Customizing Zoom

Enable Desktop Zoom and configure different types of zoomed views.

Customize Zoom settings to create a zoom view to suit the needs of a specific user. The different types of magnified views you can configure include the following:

A full screen magnification view where the entire screen is magnified.
A zoomed square "magnifying lens" view that follows the mouse pointer.
A split screen view where half the screen, for example the bottom half, renders the magnified view of the mouse pointer location, whilst the other half displays the desktop without zoom settings.

The zoomed views can be further enhanced by adjusting color and contrast settings and crosshair lines for the mouse pointer.

The following example procedure assumes you're configuring Zoom to render the magnified view in the bottom half of the screen with thick blue crosshair lines to help make the mouse pointer location more visible:

Access the Accessibility panel by using a preferred method.

See Accessing Assistive Technologies.
Select Zoom.
A panel of Zoom options appears.
On the panel of Zoom options, in the Magnifier section, set the Magnification Factor to the required value, for example 1.50.
From the Magnifier View list, select Screen Area.
Options for configuring the Screen Area become available.
From the Screen Area list, select Bottom Half.
In the Crosshairs section, switch the Crosshair Lines toggle to ON.
Further Crosshair settings appear.
Use the Thickness slider to increase the thickness of the crosshair lines.
Select the Color setting.
A list of colors appears on a panel.
From the panel of colors, select a color, for example, blue.
(Optional) Toggle the Desktop Zoom switch to ON to use the feature immediately.

You can also enable the magnifier later through the Accessibility Menu icon on the desktop's top bar.

For more information about customizing the magnifier, see the following:

GNOME help pages (see Viewing GNOME Help for information on how to view the help pages).
Configurable Settings for Zoom
https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/a11y-mag.html.en

Configurable Settings for Zoom

The following tables provide an overview of different types of settings that can be configured for the zoom functionality.

Table 3-2 Desktop Zoom

Setting	Description
Desktop Zoom	Desktop Zoom sets whether Zoom functionality in the GNOME desktop is enabled. All other settings on the Zoom panel only come into effect if Desktop Zoom is enabled.

Table 3-3 Magnifier Settings

Setting	Description
Magnification Factor	This can be set to any value between 1.00 and 20.00.
Magnification View	The possible values for Magnification View are as follows: Follow Mouse Cursor: Creates a zoomed square "magnifying lens" view that follows the mouse pointer. Screen Area: Stipulates that a dedicated screen area, for example, the right half of the screen, is used to render the magnified content. The location of the dedicated screen area is defined in a separate Screen Area setting.
Screen Area	This setting is used when Magnification View has been set to use a fixed screen region for the zoomed view. The Screen Area setting can be set to one of the following: Full Screen: Magnifies the entire screen. Top Half: Renders magnified content in top half of the screen. Bottom Half: Renders magnified content in bottom half of the screen. Left Half: Renders magnified content in left half of the screen. Right Half: Renders magnified content in right half of the screen.

Setting

Description

Magnification Factor

This can be set to any value between 1.00 and 20.00.

Magnification View

The possible values for Magnification View are as follows:

Follow Mouse Cursor: Creates a zoomed square "magnifying lens" view that follows the mouse pointer.
Screen Area: Stipulates that a dedicated screen area, for example, the right half of the screen, is used to render the magnified content. The location of the dedicated screen area is defined in a separate Screen Area setting.

Screen Area

This setting is used when Magnification View has been set to use a fixed screen region for the zoomed view.

The Screen Area setting can be set to one of the following:

Full Screen: Magnifies the entire screen.
Top Half: Renders magnified content in top half of the screen.
Bottom Half: Renders magnified content in bottom half of the screen.
Left Half: Renders magnified content in left half of the screen.
Right Half: Renders magnified content in right half of the screen.

Table 3-4 Crosshairs Settings

Setting	Description
Crosshair lines	Sets whether to use crosshairs in the magnified view to mark the cursor location.
Overlap Mouse Cursor	When selected, the crosshairs fully intersect and extend into the mouse cursor location. When unselected, the crosshairs end before they intersect the mouse cursor.
Thickness	Sets the thickness of the crosshair lines.
Length	Sets the length of the crosshair lines.
Color	Sets the color of the crosshair lines.

Table 3-5 Color Filters Settings

Setting	Description
Inverted	Inverts the screen colors in the magnified view.
Brightness	Sets screen brightness in the magnified view.
Contrast	Sets screen contrast in the magnified view.
Color	Sets color saturation the magnified view.