{"id":69553,"date":"2020-12-28T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T15:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=69553"},"modified":"2020-12-28T09:21:35","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T15:21:35","slug":"hover-text-visual-accessibility-tips-everyone-can-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/69553-hover-text-visual-accessibility-tips-everyone-can-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Hover Text: Visual Accessibility Tips Everyone can Use"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today I’m going to talk about an accessibility feature<\/a> in macOS Big Sur<\/a><\/strong> and Catalina that can make it very easy to see the text on your screen \u2013 especially if it’s in tiny letters that are hard to read. This feature is called Hover Text<\/strong>, and it’s not just for those who are sight-impaired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hover Text at work on The Rocket Yard, making small print easy to read<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How Does Hover Text Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Think of Hover Text as an adjustable magnifying glass that lets you zoom in on small text on your Mac display. As you can see in the image above, the feature creates a box that contains a large-text (in this case, 60 point) version of text found on this web page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also magnifies text that is being typed. While apps like Pages allow you to increase the text size for visibility, that’s not true in Messages (for example). The text size is always small in that app. Hover Text makes it possible to easily read text in Messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hover Text also magnifies menu items and the names of apps in the Dock. Buttons on web pages or in apps even get the royal treatment. All of the standard menu bar items on the right side of the Mac display (time and date, as in the example below) “blow up” when you want to see them more clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even menu bar items benefit from Hover Text<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Enabling Hover Text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To enable the feature, launch System Preferences, then click on Accessibility. In the left sidebar, click Zoom. The Zoom pane shows various options. Just check the box next to Enable Hover Text and you’re ready to go (see image below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hover Text is found in System Preferences > Accessibility > Zoom<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you see in the red highlighted area above, pressing the Command (\u2318) displays a large-text view of the item under the pointer. That’s somewhat misleading – you need to hold the Command key down first, then move the pointer over the text you wish to zoom in on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Releasing the Command key turns off the magnified image. This works well if you just need to occasionally read some fine print on your screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hover Text Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What if you want the feature to be enabled all the time? There’s an option for that! Let’s look at the available options for Hover Text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hover Text Options<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Click the “Options…” button to the right of “Enable Hover Text”, and the settings dialog seen above appears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first setting \u2013 Text Size<\/strong> \u2013 is self-explanatory. The 60-point text size is quite large, but if you need to have it even larger or want it smaller, just change the text size. Text Font allows the user to select from any font installed on the Mac. While “Default” is an easy-to-read Sans Serif typeface, you might want something different. Selecting another text font can sometimes make even the magnified text more difficult to read, so show good judgment in your choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Text Entry Location<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Text-entry location<\/strong> is very useful when you’re typing something on your Mac. What it does is magnify the text being typed, making it easier to read. There are five defined locations on your Mac display:<\/p>\n\n\n\n