For myself I have monovision (I have had cataract surgery on one eye only) meaning I have 20/20 distance and no ability to read out of the operated eye. My other one is still nearsighted. Recently my intact eye has been getting harder to read with without glasses. I had avoided using my reading glasses for years since the surgery by reading (books) with one eye basically. I’m fully on the reading glasses train now, though with these changes.
I have also realized that the computer can sometimes be somewhere in between the reading and mid distances, that there can be discrepancies in print size, and I’m getting a little confused about what is best practice now. Sometimes I can use the desktop without glasses but not all the time.
How do people change sizing of text on their machines to accomodate their vision?
I have met a few people that had some terrible vision, I don’t know what exactly, but they bought rather large computer monitors (might even have had been a flat screen LCD TV).
Here are some 1080p monitors which are above 30"
Not too expensive actually.
The advantage of this is that not all OS’s will scale well as you zoom and some websites get really borked as you zoom. With those larger monitors you will have a much larger image to look at that will be scaled correctly.
There is a universal option in the Windows OS Display Settings that allows you to set a Custom Scale Factor. For example, if you set that to 200%, everything displayed, by any program, will be magnified to double size. I believe that works with all Windows programs that use the standard display drivers. (About the only programs that I’ve heard of that don’t respond to this are specialized image or photo manipulation programs, which sometimes have unique display coding.)
I had cataract surgery on both eyes (a couple of months apart) some years ago. I do not need glasses for distance - I can drive perfectly well without - but I need magnification for the computer or for reading.
After a little experimentation, I found that 1½ times magnification works best for me, and I buy glasses from a Chinese retailer at £10 for three pairs. The quality is okay, but not great (the earpiece breaks or the nose pads fall off). I am not kind to them as they usually live in my shirt pocket - but at this price, I consider them disposable and they usually last at least six months. I can also keep a spare in the car and another upstairs.
Sounds like you don’t need “correction” to see the screen as long as it’s magnified by your glasses. Does this work for everyone, or only a cataract-operated eye?
It depends on what’s wrong with your eyes. I used to use those magnifying reading glasses from the chemist when my eyesight first started “going”, just for help with reading. Now, my distance vision to the tv is worse, I really need my glasses (multifocals). For real vision problems, you need an optometrist. If you just want to make things bigger to help see them, the generic magnifiers can help, but I don’t think wearing them for extended periods while looking at a screen would be a good idea. If you need them all the time, get spectacles that are doing exactly what your eyes need to see properly.
When I’m at work in front of a monitor or two all day, I wear a contract in my left eye that focuses at about 24 inches. I can read the screen without having to put on readers or hunch over my desk. For the record, I am both near and farsighted and have astigmatism.
I wear glasses for distance but read books, newspaper etc with my bare eyes even though I have bi-focals. I would wear my glasses when using my desktop computer. All of a sudden I was getting headaches and neck aches by the end of the work day. I noticed I was continually having to lift my head to see the screen with the lower part of my bifocals - even doing that I still couldn’t see properly. I went to the optometrist and had an exam for computer glasses. The first day I used them I shouted hallelujah!! Best thing I ever did.
Don’t use the maximum or preferred resolution on your monitor. I have my work one set down about two options to 1440 from 1900 something and my home runs at 1280 instead of the 1440 optimized setting.
The operation fixes focus at middle distance which is fine for walking about or for driving. My eyes just can’t focus on near objects or print, so I need magnification. I tried with 2x but that made me feel nauseous so 1½x seemed to be the best compromise. I also have a magnifying glass to read the tiny print on food packages and to tighten those little screws on my glasses…
It does make ball games difficult as a cricket ball goes out of focus just when you want to catch it.
I once saw someone on a beach reading their kindle. They had the font size set so that only a few words appeared on each page. It was distracting; I had to force myself to not read along, trying to guess their book.
I have progressive glasses, meaning I think that they go from distance, down to reading, going down the lens. The middle is for mid distances. I’m guessing that progressive means a gradual change on the lens and not 3 settings so to speak. I also have dedicated reading glasses.
What is the intent of the computer glasses? Are they fixed for 3 feet or something?
