Use NVDA and Windows Magnifier Together

While it was possible to use the Windows Magnifier along with NVDA in the past, the problem was that you did not have speech support for what you were doing with the Magnifier, so if you increased the magnification, or inverted the colors, you received no speech confirmation of what you were doing.

I am happy to report that this has now changed. There is an NVDA add-on called Windows Magnifier created by Cyrille Bougot. The add-on is available from the NVDA Add-on Store, is actively maintained, and is compatible with current NVDA versions. I think it will be very useful to many who need a bit of speech support while they use the Windows Magnifier. Also as a companion to this article, please check out the article I wrote a while back on how to get the most out of the Windows Magnifier.

What this add-on does

Reports the result of native Magnifier keyboard commands so you hear what changed.

Adds keyboard shortcuts to toggle Magnifier options like caret tracking, focus tracking, mouse tracking, and smoothing.

Reduces conflicts between NVDA table navigation commands and Magnifier’s panning commands.

How to install the add-on

Open NVDA, press NVDA+N to open the NVDA menu.

Go to Tools, then Add-on Store.

Search for Windows Magnifier or winMag.

Select the add-on and choose Install.

Restart NVDA when prompted.

Commands added by this add-on

All the commands added to control Magnifier options are accessible through the Magnifier layer command NVDA+WINDOWS+O. Press that first, then:

C, toggles on or off caret tracking.

F, toggles on or off focus tracking.

M, toggles on or off mouse tracking.

T, toggles on or off tracking globally.

S, toggles on or off smoothing.

R, switches between mouse tracking modes (within the edge of the screen or centered on the screen). This feature is only available on Windows 10 build 17643 or higher.

H, displays help on Magnifier layer commands.

There is no default gesture for each command, but you can attribute one normally in the input gesture dialog if you wish. The same way, you can also modify or delete the Magnifier layer access gesture (NVDA+WINDOWS+O). Yet, you cannot modify the shortcut key of the Magnifier layer sub-commands.

Magnifier’s native commands

The result of the following Magnifier native commands is vocalized by this add-on:

Start Magnifier: WINDOWS+PLUS (on alpha-numeric keyboard or on numpad)

Quit Magnifier: WINDOWS+ESCAPE

Zoom in: WINDOWS+PLUS (on alpha-numeric keyboard or on numpad)

Zoom out: WINDOWS+MINUS (on alpha-numeric keyboard or on numpad)

Toggle color inversion: CONTROL+ALT+I

Select the docked view: CONTROL+ALT+D

Select the full screen view: CONTROL+ALT+F

Select the lens view: CONTROL+ALT+L

Cycle through the three view types: CONTROL+ALT+M

Resize the lens with the keyboard: SHIFT+ALT+LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN ARROW

How table navigation conflicts are handled

CONTROL+ALT+ARROW keys are used to move the magnified view. Since they are also table navigation commands in NVDA, the add-on handles this intelligently:

If the focus or the virtual cursor is not in a table or a list view, the Magnifier command is executed.

If the focus or the virtual cursor is in a table or a list view, the NVDA table navigation command is executed.

If you still want to move the Magnifier’s view while being in a table or a list view, you will need to press NVDA+F2 before pressing CONTROL+ALT+ARROW.

Notes

For computers equipped with an Intel graphic card, CONTROL+ALT+ARROW are also shortcuts to modify the orientation of the screen. These shortcuts are enabled by default and conflict with Windows Magnifier shortcuts to move the view. You will need to disable them to be able to use them for the Magnifier. They can be disabled in the Intel control panel or in the Intel menu present in the system tray.

ALT+SHIFT+ARROW are Windows Magnifier shortcuts to resize the magnified view (lens or docked). When Magnifier is active (even in full screen mode), these shortcuts are captured by Magnifier and cannot be passed to the application, even if you press NVDA+F2 before. To use these shortcuts in the current application, you need to quit the Magnifier (WINDOWS+ESCAPE) and re-open it after (WINDOWS+PLUS). For example in Word, to decrease title level: press WINDOWS+ESCAPE to quit Magnifier, press ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW to decrease current title level, then press WINDOWS+PLUS to re-open the Magnifier.

FAQ

Where do I get the Windows Magnifier add-on?

It is available from the NVDA Add-on Store. Open NVDA, press NVDA+N, go to Tools, Add-on Store, and search for Windows Magnifier or winMag.

Does the add-on work with the latest version of NVDA?

Yes. The add-on is actively maintained by Cyrille Bougot and is compatible with current NVDA versions including NVDA 2025.

Do I need this add-on to use Magnifier with NVDA?

You can use Magnifier without the add-on, but you won’t get speech feedback when you zoom, change views, or toggle settings. The add-on makes the experience much smoother.

Can I customize the add-on’s keyboard shortcuts?

Yes. You can modify or reassign the shortcuts through NVDA’s Input Gestures dialog.

Wrap up

That’s it, folks. As I said, I really hope you find this useful. Until next time…

Qapla!