Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable 3.2.1 (Quick Test)

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March 6, 2007 - 5:43pm

John T. Haller

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Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable 3.2.1 (Quick Test)

This has been superseded by a new release:
https://portableapps.com/node/7837

I've just posted a quick test of Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable for folks to try out. It's a magnifying glass utility that lets you zoom in on ares of the screen in Windows. It's handy for folks with visual impairments as well as designers. I'd done a quick package of this a while back on the request of someone teaching a class with visually impaired students. This will be a move to making it an official released and supported app as well as the debut app of the new Accessibility category here at PortableApps.com. Please give it a quick try and post back, thanks!

Download Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable 3.2.1

March 6, 2007 - 6:00pm

ormus7577

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Test results: No explosions,

Test results: No explosions, no casualties

Worked like a charm. No problems encountered while playing around with it for a few minutes...

March 7, 2007 - 8:36pm

(Reply to #2) #3

BuddhaChu

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Works good here!

WinXP - SP2 - all security update thru Feb-07

Overall -- works good! Settings save into the magnifier.ini no problem (when you tell the proggie to save the settings).

Frank: I tried turning off the graphical border like you did and didn't have an issue after I saved the settings, killed the app, and relaunched (repeated that a few times to amke sure). I have a 3Ghz machine so I dunno if CPU "oomph" is the culprit here or not. Maybe you have too many background tasks fighting for CPU time? (Yes, I'm totally guessing now... )

Edit: Dang! My comments should be down lower so I appear under Frank's. Oh well...

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March 6, 2007 - 6:09pm

Patrick Patience

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Fantastic!

Handy little gadget.

March 6, 2007 - 6:15pm

(Reply to #4) #5

Patrick Patience

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Although...

Just one small thing, after you finish using it for a second, it only appears as an icon in the task bar, and I tried opening the app multiple times until I realized it was in the taskbar. I know it's not much, but you may want to note that in your post, so other people don't think it's not opening. But, still, fantastic little app.

March 6, 2007 - 7:13pm

(Reply to #5) #6

John T. Haller

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Yeah

For now I just have it close instantly. I thought about adding a "It's already running, check the systray" message, but then I gotta translate that into 4 languages.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

March 6, 2007 - 6:28pm

Tim Clark

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Way Cool

It seems to be working great.
Can't see if it has left any system changes.
I'm gonna enjoy this one.

Tim
Geek w/o portfolio

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March 7, 2007 - 2:05am

Ryan McCue

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WTF?

Won't run on my computer.
I see the launcher launch in the task manager, but it never launches the program and there's no visible sign anywhere.
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March 7, 2007 - 2:17am

(Reply to #8) #9

John T. Haller

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Odd

I've tried it on Windows 98, 2000 and XP. It even works under Wine within Ubuntu (though it's slow on my virtual machine).

What OS, etc etc. Did you try running it directly? (check the app directory)

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

March 7, 2007 - 2:55am

(Reply to #9) #10

Ryan McCue

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Windows XP Pro, no Service Packs
Ran it directly and it worked. I presume the FindProcDLL::FindProc "Magnifying Glass.exe" ;if running, exit was screwing it, maybe you can't have spaces.
----
Ryan McCue
Current Fav. Songs:

Ballroom Blitz - The Misfits
Manic Monday - Cyndi Lauper
I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

March 7, 2007 - 9:58am

(Reply to #10) #11

John T. Haller

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Nope

Spaces work fine. Even on Windows 98.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

March 8, 2007 - 3:29am

(Reply to #11) #12

Ryan McCue

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Weird

I'll make myself a debug version and tell you where it stops.
Edit: It does everything, but it doesn't appear to be running the Magnifying Glass program properly. The ExecWait finishes after like half a second.
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Ryan McCue
Current Fav. Songs:

Ballroom Blitz - The Misfits
Manic Monday - Cyndi Lauper
I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

March 8, 2007 - 9:27am

(Reply to #12) #13

John T. Haller

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Try Exec

Try Exec or ExecToStack. Maybe it wants a working directory on your PC (so trying SetOutPath may help)

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

March 9, 2007 - 2:17am

(Reply to #13) #14

Ryan McCue

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Exec doesn't work and neither does SetOutPath
ExecToStack doesn't even exist.
I have tried seeing what it returns but it's just nothing.
Edit: Hold on a second, it might be my computer screwing with me, since I tried another program I was making and it wouldn't work. I've tried moving it and that didn't work. I also checked my Group Policies to make sure nothing had changed. Any ideas?
----
Ryan McCue
Current Fav. Songs:

Ballroom Blitz - The Misfits
Manic Monday - Cyndi Lauper
I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

May 26, 2007 - 2:27am

(Reply to #14) #15

jc.wilcox

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Works almost fine but some functions not

First of all, Thanks a lot John nice work, nice effort too.

Works fine in WinXP MCE 2005 SP2 (english version)

I want to ask if you just make it portable (convert it) or there are some improvement in their inner function you do???
just to know to whom I must make the follow question.

