The Safari Toolbar is a great tool for Safari customization and Mac accessibility. It also provides a convenient way to adjust the font size of your webpages. This can be particularly useful if you are viewing a website with small text and need it to be easier to read.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to add zoom controls to the Safari toolbar using the toolbar visibility settings and how to make font size adjustments in the Safari toolbar. You can change the text of websites to large text, which is useful for people with vision issues.
Adding Zoom Controls to the Safari Toolbar
To add zoom controls to the Safari toolbar, go to View and select Customize Toolbar to access the toolbar customization and accessibility settings. It is highlighted in blue in the following screenshot.
In the pop-up window, select the pair of buttons labeled Zoom and drag the buttons to Safari’s main toolbar. They look like a small A and a large A side by side. Select Done to exit the customization screen.
Two new buttons will appear on the toolbar – one to zoom in and one to zoom out – which allow you to quickly adjust the size of web pages on your screen. They allow you to easily adjust your Safari view options for any website you are visiting. You can make a website smaller if the font is too large or larger if it is too small.
Increasing Font Size in Safari Toolbar
If you find that your web pages are too small for comfortable viewing, then you can increase the webpage text size from the Safari settings, without even adding the Zoom shortcut buttons to your Safari Toolbar icons.
To achieve this, simply click on View > Zoom In or View > Zoom Out from within your browser window. This will make all text larger on the website that you are visiting from within Safari until you reset it or choose another zoom function from within the same menu.
Adding zoom controls and increasing font sizes in your Safari toolbar can make browsing websites much more comfortable and enjoyable.
But what if you want to increase the actual menu bar font size? You can do that in your Mac display settings, and we’ll discuss how to do that in a later section, so read on!
Troubleshooting Small Text Size in Safari
If you are having trouble with small text sizes on Safari, it’s worth checking to see if you zoomed in. Try going back to the default zoom to see if that resolves the issue.
Of course, some websites might use small fonts by default. That depends on each website’s specific settings. You can’t control that, but you can override website fonts by using the zoom options in your Safari preferences to zoom in.
Increasing Font Size on Mac Menu Bar
Did you know that in your Mac system preferences, you can improve menu bar visibility by increasing the font size of the menu bar? In the general settings, in the display settings section, you can increase accessibility by adjusting font smoothing and sizing.
If you want to increase the size of the fonts and icons in the menu bar, go to System Preferences/Settings > Accessibility > Display. Then, change the menu bar size from default to large.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Zooming
Safari offers Zoom shortcuts for quick Zoom. With the Mac keyboard shortcuts, you can increase Safari accessibility without bothering with the hassle of finding the Zoom options in the Safari settings.
To Zoom in on Safari, click on the Command button on your keyboard and on the + or – (plus or minus) buttons at the same time. Pressing Command with the + sign will zoom in, and pressing Command with the – button will zoom out. Press Control and 0 (zero) to return to the default size. These controls also work on Chrome and some other apps, although not all apps will support them.
Using Accessibility Settings for Font Adjustments
Did you know that in your Mac accessibility settings, you can also change the display zoom and font size preferences for system-wide font scaling? That allows for a visual adjustment not just in Safari or in the menu bar but for all supported apps on your device.
For example, this is not for changing the font of the text on websites you visit in Safari but the size of the font on the Safari toolbar itself. It only works on supported apps, though; some apps may not support it. You can do this on newer versions of macOS.
To do this, go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display > Text. Scroll down until you find the Text Size option. Click on it and adjust the slider to adjust the text size across your device.
Third-Party Extensions for Advanced Customization
There are also Safari extensions that provide font customization tools and advanced display settings, beyond what Safari offers with its built-in settings and options. One of the most popular browser add-ons for Safari font customization is FontFlex for Safari.
FontFlex for Safari provides over 1500 Google fonts of different sizes and styles. It even allows you to set a minimum font size for the websites you visit so that you can ensure a seamless browsing experience across your favorite websites.
Maximizing Readability With Reader Mode
With Safari Reader Mode, you can enable distraction-free reading and a simplified view for a better reading experience. Not all websites and articles support it. If a website supports Reader mode, you will see the Reader mode button in the search bar. It looks like a document icon.
Not only does Reader mode block ads, but it also allows you to adjust text formatting by choosing a font and a font size.
Conclusion
Safari is one of the best browsers when it comes to visual accessibility. Not only does it allow you to choose from adjustable settings, but you can also enable Reader mode for a comfortable browsing experience. We hope you enjoy all of the amazing Safari features!
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