Magnify text you write with BigType

BigType is a free portable accessibility software for Microsoft Windows devices that magnifies text you write automatically using a magnifier window.

Visually impaired computer users have a couple of tools and options at their disposal to improve the display of text on the devices they use. They may be able to change the font size globally or in specific programs, or use helper applications like magnifiers to improve readability.

BigType magnifies text you write

BigType is one of those helper applications. The program requires the Microsoft .NET Framework and will run on any version of Windows that support that version of the framework.

Just download the application to your device, extract the archive that it is supplied as, and run the bigtype executable to start it.

BigType displays its main interface on start which you use to toggle the functionality and configure some program settings.

You may modify three core settings with a click on setup:

• Change the display time of the magnified text you wrote on the screen.
• Change the zoom depth of the magnified text.
• Switch to another position of the magnifier on the screen.

Setup includes an option to change the size of the box the magnified text is displayed in and to restore all settings to the default value. A click on save completes the process; the new parameters are immediately active.

You should notice that a box with magnified text is displayed to you when you type when BigType is enabled. This may take a minute or two of getting accustomed to but that should not be too long. You may want to play around with the different box positions to find the one that is best suitable for you.

Closing Words

I ran a quick test in several programs and BigType worked fine in many but not all of them. It did work properly in Notepad, the Windows Start Menu or Microsoft Word, but had a display issue in Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird or Microsoft Edge.

The box with the magnified text was displayed in the top left corner instead of near the cursor in browsers and I could not find a way to resolve the issue.

How useful BigType is depends therefore on the programs that you use. I suggest you give it a try and test this for yourself.

We will adjust the rating of the application when the issues are resolved.