Magnifier (Windows)
Template:Infobox Windows component Magnifier is a magnification tool for the visually impaired to use Microsoft Windows. When it is run, it creates a bar at the top of the screen that greatly magnifies where the mouse is. Magnifier was first included as a sample in the Active Accessibility SDK/RDK for Windows 95 and later made a standard Windows utility starting with Windows 98. Magnifier can be used to magnify the screen up to 9 times its normal size prior to Windows Vista. Windows Vista and later allow up to 16x magnification.
In Windows Vista, Magnifier uses WPF, which in turn uses vector images to render the content. As a result, the rendered magnified image is sharp and not pixelated.[1] However, this is useful only for Windows Presentation Foundation applications. Non-WPF applications are still magnified the traditional way. Also, due to a change introduced in WPF 3.5 SP1, this functionality is lost if .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is installed. [2]
Microsoft has also released a Magnification API to allow assistive technology applications to use the Magnifier engine.[3]
Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system includes a significantly improved version of Magnifier. It features full-screen magnification which allows a user to pan around the screen at a maximum magnification depth of 1600%. However, the development of the full screen feature has also received criticism due to its incompatibility with the high contrast color schemes found in the Windows 7 beta release.[4] This issue remains in the final Windows 7 release. Besides this, when the magnifier zooms, the text will get blurry due to the anti-aliased fonts the operating system is using since Vista. There are some options to disable the anti-aliased (glassy) fonts to some level, but this will result in a blocky image. This problem is solved by other (third party) magnification software developer by adding text smoothing/enhancement functionality, which Windows 7 Magnifier lacks in the final release.
The magnifier also features a lens mode similar to that found in the existing version of the software. Lens mode is improved, however, as now the magnifying window will follow the cursor around the screen rather than remain in a fixed position. Finally the magnifier is much easier to access by using the Windows Key and +/- to control the zoom level without the need to start the application first.[5]
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