Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Magnifier \Mag"ni*fi`er\, n. One who, or that which, magnifies.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1540s, agent noun from magnify.
Wiktionary
n. 1 That which magnify. 2 A magnifying glass.
WordNet
n. a scientific instrument that magnifies an image
Wikipedia
A magnifier is a device used for magnification.
Magnifier can also refer to:
- Magnifying glass, an optical device for magnification
-
Screen magnifier, software that magnifies part of a computer screen
- Magnifier (Windows), a screen magnifier included with Microsoft Windows
- Magnifying transmitter, alternate version of a Tesla Coil
Magnifier, formerly Microsoft Magnifier, is a screen magnifier app intended for visually impaired people to use when running Microsoft Windows. When it is run, it creates a bar at the top of the screen that greatly magnifies where the mouse is. Magnifier was first included as a sample in the Active Accessibility SDK/RDK for Windows 95 and later made a standard Windows utility starting with Windows 98. Prior to Windows Vista, Magnifier could be used to magnify the screen up to 9 times its normal size. Windows Vista and later allow up to 16× magnification.
In Windows Vista, Magnifier uses WPF, which in turn uses vector images to render the content. As a result, the rendered magnified image is sharp and not pixelated. However, this is useful only for Windows Presentation Foundation applications. Non-WPF applications are still magnified the traditional way. Also, due to a change introduced in WPF 3.5 SP1, this functionality is lost if .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is installed.
Microsoft has also released a Magnification API to allow assistive technology applications to use the Magnifier engine.
Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system includes a significantly improved version of Magnifier. It features full-screen magnification which allows a user to pan around the screen at up to 16× magnification.
However, the full screen feature has also been criticized due to its incompatibility with the high contrast color schemes found in the Windows 7 beta release. This issue remains in the final Windows 7 release. Besides this, when the magnifier zooms, the text will appear blurry or pixelated because it is not being directly rendered at the larger size; instead, the smaller sized rendering is being enlarged as a raster image. ClearType sub-pixel anti-aliasing is also magnified as a result of this, so if ClearType is active, the magnified text may appear to have unexpected colors at the edges of non-horizontal lines. Some third party magnification software compensates for this effect by applying scaling filters to the enlarged image.
The magnifier also features a lens mode similar to that found in the existing version of the software. Lens mode is improved, however, as now the magnifying window will follow the cursor around the screen rather than remain in a fixed position. Finally the magnifier is much easier to access by using the Windows key and +/- to control the zoom level without the need to start the application first. Pressing the Win+Esc combination will exit the magnifier.
Usage examples of "magnifier".
He paused behind a root tangle in thigh deep water and rotated his shields through infra, light gatherer, and magnifier, picking a course through the next section of swamp.
It used its magnifier and light gathering capabilities to see deeper than a man could into the trees beyond.
He shivered and raised his infra, opting for the light gatherer and magnifier shields instead.
And even the flattened, depth-perception-deprived view of darkest night seen through his light gatherer and magnifier shields was better than the eerie sights seen in infra.
He used it during the day with no problem, but during the day he used the magnifier to look more closely at something he saw with his bare eyes.
The nighttime forest was eerie enough without distance distortion, so after a couple of cycles, he turned the magnifier off.
He slid his magnifier and light gatherer screens into place and peered into the forest edge, looking for the maws of vine ends.
The Marines of first squad and the gun team adjusted their helmet screens so one man in each team was using his infra, one his magnifier, and one his light gatherer.
When he used his magnifier screen, he saw the specks of Raptors circling and darting in the distance.
He slid his magnifier screen into place and made out armored vehicles crashing through distant treelines.
Lisa squinted through the magnifier, but the letters were faint and almost illegible.
The squad leaders and most of the fire team leaders rotated between shields and included their magnifiers in the mix.
Jael lost it in the magnifier, but she could still see it unmagnified as a tiny black speck in the air.
In front of the couch was a low table crowded with blocks of wax, molds, micro-tools and magnifiers, several partially completed figurines and piled squares of fabrics so delicate they must have been woven specially.
There was a way in which she isolated a digit for sharp regard, using a magnifier and a square of dark cardboard, and there were hangnails flying and shreds and grains of dead skin and fragments of nail, scintillas, springing in the air.