoom:

1. Click the ‘Options…’ button in the ‘Zoom style’ section or press ‘Tab’ until ‘Options…’ is highlighted and then press the ‘Spacebar’, see Fig 7.
   
   Fig 7
2. You can enable several options for ‘Full Screen’ zoom on this screen (see Fig 8).
   
   Fig 8
   • ‘Show preview rectangle when zoomed out’ – a black outline will appear on the screen indicating the area that will be magnified when ‘Zoom’ is activated.
   • ‘Hold ‘Control (⌃)’ + ‘Alt (⌥)’ to temporarily toggle zoom’ – when zoomed in you can temporarily view the screen at normal size whilst holding this shortcut.
   • ‘Hold ‘Control (⌃) + ‘Command (⌘)’ to temporarily detach zoom from pointer’ – If you find it difficult to see the content underneath the pointer when you are zoomed in, use this shortcut to temporarily hide the pointer whilst moving around the screen.
   • ‘Flash screen when notification banner appears outside zoom view’ – the entire screen will flash once when a notification arrives.
3. You can also choose how the zoomed screen image moves in relation to the pointer. Fig 9.
   
   Fig 9
   • ‘Continuously with pointer’ – the zoomed screen moves as you move the pointer.
   • ‘Only when the pointer reaches an edge’ – the zoomed image remains stationary until the pointer reaches an edge of the screen. Once the pointer is touching an edge, keep moving your mouse or your finger on the trackpad and the screen will reposition.
   • ‘So the pointer is at or near the centre of the screen’ – When you move your mouse or your finger on the trackpad the screen will move but the pointer will remain as centred on the screen as possible.
4. When you are happy with your ‘Full Screen’ zoom settings click the ‘OK’ button or press ‘Tab’ until it is highlight and press ‘Enter’

Picture-in-picture Zoom settings

If you would prefer to use the ‘Picture-in-picture’ zoom style:

1. Click on the drop-down menu next to ‘Zoom Style’ and select ‘Picture in Picture’ or press ‘Tab’ until the drop-down menu is highlighted, press ‘Spacebar’ to activate, use the arrow keys to highlight ‘Picture in-Picture’ then press ‘Enter’. Fig 10.
   
   Fig 10
2. To change the settings for ‘Picture-in-picture’ zoom, click on the ‘Options…’ button or press ‘Tab’ until ‘Options…’ is highlighted and then press the ‘Spacebar’. Fig 11.
   
   Fig 11
3. You can enable several options for ‘Picture-in-picture’ zoom on this screen:

   Window position (Fig 12)

   • ‘Stationary’ – the screen image moves within the stationary ‘Zoom’ window.
   • ‘Follow mouse cursor’ – The ‘Zoom’ window moves in relation to the pointer.
   • ‘Tiled along edge – One edge of the screen becomes the ‘Zoom’ window. You can resize this window and choose which edge it should appear on under the ‘Adjust Size and Location’ settings (see section below).
     
     Fig 12

   Cursor Style (Fig 13)

   • ‘System cursor’ – show the default pointer and cursor in the ‘Zoom’ window.
   • ‘Crosshair’ – show an enlarge crosshair in place of the pointer.
     
     Fig 13
   • ‘Invert colours’ (Fig 14) – the colours of the image inside the ‘Zoom’ window will be inverted to make it easier to distinguish between the zoomed and non-zoomed sections of the screen.
   • ‘Hold ‘Control (⌃)’ + ‘Alt (⌥)’ to temporarily toggle zoom’ (Fig 14) – when zoomed in you can temporarily view the screen at normal size whilst holding this shortcut.
   • ‘Hold ‘Control (⌃) + ‘Command (⌘)’ to temporarily detach zoom from pointer’ (Fig 14) – If you find it difficult to see the content underneath the pointer when you are zoomed in, use this shortcut to temporarily hide the pointer whilst moving around the screen.
     
     Fig 14

   Adjust Size and Location

   If you would like to reposition or resize the ‘Picture-in-picture’ window.

   1. Click on the ‘Adjust Size and Location’ button or press ‘Tab’ until the button is highlighted and press ‘Spacebar’. Fig 15.
      
      Fig 15
   2. A preview of the Picture-in-picture’ window will appear. You can drag any edge or corner to resize the window. Click and drag within the window to reposition it on the screen. Fig 16.
      
      Fig 16
   3. When happy with the size and position of the window click ‘OK’.
   4. When happy with your ‘Picture-in-picture’ zoom settings click on the ‘Done’ button or press ‘Tab’ until it is selected and then press ‘Enter’.

When happy with your ‘Zoom’ settings click the ‘Close’ (red) button at the top of the ‘Accessibility’ window or press ‘Cmd’ + ‘W‘ to close the window.

Using Zoom with keyboard shortcuts:

• To turn the ‘Zoom’ magnification feature on or off at any time, press ‘Alt’ + ‘Cmd’ + ‘8’
• To zoom in: Press ‘Alt’ + ‘Cmd’ + ‘=‘ (equals)
• To zoom out: Press ‘Alt’ + ‘Cmd’ + ‘­-‘ (hyphen).
• Move your mouse around the screen to view the magnified page.

Using Zoom with scroll gesture and modifier key:

• To zoom in: Press the modifier key (by default this is the ‘Control’ key) and drag two fingers upwards on your keyboard or magic mouse (if using a conventional mouse, you can use the scroll wheel).
• To zoom out: Press the modifier key (by default this is the ‘Control’ key) and drag two fingers downwards on your keyboard or or magic mouse (if using a conventional mouse, you can use the scroll wheel).
• Move your mouse around the screen to view the magnified page.

Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings are managed by someone else (an IT department or administrator for example). If this is the case you will need to contact them to access these settings or for further help.