D.Lee Beard continues a new series comparing Mac OS X.6 Snow Leopard to Windows 7. In this episode, he shows how to zoom in on a portion of the computer screen in both Windows 7 and Mac OS X. Zooming in on the computer screen is a great tool for teachers.
Which is better??? You get to decide by voting at
http://AsktheTechies.com/episode119.html. 4min. 19sec.
Click Here to Play Episode 119
7 comments:
I think Windows has improved this ability a great deal in Windows 7 compared to Windows XP.
Once you turn on the magnifier in Windows 7, it's on until you turn it off. After you turn on the magnifier, you don't need to go back to the Control Panel to re-enable it. All you have to do is search for the magnifier in the Start menu.
If the magnifier is off and you search for it, Windows will display the option to turn it on.
I tried to replicate the problem you had reopening magnifier. I couldn't.
It is really simple. You turn it on. If you close out of it, you turn it back on again.
Not only that, there are settings to refine and personalize how it works. Try to keep an open mind.
OS 10.6 (maybe older, I'm new to mac (<1 year)) you can hold the control key and scroll up or down to zoom in or out respectively. The mouse wheel and the two finger gesture on MacBooks both work with this. I have also been using windows 7 since launch and I discovered an shortcut using the windows key and + or - to zoom in and out. It brings up the same magnifying glass icon your method reveals. I believe both of these methods are incredibly simple since anyone who tries to add to productivity by using shortcuts already has their hand hovering over the ctrl-win-alt or cntl-opt-cmmd section of their keyboard. Without a doubt OSX takes the cake on this one though. When you are finished magnifying in Win 7, you have to close a window. Plus the icon is always there being a nuisance in ones peripheral or just right in the way.
The win + combo in windows 7 does reopen the magnifier if it is closed. Just a reminder. Thanks
Andrew, thanks for the Logo button and +- keys to zoom in or out. Windows 7 makes no mention of this in the control panel. The fact that this is not documented, when it so easily could have been, leaves me feeling that Mac is superior on this issue. I guess the folks at Microsoft thought they would leave this as some sort of hidden "easter egg".
On the Mac, you are right, the Control plus scroll wheel trick comes in handy when you don't want to have to go into the system preferences and turn it on.
Also, after closing the W7 magnifying window, it will reenable by pressing the Windows button and the + button.
I also like how you can use the lens option and just zoom in on a section of the screen instead of always the whole screen. There does seem to be more options in the Windows version.
On the flip side, I prefer being able to keep my hand on the mouse in the OSX to zoom in and out.
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