Activate Magnifier and zoom in
Win++
Windows key and Plus open Magnifier; pressing again zooms in further.
23 shortcuts
Windows accessibility shortcuts
Accessibility features in Windows. Here are the most useful key combinations, each with a short explanation. Practise them in the AlphaType trainer afterwards.
Practise these shortcuts nowAll Windows accessibility shortcuts
Zoom out with Magnifier
Win+-
Works while Magnifier is active.
Turn off Magnifier
Win+Esc
Closes Magnifier immediately.
Switch between Full screen, Lens, and Docked
Ctrl+Alt+M
Cycles through the Magnifier views in turn.
Invert colors in Magnifier
Ctrl+Alt+I
Inverts the screen colors while Magnifier is active.
Smooth zoom with mouse wheel
Ctrl+Alt+MouseWheel
Hold Ctrl and Alt and turn the mouse wheel.
Open Magnifier settings
Win+Ctrl+M
Opens the Magnifier settings directly.
Turn Narrator on or off
Win+Ctrl+Enter
Turns Windows Narrator on or off.
Turn on live captions
Win+Ctrl+L
Turns on live captions for audio and video playback in Windows 11.
Open voiceover settings
Win+Ctrl+N
Opens the Narrator settings directly.
Start voice input or dictation
Win+H
A text input field must be active.
Start Windows speech recognition
Win+Ctrl+S
This combination starts the older Windows Speech Recognition. In Windows 11 22H2 and later it was replaced by Voice Access.
Set focus to the voice input window
Win+Alt+H
Works when voice typing is already open.
Turn color filters on or off
Win+Ctrl+C
The keyboard shortcut must be enabled in the color filter settings.
Turn high contrast on or off
Alt+Shift+PrintScreen
Uses the left Alt and left Shift keys.
Turn HDR on or off
Win+Alt+B
Requires a supported HDR display and a current Xbox Game Bar.
Open accessibility settings
Win+U
Opens the central overview of Windows accessibility features.
Show or hide the on-screen keyboard
Win+Ctrl+O
Opens or closes the Windows on-screen keyboard.
Turn Sticky Keys on or off
Shift → Shift → Shift → Shift → Shift
Press the Shift key five times in a row.
Turn Filter Keys on or off
Shift
Hold the right Shift key for eight seconds.
Turn Toggle Keys sound on or off
NumLock
Hold the Num Lock key for five seconds.
Turn Mouse Keys on or off
Alt+Shift+NumLock
Uses the left Alt and left Shift keys plus Num Lock.
Open Quick Assist for remote support
Win+Ctrl+Q
Opens Microsoft Quick Assist, if the app is installed.
Learning Windows accessibility efficiently
Start with a few combinations you use often and repeat them in context. AlphaType shows the task, lets you practise the keys and gives immediate feedback.