Ever wanted to quickly zoom in on a specific area of your Chromebook display? We know you can zoom in on websites easily, but most people don’t know Chrome OS has a very cool feature called Screen Magnifier. This allows users to zoom in on a system level, meaning it works with any app, website, page or media.
This is not a complete replacement to the zoom functionality in the browser, though. It’s more of a feature you use when you want to take a quick look at something; maybe small writing, or a discrepancy in your images. I say this because the feature doesn’t exactly act as a solution to small icons or font.
The image does lose quality when zoomed in, and parts of the screen disappear. In essence, it’s more of a “quick look” kinda zoom.
How do I activate Screen Magnifier?
Activating this feature is very easy. You don’t even need to be on Beta/Dev or access the flags. It’s right in your settings. Here is how you do it:
- Click on the status area and go to Settings.
- Scroll down and click on “Show advanced settings”.
- Scroll down to the “Accessibility” section and check the “Enable screen magnifier” option.
After following those simple steps, you are all set. You are now ready to start using the feature.
How to use Screen Magnifier
There are two simple keyboard combinations you can use for zooming in or out an your screen.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Brightness Up or Brightness Down.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + two-finger scroll up or down.
This will allow you to zoom in and out anywhere on your screen. I can see it being a great feature for those with viewing problems, who often run into apps or websites with extra small font/images. Perfect for “reading the small print”, right?
Enjoy!
[via François Beaufort]
