MAGic 9.0 Screen Magnification with Speech combines state-of-the-art magnification features with a true low vision speech option. The software magnifies the information the person chooses, from two times to 16 times its normal size. The smoothing feature eliminates jagged edges caused by bitmapping when images or characters are magnified on the screen.

With the speech option, MAGic 9.0 gives users the ability to choose information they want read from a computer screen as they navigate applications. MAGic reads the information aloud as users type it-either character-by-character or word-by-word, or they can move the mouse over existing text and hear it. The speech option is particularly helpful when listening to entire paragraphs, email or lengthy documents on the Internet. Speech can be used in conjunction with the magnification or independently.

The easy to understand user color-coded interface, and hot keys that avoid conflicts with Windows and other software applications highlight MAGic's list of other features, including:

• Easy to understand Talking/Large Print installation to get started quickly
• Four configurable magnification views to display information
• Enhancements to easily locate and follow the mouse
• Cursor and mouse tracking to keep the point of focus in view
• Tether Mouse to Display brings the mouse into view whenever it is moved
• Screen locators give a visual reference on an unmagnified screen and then allows for quick movement to a new location
• Inverse Colors feature improves contrast and ease of reading
• Quick panning to review documents

User Interface
The innovative new MAGic user interface provides you with menus and color-coded buttons for effortless navigation. The MAGic user interface consists of the standard title bar, which runs along the very top of the application window, the menu bar, which contains MAGic's menus, and the all-new Quick Access Window.

The Quick Access Window contains buttons and a combo box to control MAGic's most commonly used features. The controls are divided into two groups: Magnification and Speech. The magnification controls are blue, and the speech controls are orange. Right clicking on many of these buttons displays a context menu that is related to the button's feature.

Speech (optional module)
MAGic now includes low vision screen reading that you customize to fit your needs. Use MAGic's speech in conjunction with magnification or independently. MAGic speaks documents, web pages, dialogs, menus, and more. MAGic's speech includes typing echo, so you can hear what you type. Mouse echo reads words as you point to them with your mouse. You can also read documents from start to finish, and MAGic highlights the words on the screen as it reads them!

Network MAGic
You can run MAGic 9.0 on a network! Network MAGic gives you the opportunity to access MAGic throughout a networked computer environment in your workplace, school, or even at home. To learn the details of installing MAGic on a network see the topic titled, Network MAGic.

Simplified MAGic Hot Keys
MAGic 9.0 introduces the MAGic Key! Press the MAGic Key in conjunction with other keys on the keyboard to perform actions. The MAGic Key simplifies the hot keys, so you really only need to remember the key that you press with the MAGic Key. For instance, press the MAGic Key in conjunction with the Num Pad plus sign to increase magnification. Alternatively, the Num Pad minus sign pressed with the MAGic Key decreases magnification. You can also specify the key used for the MAGic Key. Choose from Caps Lock, Extended Insert, Num Pad Insert, Either Insert, or Scroll Lock. By default, Caps Lock is the MAGic Key to eliminate keystroke conflicts with Windows applications. To use the Caps Lock, press it twice quickly, and it will toggle the state of the Caps Lock as usual.
We have gone the extra mile to make MAGic's hot keys more intuitive than ever. Yet, if the existing hot keys are unsatisfactory, you can change most key combinations to fit your needs from with the new Keyboard Assignments dialog box. Complete List of MAGic Hot Keys. Customize Keyboard Assignments.

Magnification Enhancements
MAGic 9.0 contains a number of new enhancements to magnification. Use the links below to go directly to the topic that interests you, or move just below these links to read about all the new magnification enhancements.

Mouse Settings:
Customizing your mouse is simple with MAGic 9.0. You can change the mouse size and color, and you can add crosshairs and bull's eyes. Choose to apply these settings in the magnified view, the unmagnified view or in both views.

Navigation Options:
MAGic's new navigation options are designed to better help you use the mouse when moving through magnified views. Tether-to-Display attaches the mouse to the magnified display. As soon as you move the mouse, it automatically snaps into view at the current magnified location, even if the mouse was not initially on the display. When disabled, your view moves to the location of the mouse.
Line-Lock disallows diagonal mouse movement. With Line-Lock enabled you can only use the mouse to move horizontally or vertically across the display. If you move the physical mouse diagonally, the mouse on the screen will move in the direction you move the most in, either horizontal or vertical. Line-Lock is beneficial to those just learning to use the mouse, and for people with limited manual dexterity.