Works fine but there are an issues with the options:
a) Start Magnifying when you log on
b) Hot key invoke (just ctrl+alt+e)

1.- It seems "a)" make nothing at all, it doesn't open the apps auto.
2.- when you mark or select "a)" it make suddenly "b)" unselected or stop working the hot key.
3.- Could it be possible to make the Scroolwheel botton the "HOT KEY" and make that scroolwheel or also "ESC" the only thing to make hide/close the magnifer.
4.- Also I think there are a problem with the "focus function of the cursor" because after hide the apps the course disappears sometimes when you want to pass over again the icon at the taskbar (icons left of the Microsoft clock) of the portableapps icon and the Virtual magnifying Glass icon, so that really make difficult to show again the glass or even the portableapps launcher (Remember that "a)" make "b)" disable hot key).
5.- I really miss in the magnification option the "x5", "x6" and "x7".

John as I have wrote at the "request apps forum" https://portableapps.com/node/7140
it is really a good first step to have "Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable 3.2.1
but Visually Impaired persons really have to take care their eyes and have not to force too much reading a lot, so "magnifyng software" are just a part of their solutions, THEY REALLY NEED some apps that reads the screen or text on the computer,
SO I BEG for someone help to find some apps to make it portable.
In the mean time I'm so much greatful for the help you have made John, and I REALLY think that VI persons would make a lot with: "Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable" because they can make a lot of task really tedious with just/only Screen Reader but it can't be a complete solution if you can't read aloud documents, text and books on the computers. Don't forget please that maybe something like "Fire Vox" at https://portableapps.com/node/7140 that read aloud webpages or emails will make them really feel that they can be part of the world of technology, acknowledgment, and actual world.
Thanks John, very very appreciated work you have made!!!

Juanka Contreras WILCOX
Latinamerican Psychologist researcher

JC.WILCOX
Latinamerican Psychology Researcher

May 28, 2007 - 12:27am

(Reply to #15) #16

foxcole

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Not sure what your point is here...

Juanka Contreras WILCOX writes:
"Don't forget please that maybe something like "Fire Vox" at https://portableapps.com/node/7140 that read aloud webpages or emails will make them really feel that they can be part of the world of technology, acknowledgment, and actual world."

They already are part of the actual world, so what does that comment mean? I'm also not clear about what you're trying to say about screen readers with regard to Magnifying Glass Portable.

In practice, people with screen readers have a visual impairment that doesn't usually benefit from magnifiers, but if they do, it doesn't matter whether the magnified content can be "read" by a screen reader... which is what I think you're trying to suggest. If I'm wrong about that, please disregard the rest of this, with my apology.

Voice-reading the magnified content won't help because the magnifier's window shows only a small portion of the screen, taken out of context. Whatever is read within the window won't make sense if it's passed through a screen reader unless the user happens to move the magnifier to match the screen reader's track through the HTML (or XML, etc.) content. That's an effort that only the user can make, especially on the level of free software. Any effort to integrate and automate the magnifier's movement with even one screen reader's method would be costly and immense, and should be the onus of the screen reader's originator rather than an independent tool author.

Cheers!
---Fox

May 28, 2007 - 5:54am

(Reply to #16) #17

jc.wilcox

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Agree with you! Sorry I didn't was clear to express my point

Hello Foxcole, nice to meet you, thanks to take your time to read my post.
Sorry if I have not explained accurate. Maybe I forgot to express my context, I don`t live in a “First World” country I live in a “Third World” country of development so: Most of blind or visual impaired person don’t have access to the technology it’s supposed to be development for their needs. So in that way they don’t have too much contact with the new age of communication.
In the case they can access a borrowed computer or a friend gift them a computer, maybe they could not have u$1000-2000 dollars to bye all the commons softwares used for this functions, so open source became an alternative for them.
I‘m complete agree with your last paragraph you wrote. I understand that a blind person will never use the Glass, and it’s pointless that a screen reader read the content of a magnifier. So what I mean is that most of Visual impaired person, really have issues with their eyes and with what they could read. So even if they have the biggest and best Magnifying Glass, they are not allowed to read a complete webpage or book in the computer because their eyes are really “mostly weak” and they are in risk of lost the few they see (depend on the case anyway). So that is my point to wrote hear not only about the Glass (and it issues) also about my other post [ where I try to get help finding some screen reader opensource because “fire vox” it’s not a complete screen reader it’s just a plugin for Mozilla products and unfortunately the complete screen readers as: "Ueye", "Screenful", "Yasr", “here I am”, “Novisual desktop access” and others are really in an Alpha state (far to become Beta) ] . Nevertheless, I really believe that visual impaired person can combine the two tools to get a better experience using the computer, more friendly and less hard or tired to listen just the screen reader (have you try just close your eyes???) If you search you will find that most of the Magnifier software are sell with a "TEXT ALOUD" software.
I hope this time I was more clear my self.
Sorry my English grammar-times mistakes.
Best Regards
Juanka Contreras WILCOX
Latinamerican Psychologist researcher

