Though Windows' accessibility tools and settings were designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities, they include some productivity gems of more universal applicability. In particular, Magnifier is a valuable utility for teachers in a classroom, salespeople or marketing professionals giving demos, or almost anyone making a presentation.

If you didn't install this tool when you installed Windows 98, here's what you should do: Make sure your Windows 98 CD-ROM is in your CD-ROM drive, open Control Panel, and double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. Click the Windows Setup tab and make sure Accessibility is selected in the Components list. Then click Details, check the Accessibility Tools box, and click OK twice.

To start the Magnifier, choose Start-Programs-Accessories-Accessibility-Magnifier (you may want to copy the Magnifier Shortcut to the desktop or to a more convenient menu in the future). By default, the Magnifier window appears at the top of your screen, enlarging whatever is under your pointer. To make that window larger or smaller, drag the edge of the "regular" window and resize it. Alternatively, position the pointer inside the Magnifier window and drag the window to any edge (to snap it there) or toward the screen's centre (to make it free-floating).

The Magnifier dialogue box lets you set the magnification level and specify whether the utility should always enlarge what's under the pointer, follow text cursors as you type and edit, and so on. Using the Magnifier can be a bit of a challenge to your hand-eye coordination at first, but you should get the hang of it quickly. My advice: Try using the default settings at first; they're especially handy for showing others in a large room what work you're doing with the mouse or what text you're typing. On the other hand, if your goal is to enlarge an indistinct part of the screen (such as a toolbar with tiny buttons), uncheck Follow keyboard focus and Follow text editing. Then make sure the area you want to display appears in the Magnification window, and press <Alt>-M to turn off Follow mouse cursor. Click OK to minimise the dialogue box.

Caption: Widen your horizons by magnifying the area under your pointer

Naturally, you don't want to be fiddling with Magnifier settings during a class or demo. And luckily, if your keyboard has a Windows key, you may not have to. For example, pressing the <Windows> key while holding down <Up Arrow> will instantly increase the zoom level, and pressing <Windows>-<Down Arrow> will decrease it. For other such shortcuts, choose Start-Help, click the Index tab, and type magnifier. Double-click shortcut keys under the Magnifier entry to obtain a complete list of Windows-key Shortcuts.

A final tip: If you have systems running both Windows 95 and 98, you can make Magnifier run on Windows 95 by copying the Magnify.exe and Mag_hook.dll files to any folder on your Windows 95 machine. Launch the utility by double-clicking Magnify.exe or a Shortcut to it. This manoeuvre can be handy if you have Windows 98 installed on a desktop machine but Windows 95 on the notebook computer you use for demos and presentations.