Magnifying the screen on your Mac running macOS 14 is a helpful feature for enhancing visibility and improving accessibility. Whether you're dealing with visual impairments or simply need to see small details more clearly, macOS offers several options to enlarge the screen content. Here’s how to set up and use screen magnification:
Quick Guide
- Open System Settings: Click the Apple icon at the top left corner of your screen and select “System Settings.”
- Access Accessibility Features: Scroll down in the sidebar and click on “Accessibility.”
- Enable Zoom: Choose “Zoom” from the list and toggle the Zoom feature on.
Detailed Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Step 1: Open System Settings
- Start by clicking on the Apple logo located in the upper left corner of your screen.
- From the dropdown menu that appears, select “System Settings.” This will open the main settings window where you can adjust various settings for your Mac.
Step 2: Access Accessibility Features
- In the System Settings window, look for the sidebar on the left. Scroll through this list until you find “Accessibility.” Click on it.
- Accessibility settings are designed to make your Mac easier to use for those with various disabilities.
Step 3: Enable Zoom
- Within the Accessibility settings, find the section labeled “Zoom.” Click on this to access the Zoom settings.
- Toggle the switch next to “Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom” to ON to enable this feature. This allows you to use keyboard shortcuts to quickly zoom in and out on your screen.
- You can also enable “Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom,” which lets you use a modifier key in combination with your mouse’s scroll function to control zooming.
Additional Zoom Options
- Full Screen Zoom or Picture-in-Picture Zoom: You can choose whether the zoom applies to the entire screen or just a portion of it (like a resizable lens).
- Adjust Zoom Region and Magnification: Customise the zoom level and the part of the screen that gets magnified to suit your specific needs.
- Advanced Zoom Options: In the same settings pane, you may also adjust how the screen image moves in relation to the pointer and configure other visual enhancements for better clarity.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Zoom
- Zoom In: Press Option + Command + = to zoom in.
- Zoom Out: Press Option + Command + - to zoom out.
- Toggle Zoom: Press Option + Command + 8 to turn zoom on or off.
By setting up these features, you can easily magnify the screen on your Mac to better view text, images, and other details. This makes your Mac more accessible and can help reduce eye strain during extended use.