JC.WILCOX
Latinamerican Psychology Researcher

June 27, 2007 - 12:15am

(Reply to #17) #18

Ryan McCue

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Just like to point out

I finally know why it doesn't work.
Line 60, you need 2 sets of quotation marks.
Diff:

---	ExecWait "$EXEDIR\App\magnifyingglass\Magnifying Glass.exe"
+++	ExecWait `"$EXEDIR\App\magnifyingglass\Magnifying Glass.exe"`

Same problem in the OSK and Brutal Chess Portable.
To test for it, put them in a folder that has spaces in it, such as "Development Stuff" and create a blank file in the directory above called "Development"
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
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June 27, 2007 - 10:30pm

(Reply to #18) #19

Simeon

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OSK

has several places where a different folder could be mistaken.
Do they all have to have two `?
(Line71,72,99,100,113,123,140)
“Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts” - Richard P. Feynman

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June 28, 2007 - 11:01pm

(Reply to #19) #20

Ryan McCue

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Nope.

Only strings which are sent to something else. In this case, ExecWait is sent to the system, such as:
ExecWait "$EXEDIR\bleh.exe" (run from C:\bloo.exe)
would be sent to the system as:
> C:\bloo.exe
Run from Program Files, it would be:
> C:\Program Files\bloo.exe
which would run C:\Program.exe if it exists. (NB: Windows complains on startup if a file called C:\Program.* exists - try it )
----
Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

March 7, 2007 - 6:47am

#21

Simeon

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Me too

Love it (even more than the OSK).
Works great.

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

March 7, 2007 - 1:38pm

#22

Frank D. Hubeny

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Wanders quite a bit

Hello John;

The glass wanders around before it settles down in one are if you uncheck the graphical borders option in the menue. other then that it works well.

I am trying it out on a Windows 200 pro PC.

Frank D. Hubeny

March 7, 2007 - 5:07pm

#23

Espreon

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Awesome!

This is superb! Thank for giving us something new to play with!, John!

March 7, 2007 - 10:12pm

#24

Gargy

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Re: Magnifying Glass

wØØt! This thing is fantastic!
I love it, very useful at times like when I don't have my contact lenses on....or if I'm slighly away watching Tv and keeping an eye on the pc.
Lets have more gizmo's like this.

March 28, 2007 - 3:48pm

#25

Simeon

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John,

do you have plans for releasing this officially?

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

March 29, 2007 - 12:30pm

#26

Kevin Porter

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It is a very nice little

It is a very nice little "toy". Official release??

Kevin P.
The Newbie-Geek

-Please Search before posting

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook

March 30, 2007 - 5:07am

#27

Matias

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VERY NICE

Well done... I really like this king of tools...
keep up the good work...

Matias

May 25, 2007 - 10:08am

#28

BBE

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Works like a charm!

John,
The magnifying glass program works perfectly!!

May 27, 2007 - 11:53pm

#29

foxcole

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Graphics tool, usability questions, and arrow key behaviors

With the graphics tool turned on, when I move the magnifier over something to the left on the screen so the left part of the magnifier slides offscreen, I can't see the graphics information in the top left quadrant. Any chance that could pop over to a right quadrant in that case?

Just a couple of usability questions...

I wondered whether sight-impaired users will be able to easily open the options menu to change the magnification and size settings. But that's just a passing thought. I expect they already have tools for access to the system tray and menus.

One more feature would rocket this tool to the top... Perhaps the magnifier could "drop" in position and free the mouse, so the user can use the mouse or keyboard to select a link or tool or form field---that way, they can see when the pointer or cursor has arrived at the object, and be able to select and use the object while it's still magnified. The user could then reactivate the normal magnifier behavior maybe just through the normal means of invoking it from the system tray.

Speaking of arrow keys, I observed inconsistent behaviors when I had changed the magnifier width to 1024 and positioned it as far to the bottom left of the screen as it would go. The first time, the left and right arrow keys moved what was displayed in the magnifier as though scrolling the window itself while the magnifier didn't move; when I scrolled right past the end of the taskbar, nothing was magnified in the frame, which did not move from position.

The second and subsequent times I tried this, again positioning to the bottom and leftmost location the magnifier would go, and again using left and right arrow keys, the magnifier window itself stretched to the max first (so it spanned the bottom of my display at 1024x768---which is the resolution I use but is not the native resolution of this high-res LCD display---neither border could be seen), before the scrolling behavior happened. I could again "scroll" the magnified contents out of view, and if I kept going, the unmagnified page content within the magnifier would go black. But I could use the arrow keys to scroll the magnified content back into view.

After that happens and I close the magnifier and reinvoke it, the magnifier returns to its default width and height. I don't have time to test this effect on different magnifications to see whether that returns to default or not, and I haven't tested it yet with vertical arrow keys, except to note how they also scroll the magnifier contents without moving the magnifier... so I might expect similar behaviors with vertical tests, but haven't proven them yet.

Cheers!
---Fox

June 9, 2007 - 2:00pm

#30

millarrp

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Works good

I've just tried playing around with it for a few minutes today and I haven't come accross any problems yet

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