Accesibility zoom

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Level 1

8 points

Accesibility zoom

Hi all.

I need help with a small problem I'm having with the Zoom feature in Accesibility.

I use it a lot (I'm getting old, so my sight needs a little help sometimes, hehe), both the Ctrl + two fingers in the trackpad to zoom in and out, and the Ctrl + Option shortcut to rapidly zoom on cursor position.

Now, the Ctrl + Option shortcut does not work anymore. The only thing I have done that could have affected is to delete CleanMyMac, yesterday, an old version, since I saw here it was considered almost a malware. I cannot think of any other action I have done that might affect that specific feature.

Any idea on what could be happening? BTW, this is on a Mid 2015 MBP with Mojave installed (yes, I know it can be updated, but I'm still using some 32 bit apps).

TIA for your help.

Saluditos,

Ferrán.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 11, 2022 2:04 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BDAqua

Level 10

239,375 points

Aug 12, 2022 9:19 AM in response to Ferrán

OK, since it works here, To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...

Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.

Does it work in the new account?

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Answer 2

Ferrán Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 11, 2022 6:05 PM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for your answer, @BDAqua.

Ctrl + Option shortcut does an instant magnification while you are pressing it, and goes back to normal when you release it. Very useful if you ask me. There's another shorcut, Cmd + Option + 8, that does almost the same, but as a switch: you have to press to activate, and press again to go back to normal. The other one is far more convenient and comfortable.

I just made a video (in PiP mode, in full screen is not working) so you can see how it works: pressing keys activates zoom, releasing keys deactivate it:

https://youtu.be/lHDwXbvIIfw

Any other zoom-related shortcut that I have tried works just fine in both modes, fullscreen and Pip, only Ctrl + Option in FullScreen mode it's not working. Is there any Preferences file related to Accesibility Zoom that I can edit or even delete it and create a new one?

Saluditos,

Ferrán.

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Answer 3

Ferrán Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 13, 2022 6:21 PM in response to BDAqua

Wow! Unexpected result…

I did what you suggested and I created a new admin account. As I thought, it works in the new account - a freshly created prefs file for Accesibility settings, my guess was mine was somehow corrupted.

So after checking it worked, first thing I did was was to copy that file to the "Shared" folder, in order to retrieve it from my main account and use it instead of the "corrupted" one.

Then I switch account back to my main account, and… the *@#?& feature just works again right from the start, no need to replace prefs file! What the…? 😅

Whatever the reason, the good news is that the rapid zoom feature works again, thanks to your suggestion, so thank you very much! 😄😉

Saluditos,

Ferrán.

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

239,375 points

Aug 13, 2022 6:29 PM in response to Ferrán

Whoot, great news my friend... I've seen that a dozen times or so, but never found the reason, but just logging out od an account & into another account then back, will occasionally fix things rhat restarting doesn't even, my guess is some cache file used when swapping Users... sadly it doesn't work often enough to recommend it usually.

And not sure if logging out & into an already made account & back would have the same effect.

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