This tutorial will show you how to change what Magnifier view follows for your account in Windows 11.
Magnifier makes part or all of your screen bigger so you can see words and images better.
Depending on how you navigate Windows, you may want to change the default Magnifier behavior so that it only follows your mouse pointer, keyboard focus, text cursor, and/or Narrator cursor.
When you select to use full screen or docked Magnifier view, you can turn on or off having Magnifier follow your mouse pointer, keyboard focus, text cursor, and/or Narrator cursor.
These settings are something you can experiment with to see what works best for you.
Reference:
Use Magnifier to make things on the screen easier to see | Microsoft Support
Learn how to make items on the screen appear larger by using Magnifier in Windows.
support.microsoft.com
Contents
- Option One: Change what Magnifier View Follows in Settings
- Option Two: Turn On or Off having Magnifier View Follow Mouse Pointer using REG file
- Option Three: Turn On or Off having Magnifier View Follow Keyboard Focus using REG file
- Option Four: Turn On or Off having Magnifier View Follow Text Cursor using REG file
- Option Five: Turn On or Off having Magnifier View Follow Narrator Cursor using REG file
1 Open Settings (Win+I).
2 Click/tap on Accessibility on the left side, and click/tap on Magnifier on the right side. (see screenshot below)
3 Click/tap on View. (see screenshot below)
4 Under Have Magnifier follow my, check (on -default) or uncheck Mouse pointer, Keyboard focus, Text cursor, and/or Narrator cursor for what you want. (see screenshots below)
5 You can now close Settings if you like.
1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you want.
2. Turn On having Magnifier View Follow Mouse Pointer
This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_ON_Magnifier_view_follow_Mouse_pointer.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowMouse"=dword:00000001 3. Turn Off having Magnifier View Follow Mouse Pointer
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_OFF_Magnifier_view_follow_Mouse_pointer.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowMouse"=dword:000000004 Save the REG file to your desktop.
5 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.
6 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.
7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.
1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you want.
2. Turn On having Magnifier View Follow Keyboard Focus
This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_ON_Magnifier_view_follow_Keyboard_focus.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowFocus"=dword:00000001 3. Turn Off having Magnifier View Follow Keyboard Focus
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_OFF_Magnifier_view_follow_Keyboard_focus.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowFocus"=dword:000000004 Save the REG file to your desktop.
5 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.
6 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.
7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.
1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you want.
2. Turn On having Magnifier View Follow Text Cursor
This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_ON_Magnifier_view_follow_Text_cursor.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowCaret"=dword:00000001 3. Turn Off having Magnifier View Follow Text Cursor
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_OFF_Magnifier_view_follow_Text_cursor.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowCaret"=dword:000000004 Save the REG file to your desktop.
5 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.
6 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.
7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.
1 Do step 2 (on) or step 3 (off) below for what you want.
2. Turn On having Magnifier View Follow Narrator Cursor
This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_ON_Magnifier_view_follow_Narrator_cursor.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowNarrator"=dword:00000001 3. Turn Off having Magnifier View Follow Narrator Cursor
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Turn_OFF_Magnifier_view_follow_Narrator_cursor.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ScreenMagnifier]
"FollowNarrator"=dword:000000004 Save the REG file to your desktop.
5 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.
6 Double click/tap on the downloaded REG file to merge it.
7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
8 You can now delete the downloaded REG file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
Last edited:
