chalk tip #32: fun with the magnifier

For today's tip, we're going to have some fun with the magnifier.

The magnifier is a cool feature of Aperio's ImageScope viewer, a small window drawn over the main window which "magnifies" a region of the image being viewed by 2X:

 
The magnifier always shows the region of the image under the mouse cursor.  As you move the mouse around over the image the magnifier image is updated to match.

The magnifier is toggled on/off with the View | Magnifier command, or by clicking the toolbar icon shown at right.

By default the magnifier is positioned at the lower right of an image, as shown above.  However, the magnifier window may be dragged anywhere you like, like this:

 
If you try this, you'll notice that as you're dragging the magnifier, it magnifies the part of the image it is floating over.  So you can move the magnifier around over the image, just like a magnifying glass. 

Finally, the magnifier window can be resized.  Just position the cursor over the lower right corner, and it will turn into a crosshair; then you can drag the corner to resize the magnifier:

 
After resizing, you can again move the cursor around over the image to magnify different parts of the image.  Or you can drag the resized window over the image to magnify the part of the image it is floating over.

The magnifier is a useful and efficient way to inspect digital slides...  please try it!