Advanced Views:
Two of the four views in MAGic have new features making MAGic more intuitive.

Split View:
The single Split view combines the previous choices of Vertical and Horizontal views found in MAGic 6.2. From a single dialog box you can specify the position of the split on the display, as well as the size of the split.

Lens View:
The Lens view contains a new control, "Resize to Control," which resizes the Lens view to exactly fit the control that has focus, as you navigate with the keyboard. As you press the TAB key to move through a dialog, the Lens changes size to fit the control with focus, which becomes magnified. The border, if you have set one, surrounds the control. Resize to Control makes identifying the control with focus easy.

Locator:
The all-new Locator, when activated, switches to an unmagnified view with a locator indicating the area of the screen you had showing in your magnified view. You can now quickly move your magnified location to another area of the screen by moving the locator with either the mouse or keystrokes. When you close the locator, you will return to the magnified view with your newly selected area of the screen in view. You have a choice of locator types including: full cross, eyeglass, and reverse eyeglass.

Panning:
MAGic's new and improved Panning utilizes hot keys to start panning in the direction of your choice. During panning, you can quickly change the direction of panning by pressing the arrow key in the direction you want to pan. While you pan, you can use the plus and minus keys to change your panning speed. Panning speeds are saved independently for left, right and vertical panning. Quick Advance is another new feature that lets you swiftly proceed to the next line and continue panning from the left edge of the screen.

Tracking:
Improved mouse tracking includes two new settings Relative and Auto-Switch. The Relative option causes the magnified display to move slowly in the direction of the mouse. Auto-Switch, used with Centered and Relative Mouse Tracking, causes the screen to remain still after you stop mouse movement. The screen is stationary as long as you move the mouse within the boundary of the screen. When you move beyond the edge of the screen, MAGic begins to track your movement again. Auto-Switch is useful when you want to move the mouse toward stationary objects on the screen.

Color:
Inverting the colors of your display improves contrast, often aiding low vision computer users. New with MAGic 9.0, you can invert screen colors at color depths above 256 colors. Previous versions only allowed you to invert colors when running in 256 colors. You now have the choice to invert the magnified view, unmagnified view, or both views. MAGic also has improved performance in all color depths.

Vertical Stretch:
Vertical Stretch allows you to stretch the display to make images taller while maintaining the characters current width.

Improved MAGic and JAWS Compatibility
MAGic now has low vision speech, however, some users may prefer to use MAGic magnification with our screen reader, JAWS for Windows. With the release of JAWS for Windows 3.71, there will be better compatibility with JAWS and MAGic than ever before.

When you run MAGic 9.0 with JAWS for Windows 3.71 or greater, the two programs will communicate with each other. MAGic will always handle magnification. When JAWS runs, it always takes over speech. You do not have to set any special configurations to make this happen.

Keyboarding with the two programs is simple. There are no new keystrokes to learn. When JAWS takes control of speech, use JAWS hot keys to access screen reading functions, while you use MAGic's hot keys for magnification features.

If you use a version of JAWS prior to 3.71, MAGic and JAWS will not run simultaneously.

JAWS for Windows 3.71 is planned for release during the first half of second quarter 2001. Please watch our web site for the release.

Application Specific Functions
Originally inspired by Freedom Scientific's screen reader, JAWS for Windows, MAGic 9.0 contains application specific functions to help you work in popular applications. MAGic's application specific functions now have a purpose all of their own. You will find that these functions are designed to consolidate screen information, enhance application navigation, and eliminate visual clutter.

For example, with MAGic running in Microsoft Excel you can bring up a dialog box that will list the cells for a particular row that contain data. This consolidates screen information, because it presents the header, if one exists, and only those cells containing data. You can then move directly to a particular cell, without pressing the arrow keys to move through multiple empty cells, which enhances application navigation.

When using MAGic with Internet Explorer, you can eliminate visual clutter by reformatting the screen. After you reformat, MAGic presents only the necessary text in a single column, and hides graphics that may not be of interest to you. With only the text showing and no columns to deal with, you will find it easier to read the less cluttered screen.

MAGic has included Application Specific Functions for:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Internet Explorer