TIL: One weird trick in macOS Monterey to zoom text

[RAMd®d]

System Preferences > Accessibility > Zoom (in left window) > Enable Hover Text

Ticking this box allows one press Cmd then hover the cursor over text to provide a greatly magnified view of it.

Release the Cmd key and the magnified text disappears.

Clicking the Options... button shows a few options to tailor one's preferences.

It shows the default text size to be 60pt.

That's huge, on two levels.

Hover won't work with text within a pic, and probably other places, too, I haven't checked.

But it's a trick that will come in handy for me from time to time, and pretty easy for me to remember.


Sierra, my main OS for the time being, doesn't have this feature, that I know of.

It does have some keyboard commands for screen or portion of a screen zoom, but this isn't just text, and requires three keys to navigate and manipulate.

That's too much for me to remember so I just use Ctrl-Scroll to zoom centered on the cursor.


I don't know with which OS Hover Over Text appeared, but I like it a lot, and wish Sierra had it.

Not having a later OS than Monterey, I don't know if it was kept up to Sonoma or dropped at some point.

[hal]

I never heard of this, but I just turned it on (ventura). Doesn't work right on my main mini. It works sometimes, but not others and I find it rather clunky and ugly.

I use CMD-scroll often and for me, it works way better.

imo, you aren't missing anything

[MindMeld]

Very neat little setting. I didn't know that. Thanks RAMd@d!

[RAMd®d]

I haven't found a problem with it so far, so I think there will be times when I prefer it over Ctrl-Scroll.

If it saves on life MM, then my work is done.

LOL

[Fritz]

I changed the Option to the option key coz I had too many collisions with other Cntl key shortcuts. & 24pt.
You can also set min/max zoom.
Advanced/Controls.

After my recent n&p, I'd forgotten ...
TrackPad/Point & Click, 3 finger tap dictionary look up.
And - Scroll & Zoom/Smart Zoom/2 finger double tap