In my previous article, Take Off Your Glasses and Enjoy the
Web, I introduced you to a JavaScript browser enhancement called
Readability. That
article generated a lot of email feedback. Before I move on to new
topics, I need to clarify a few points from that article.
Readability Clarification
Readability is free. It is not in beta and is not time-limited. It
is a product of Arc90 and is dependent upon their website to function,
so the company could theoretically shut it down at anytime. Currently,
there is absolutely no indication of that happening.
The primary purpose of Readability is not to enlarge web pages. Its
main function is to make web pages more readable (hence its name).
Magnification Tools
Today, we will look at some tools and techniques that are designed
to magnify what you see on the screen.
All major browsers have the built-in ability to magnify screen
content. The methods and capabilities vary significantly among the
various browsers. Let's take a closer look at the leading Mac web
browsers: Camino, Safari,
Opera, and Firefox. Unless stated otherwise, the
remainder of this article refers only to these browsers.
Two Ways to Zoom
There are two ways a page can be magnified. The entire page can be
zoomed or just the text. In the latter instance, the graphic elements
on the page remain static while the text is enlarged. In a text-only
zoom, text contained within graphics is not affected.
When the entire page is magnified, everything gets larger, not just
the text. In this method, the relative layout of the page remains the
same for the most part, except in instances of extreme zoom, when
design elements are shifted around because they can't all fit on the
page.
The majority of the time I employ zoom, I zoom the entire page. I
typically want to see the entire page, and this method allows me to
view it comfortably. In the case of a large article, when I just want
to read the text, I will zoom just the text or use Readability.
Figure 1: Low End Mac homepage viewed with Camino.
Figure 1 (above) shows the Low End Mac home page in its native
state, without magnification. Figure 2 (below) shows LEM after a couple
of clicks on the "Enlarge the content of this page" button in Camino
(explained below).
Figure 2: Low End Mac homepage with enlarged text.
Except for Opera, all browsers have the ability to zoom the entire
page by using the key combination Cmd-= (press the +/= key while also
holding down Command). To reduce text size, use Cmd-- (press the minus
key while holding down Command).
Many people swear by keyboard shortcuts. I am not one of them. I
still have too many bad memories of having lived through the
infuriating DOS era when the only input available on most computers was
a keyboard. The widespread adoption of the mouse, pioneered by Apple,
was long overdue. I bought my first Mac, grabbed the mouse, started
clicking, and never looked back. Given the choice of accomplishing a
task with a couple of mouse clicks or a keyboard shortcut, I will
choose the mouse every time.
If you are the keyboard-centric type, you might be able to get by
just fine with these magnification keystrokes. If you prefer the mouse
and are more graphically oriented, keep reading.
Zooming in Camino
Let's start with my favorite browser, Camino. In case you are
not familiar with it, Camino is a Mozilla project that is built from
exclusively for Mac OS X, so it looks and feels a lot more
Mac-like than Firefox. It is a sleek and fast browser for users who
don't want a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles slowing down their
browsing experience. Coincidentally, it also has the most flexible and
extensive tools for screen magnification. Here is how to install
them.
Open Camino and go to View > Customize Toolbar. From the window
that opens, there are four tools you will need to drag to the menu bar:
Bigger Text, Smaller Text, Zoom In, and Zoom Out. Place them anywhere
you like on the toolbar. For convenience, I place them all
together.
The Bigger Text, Smaller Text, Zoom In, and Zoom Out buttons for
Camino.
Open your favorite website (LowEndMac.com!) and try out the new
tools. Magnify your page and/or text with a click of your mouse - no
keyboard input required. Experiment with both tools - zoom the entire
page and zoom just text - on several websites to find out which you
like best. To return any web page to its natural state, select View
> Actual Size.
The Enlarge Page and Enlarge Text buttons in Camino.
Zooming in Safari
Add zoom buttons to Safari.
Next, let's trick out Safari. Open Safari and go to View >
Customize Toolbar. Experience déjà vu. Drag the
"Zoom" toolset to the toolbar.
Click to zoom in or out. Note that the default behavior
of this tool is to zoom the entire page. To make Safari zoom only
the text, select View > Zoom Text Only. Changing the function of
this tool requires toggling back and forth in this manner.
Unfortunately, Safari does not provide a way to place both
functionalities on the toolbar at the same time.
Zooming in Firefox
FireFox offers even fewer opportunities for
customization. With no built-in ability to place zoom functionality in
the toolbar, zooming in Firefox requires navigating the View pulldown
menu. Toggle the behavior between full zoom and text-only by toggling
the Zoom Text Only menu item. Then zoom in and out by selecting from
the menu.
Firefox does offer the ability to quickly reset zoom to normal. Just
select View > Zoom > Reset. Firefox is unique in that it
remembers the zoom level when you exit the browser and reopen it. This
feature is particularly handy if, like me, you tend to keep your
browser at some level of zoom most of the time.
Zooming in Opera
Finally, Opera is alone in the browser market in offering the
ability to zoom in the same manner as applications such as Microsoft
Office, iWork, etc. In the lower right-hand corner of the window in
Opera is a menu offering various levels of magnification. Just click on
your selection. This function can also be accessed via the menu at View
> Zoom. Note that this zooms the entire page and does not offer the
ability to zoom only the text on the page. However, select View >
Style > Accessibility Layout for a Readability-like enhanced
page.
Opera provides a wide range of zoom options via a handy menu.
Zooming in Mac OS X
What if your browser is not the only element of your Mac that is
viewing-challenged? What if you need to zoom the entire screen?
The Universal Access system preference zooms everything your Mac
displays.
Not to worry: Apple has built that ability into Mac OS X. Launch
System Preferences and select Universal Access. Turn on the Zoom
function and exit System Preferences. Now, hold down the Opt and Cmd
keys at the same time, then press =. The entire screen zooms in.
If your mouse has a scroll wheel and you're using OS X 10.5 or
later, click on the Options button in Universal Access and select Use
scroll wheel with modifier keys to zoom. Then hold down your chosen
modifier key (Cmd, Opt, Ctrl) and use the scroll wheel to zoom in and
out.
As you move your mouse around, notice that the screen scrolls. To
return to normal magnification, hold down the Opt and Cmd keys at the
same time, then press - (minus).
Universal Access lets you zoom the entire display.
Happy viewing! 
