Magnifier - Settings
This page covers every configurable Magnifier setting. For interaction, modes, and rendering, see Controls, Modes, and Capture & Image Quality.
Lens Radius
Section titled “Lens Radius”Current and allowed size of the magnifier lens, in pixels.
- Lens Radius: current lens radius (default: 150 px)
- Minimum Lens Radius: lower bound (default: 50 px)
- Maximum Lens Radius: upper bound (default: 600 px)
While the magnifier is active, Ctrl + Scroll resizes the lens between these bounds.
Lens Shape
Section titled “Lens Shape”| Shape | Description |
|---|---|
| Circular | Round lens (default) |
| Rectangular | Square/rectangular lens |
Magnification Level
Section titled “Magnification Level”The initial zoom factor when the magnifier activates.
- Magnification Level: current zoom (default: 2.0×)
- Minimum Magnification: lower bound (default: 1.5×)
- Maximum Magnification: upper bound (default: 8.0×)
Zoom Step Size
Section titled “Zoom Step Size”Increment applied when you scroll the mouse wheel during magnification.
- Default: 0.25× per scroll tick
- Lower values give finer zoom control; higher values let you zoom in/out faster.
Lens Size Step
Section titled “Lens Size Step”Pixel increment applied when you Ctrl + Scroll to resize the lens.
- Default: 15 px per scroll tick
Border & Drag
Section titled “Border & Drag”Drag Border Percent
Section titled “Drag Border Percent”Width of the outer ring of the lens used for dragging (repositioning), as a percentage of the lens radius.
- Range: 5–35%
- Default: 15%
- A wider drag ring is easier to grab but reduces the usable magnification area.
Border Color
Section titled “Border Color”Color of the lens border ring. Default: Dodger Blue.
Border Opacity
Section titled “Border Opacity”How visible the border is, as a percentage (0–100%).
- Default: 60%
Show Knurling
Section titled “Show Knurling”Toggle whether small tick marks are drawn on the border ring for a mechanical look and tactile drag reference.
- Default: On
Behavior
Section titled “Behavior”On Mode
Section titled “On Mode”When enabled, pressing the hotkey shows a crosshairs overlay. Click to place the lens. When disabled, the lens activates immediately at the cursor. See Activation Modes for a full comparison.
- Default: On (crosshairs-first targeting)
Crosshairs Style (On Mode)
Section titled “Crosshairs Style (On Mode)”| Style | Description |
|---|---|
| None | No crosshairs |
| Black | Solid black lines (default) |
| White | Solid white lines |
| Invert | Inverts the screen colors along the lines |
Click-Through Time
Section titled “Click-Through Time”Time window (in ms) immediately after entering the lens, during which mouse clicks pass through to the underlying application.
- Default: 485 ms
- Prevents accidental clicks on the lens UI right as it appears.
Dwell Time
Section titled “Dwell Time”How long (in ms) the cursor must remain still on a target before a dwell-click is triggered.
- Default: 500 ms
Follow Offset
Section titled “Follow Offset”When the lens follows the cursor (Direct mode), it can appear at an offset from the cursor position rather than directly on it.
- Follow Offset X: horizontal offset in pixels (default: 50)
- Follow Offset Y: vertical offset in pixels (default: 50)
Nudge Distance
Section titled “Nudge Distance”Pixel distance the lens moves each time you press an arrow key while it’s active.
- Default: 10 px
Escape To Exit
Section titled “Escape To Exit”When enabled, pressing Escape exits the magnifier.
- Default: On
- Disable this only if
Escapeis needed for something else in your workflow.
Bring To Top On Magnify
Section titled “Bring To Top On Magnify”When enabled, magnifying brings the window directly beneath the cursor to the foreground.
- Default: Off
Activation Mode
Section titled “Activation Mode”The activation shortcut can run in Toggle mode (press to flip on/off, default) or Hold mode (active only while held). Hold mode is especially useful for the Magnifier: press and hold to zoom in on a detail, release to dismiss the lens. Switch via the ComboBox next to the shortcut.
See Activation Mode for details.
Mouse Speed
Section titled “Mouse Speed”Reduce Mouse Speed
Section titled “Reduce Mouse Speed”When enabled, cursor movement slows down while the magnifier is active so you can aim more precisely inside the zoomed lens.
- Default: Off
Magnified Mouse Speed
Section titled “Magnified Mouse Speed”The mouse speed used while magnified.
- Default: -1 (automatic: half your current speed)
- 1–20: fixed Windows mouse speed value
Image Quality
Section titled “Image Quality”Image Quality Mode
Section titled “Image Quality Mode”See Capture & Image Quality for the full breakdown of the 5 quality modes.
- Default: Enhanced (Sharp)
Sharpening Amount
Section titled “Sharpening Amount”Intensity of the sharpening filter used when Enhanced (Sharp) quality is selected.
- Range: 0–100
- Default: 50
- Higher values produce sharper output but can amplify image noise.
Performance
Section titled “Performance”Refresh Rate
Section titled “Refresh Rate”Target capture/render rate for the magnifier, in Hz.
- Range: 30–60 Hz
- Default: 60 Hz
- Lower the rate if you notice stuttering on older hardware.
Capture Method
Section titled “Capture Method”| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| GDI+ Capture | CPU-based screen capture using Graphics.CopyFromScreen (default) |
| Magnification API | Hardware-accelerated via DWM; automatically captures cursor |
See Capture & Image Quality for guidance on choosing.