How to Turn On the Magnifier in Windows 10 (and Windows 11)

The fastest way to turn on Magnifier in Windows 10 is to press the Windows logo key + Plus (+). To do it with the mouse, open Start > Settings > Ease of Access > Magnifier and turn on Turn on Magnifier. Press Windows logo key + Esc to turn it off again.

These steps are for Windows 10 version 22H2, the final Windows 10 release, and for Windows 11. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, but Magnifier still works the same way on it. The keyboard shortcuts are identical in Windows 11, where the settings page moved to Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier. That route has its own section below. The shortcuts and views match Microsoft’s Magnifier help page.

Magnifier is built into every edition of Windows 10 and 11, including Home. You don’t need to download anything or sign in as an administrator to use it.

Turn On Magnifier With the Keyboard

1. Press and hold the Windows logo key, then press the Plus (+) key. Magnifier opens, the screen zooms in (200% the first time), and a small Magnifier toolbar appears.

2. Press Windows logo key + Plus (+) again to zoom in further, or Windows logo key + Minus (-) to zoom out. The current zoom percentage shows between the minus and plus buttons on the toolbar.
3. Move the mouse toward the edge of the screen to pan around the enlarged view. You can also hold Ctrl + Alt and press the arrow keys.
4. Press Windows logo key + Esc when you’re finished. The screen returns to normal size.

You can use the Plus key on the main keyboard or the one on the numeric keypad. You don’t need to hold Shift. You can also zoom with the mouse by holding Ctrl + Alt and turning the scroll wheel.

If you just need a quick look at normal size, press Ctrl + Alt + Minus (-). It switches between your zoom level and 1x (no zoom) without closing Magnifier.

Turn On Magnifier in Windows 10 Settings

Use this method if you prefer the mouse or want to change how Magnifier behaves.

1. Click the Start button, then click the Settings gear. You can also press Windows logo key + I.
2. Click Ease of Access.
3. Click Magnifier in the left column, under Vision.
4. Turn on the Turn on Magnifier switch. The screen zooms in and the Magnifier toolbar appears.

5. Use Change zoom level to set how far Magnifier zooms each time it starts, and Change zoom increments to set how much each zoom step changes it. The default step is 100%, so a smaller step such as 25% gives finer control.

To turn it off from here, return to the same page and turn the switch off, or close the Magnifier toolbar. You can also type Magnifier in the search box on the taskbar and open the Magnifier app from the results.

Turn On Magnifier in Windows 11 Settings

1. Click Start, then Settings.
2. Click Accessibility in the left pane.
3. Click Magnifier under Vision.
4. Turn on the Magnifier switch. The screen zooms in and the toolbar appears.

The zoom level, zoom increments, startup options, and view settings sit on the same page. Pressing Windows logo key + Ctrl + M opens Magnifier settings directly in either version of Windows.

If the pointer feels hard to control while you are zoomed in, you can slow down the mouse pointer speed in Mouse settings.

Choose a Magnifier View

Magnifier has three views. Switch between them with the Views menu on the Magnifier toolbar or with these shortcuts:

View	What it does	Shortcut
Full screen	Enlarges the whole display. Good when you need everything bigger.	Ctrl + Alt + F
Lens	A movable rectangle that magnifies whatever is under the mouse pointer. Good for checking small details.	Ctrl + Alt + L
Docked	A fixed panel at the top of the screen shows an enlarged copy of the area you’re working in, while the rest of the screen stays normal.	Ctrl + Alt + D

Press Ctrl + Alt + M to cycle through the views. In Full screen view, Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar briefly shows the entire desktop so you can find something, then returns to your zoomed view.

Which one to pick? Full screen suits people who need everything larger all the time. Lens works well for a quick check of small print, because the rest of the screen keeps its normal layout. Docked is handy when you want to see the whole screen and an enlarged copy at once, such as when you fill in a form.

