Magnifier window

The magnifier is a small overlay window in a 2D map that shows zoomed-in detail of the location under the window. It is useful to see a particular area closer up, like moving a magnifying glass over your data, when you don't want to change the extent of your current view. You can move the magnifier window around the view and change its size and magnification level. A pinned magnifier locks the current zoomed-in camera position even if you move the magnifier window. Once unpinned, the camera position resets to the new location.

Open the magnifier by clicking the Magnifier button Magnifier in the Navigation group on the View tab.

Any active tool works in the magnifier window, for example, opening pop-ups, snapping while editing, and measuring. A pinned magnifier does not allow for navigation.

Show the magnifier in the view

You can open the magnifier as a way of zooming in on a certain area. You can keep the original view unchanged and avoid opening a second view for these short term needs. The magnifier is a moveable, on-screen overlay and it can be minimized when not being used.

  1. Activate the view you want to use the magnifier with.
  2. On the View tab, in the Navigation group, click the Magnifier button Magnifier. Optionally, when the Explore tool Explore Tool is active, right-click in the view and choose Magnifier Magnifier from the context menu.

    The magnifier window appears in the view.

  3. To move the magnifier around the view, hover over the window until the outer boundary of the window appears and the pointer changes to a four-pointed arrow.

    Now you can drag the window where you want it. While dragging, a central dashed box in the window indicates the focus area to magnify once it is placed.

  4. Click the upper left button to minimize the overlay to take up less on-screen space when you are not using it.

    This is helpful if you don't want to completely remove it from the display.

  5. Click Pin Pin in the upper right corner to keep the current camera position. Move the magnifier or pan the main map without losing the view in the magnifier.

    This is useful for performing edits that span large distances such as connecting line features. Once the magnifier view is unpinned, the window refreshes to the current camera location it is positioned over.

  6. Close the magnifier window by clicking the Magnifier button Magnifier on the View tab again.

Adjust options for the magnifier window

You can adjust the level of magnification in the magnifier window. The camera position stays in the same spot, but you can change the zoom level by percent or scale. The value is not stored and resets if the window is closed and reopened.

  1. On the magnifier window, click the lower corner arrow that expands to show magnification level options. Select the option and use the control box to set the desired value.
  2. Choose Percentage Percent to adjust the magnification level by typing a percentage value or using the buttons to increase or decrease the current value.

    The default value is 500 percent, meaning you are viewing the area 5 times larger.

  3. Choose Scale Scale to adjust magnification level by typing a value or choosing a scale from the list.

Interact in the magnifier window

In the magnifier window, you can do the following tasks:

  • Use the Explore tool Explore Tool to zoom, pan, and rotate, but the main view will also update. A pinned magnifier does not allow navigation inside the window because you are preserving the camera position.
  • Use the Explore tool Explore Tool to click a feature and open a pop-up to view attributes.
  • Use selection tools.
  • Use measure tools.
  • Perform edits including creating or modifying features. Snapping settings are supported.
    Note:

    While the majority of editing tools are supported in the Magnifier view, it is recommended that you restrict editing within the magnifier to simplified cases such as snapping to a particular feature.