AccessWorld
Screen Magnifier Glossary
Focus: A window, dialog, menu, or control that receives input. For example, the object that is currently receiving keyboard input has “focus.”
Hot Key: A keystroke combination that causes a function to take place. For example, most screen magnifiers have hot keys to increase and decrease magnification.
Inverse: A feature that swaps the foreground colors with background colors.
Locator: A feature that shows which portion of the unmagnified screen is in view in the magnified portion. It is helpful for navigating around the screen, especially when high magnification levels are being used.
Panning: This feature allows you to move the magnified view automatically in one direction using a set of “hot keys.” It can be used for reading text or navigating around the screen.
Primary Magnification Window: The main magnified view currently being used. The “primary magnification window” can be one of the following four views and can be set to any magnification power that the software allows.
- Full Screen View: A magnification setting that enlarges the entire screen.
- Lens View: A magnification setting that places a box on the screen, which is magnified. The rest of the screen remains unmagnified. This “lens” is moved around the screen with the mouse.
- Split Screen View: A magnification setting that divides the screen into two sections. One section is magnified while the other section remains unmagnified. The setup of the “split screen” can be either horizontal or vertical.
- Overlay: A magnification setting that magnifies one corner of the screen while the rest of the screen remains unmagnified. This corner of the screen does not move, but as the mouse or “focus” changes, its image changes.
Secondary Magnification Window: Additional magnified views that can be placed over the “primary magnification window” or the “unmagnified view.” “Secondary magnification windows” are usually designed for specific purposes. For example, a “secondary magnification window” can be placed over the time, so it is always magnified.
Smoothing: As higher magnification levels are reached, more details of an object are seen. This means that pixels become more apparent, giving a stair-step appearance. “Smoothing” attempts to compensate for this problem by combining bordering pixels with each other.
Stretching: The ability to alter the appearance of the screen to make it look as though it has been magnified in only one direction- -either horizontally or vertically.
Tracking: A feature that enables the magnified area to change its viewing area automatically when another object outside the magnified view becomes active.
Unmagnified View: The area of the screen that appears in its default size. The only magnification setting in which there is no “unmagnified view” is the “full screen view.”
Verbosity: Determines the amount of detail spoken when a window’s component gains “focus.” For example, the text of the component will always be read, but the type of component it is may or may not be read.
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