Have Magnifier Read Text Aloud

Magnifier can read text on the screen out loud, which helps when you’re zoomed in so far that only a few words fit on the screen. Microsoft’s Magnifier reading guide lists these commands:

1. Turn on Magnifier and click where the text starts.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Enter, or click the Play button on the Magnifier toolbar. Windows starts reading and highlights the current word.

3. Press Ctrl + Alt + Enter again to pause or resume.
4. Press Ctrl + Alt + K for the next sentence or Ctrl + Alt + H for the previous one.
5. Press any other key to stop reading.

To start from a particular spot, hold Ctrl + Alt and left-click where you want reading to begin. You can change the Ctrl + Alt part of these shortcuts under Reading in Magnifier settings. Pick a key that Narrator, the Windows screen reader, doesn’t use.

Use Magnifier on a Touchscreen

On a touchscreen PC or tablet, Magnifier shows plus (+) and minus (-) symbols in the corners of the screen. Tap them to zoom in or out. In Full screen view, drag along the edges of the screen to move around. Tap two opposite edges at the same time to zoom out briefly and see where you are. To close Magnifier, tap minus until you’re at normal size, then tap the Close button on the toolbar.

Start Magnifier Automatically

If you use Magnifier every day, have Windows start it for you.

1. Open Magnifier settings with Windows logo key + Ctrl + M.
2. Check Start Magnifier after sign-in to have it open each time you sign in.
3. Check Start Magnifier before sign-in for everyone if you also need it on the sign-in screen.

In Windows 11 the options are labeled Start Magnifier after sign in and Start Magnifier before sign in. Both versions of Windows have these options. Clear the same boxes to stop Magnifier from opening on its own.

Useful Magnifier Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Turn Magnifier on	Windows logo key + Plus (+)
Zoom in or out	Windows logo key + Plus (+) or Minus (-)
Zoom with the mouse	Ctrl + Alt + scroll wheel
Switch between zoom and 1x	Ctrl + Alt + Minus (-)
Pan the view	Ctrl + Alt + arrow keys
Invert colors	Ctrl + Alt + I
Resize the lens	Ctrl + Alt + R (mouse) or Shift + Alt + arrow keys
Read text aloud	Ctrl + Alt + Enter
Open Magnifier settings	Windows logo key + Ctrl + M
Turn Magnifier off	Windows logo key + Esc

Microsoft’s accessibility keyboard shortcuts page lists the full set.

Troubleshooting

• Magnifier keeps opening by itself. Someone may be pressing Windows logo key + Plus by accident, or Magnifier is set to start at sign-in. Clear the startup boxes described above.
• The Plus shortcut doesn’t work. Make sure the key you hold is the Windows logo key and not Alt or Ctrl. If a keyboard utility or game remaps the Windows key, try the Settings method instead.
• The magnified view jumps around. Magnifier follows the mouse pointer, keyboard focus, and text cursor. In Windows 11, open Magnifier settings, select View, and under Have my Magnifier follow clear the options you don’t need. Windows 10 has similar mouse and focus options on its Magnifier page.
• The view moves too much or too little with the mouse. In Windows 11, the Keep the mouse pointer setting under View lets you keep the pointer centered on the screen or within the edges.
• Text looks blocky at high zoom. Turn on Smooth edges of images and text in Magnifier settings.
• The colors look inverted. You probably pressed Ctrl + Alt + I. Press it again to switch back.
• You ended up in the wrong view. A stray Ctrl + Alt + F, L, or D changes the view. Press the shortcut for the view you want, or use Ctrl + Alt + M to cycle back.

If you’d rather have larger text all the time instead of a zoom tool, change the text size in Windows. The steps for increasing text size in Windows 11 cover that setting. For colors that are hard to read, high contrast mode is a separate option.

If only webpages are hard to read, you can use a bigger default font size in Google Chrome instead.

If you mostly lose track of the pointer, you can make the mouse cursor bigger or change its color in Accessibility settings instead. If the whole screen looks too large even with Magnifier off, you can reset display settings in Windows 11.

If typing on a physical keyboard is hard, you can also use the On-Screen Keyboard in Windows and click the keys instead.

Frequently Asked Questions