Tweaking MS Word interface for visually impaired user?

Dpoirier

Dpoirier

Fractal Fanatic
This question is so unrelated to Fractal, I'm almost embarrassed to ask, but you folks are so resourceful.

My father-in-law (99 y.o.!) is a history author and uses a computer in very rudimentary ways. He's struggling with the technology, and uses Word essentially like a fancy typewriter. A new challenge is cataracts and general visual impairment, to the extent that his use of Word is being severely limited.

Where I need help is this: is there a way to increase the size of the various buttons, icons, and commands in MS Word? When I set the various sizing options in Windows (accessibility, screen resolution, font sizes, etc.), Word stubbornly continues to display everything (user interface) in the same microscopic size. The only thing I managed to increase is the text size in the document itself (that's a no-brainer) but nothing in the Word interface. I don't have Word on my PC (I use open source alternatives), so I can't experiment except when visiting him. And my google searches for "Word customization" have yielded a gazillion unrelated menu and functionality tweaks.

I'd be very grateful to anyone who has tips or advice.
 
Sure, but don't take this the wrong way. The best advice I got was to type is either "magnifier" or "accessibility" into the MS Word Help search. There's much more there than I could begin to describe. In Mac, there's an option for drag-scrolling and magnifying at the same time. I've got my magnifier shortcut hidden among some keyboard shortcuts (but as luck would have it, can't recall the how-to's of arriving there just now.)

The number of the buttons is contingent on how much real estate the buttons take up. To delete certain button functions from the various subheadings, select Word > Preferences > Ribbon & Toolbar. You can remove items that exist on your document from the right side by highlighting them then clicking the minus tab at the bottom of the toolbar screen.

I'm guessing your Dad is not necessarily a neat freak, and he won't mind too much clutter, just so he can wade his way through it. Collaborate with Dad to determine just what needs removal.

The caveat is: I don't know for sure that removal of any buttons or tabs will improve the size of what he sees.

A better solution might be: There may be a low-cost magnifier app available from Microsoft that will work with not only Word but his entire computer. Mac App Store has one "Zoom Me" Desktop Magnifier.
 
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Simplest way is to change the Scale in Windows' display settings. It will make everything on screen bigger at the expense of the total relative screen size you have available. In other words, the menu bars and buttons will be bigger, but you'll have less room left on the screen to see the document itself.

For Windows 11, right-click on an empty spot on the desktop (not on an icon or the taskbar) and then click on Display Settings. Find the setting called "Scale" and turn it up.

1723687877373.png

100% Scale at 1920x1080 resolution:
100percent.png

175% Scale at 1920x1080 resolution:
175percent.png
 
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Thanks guys !

I could have sworn I had tried scaling,but now I'm not 100% sure anymore... have to try that on my next visit
 
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