Windows: With Aero, Microsoft added a nifty magnifier tool to Windows 7 and Vista that enables you to zoom in — regardless of the application — on the fine details on the screen. For faster zooming, here are some keyboard shortcuts.
You may already know about the CTRL plus + keyboard combination that enlarges web pages in most browsers and zooms in for other applications like Photoshop. Hit CTRL and the – (minus) sign simultaneously and you zoom out.
As handy as CTRL + and CTRL – are, however, not all applications support those keyboard magnification controls.
For those instances, you can use Windows’ built-in Magnifier tool instead. Hit the Windows key and + to zoom in on the display (by default, in 100 per cent increments, but you can change this in the tool settings). Hold down the Windows and – keys at the same time to zoom back out.
Other quick keyboard shortcuts, once you have the Magnifier tool up, include:
- CTRL + L to bring up the lens display view
- CTRL + D to dock the magnification area.
- CTRL + F brings you back to the full screen mode.
If you ever want to get a closer look at something in Windows Vista or Windows 7, and the CTRL + shortcut doesn’t do anything for you, try using the Windows key instead of the CTRL key. This shortcut should work for any Windows 7/Vista application.
Shortcut of the Day highlights a great shortcut on various platforms from the desktop to mobile devices to the web.
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