xmag

xmag [-options ...]

-display displayname
    Specifies the X server to connect to.

-geometry geometry
    Specifies the size and position of the magnification window.

-mag magnification
    Specifies the magnification factor. This is a floating-point number. The default is 1.

-source geometry
    Specifies the size and position of the source image to magnify from the selected coordinate.

-button1
    Select source location (default).

-button2
    Select source location and exit.

-button3
    Exit.

The xmag command is a simple X Window System application that allows users to magnify a rectangular portion of the screen. When invoked, it displays a crosshair cursor. The user clicks on a point on the screen, and xmag displays a window containing a magnified view of the screen area surrounding that point. This is useful for examining fine details of images or text displayed on the screen. The magnification factor is typically controlled by command-line options, allowing users to choose the desired level of zoom.

xmag provides a quick and easy way to inspect screen content at a higher resolution without needing to modify the underlying application or image. It is a utility intended to be a light-weight magnification tool and does not provide advanced features like image editing or complex zoom algorithms. The primary usage is for visualization and inspection on the desktop environment.

xmag relies on the X server and may not function correctly in environments without a graphical display. Also, the quality of the magnification can be limited by the resolution of the screen and the algorithms used for scaling. It captures a snapshot when you click, it's not real-time. It doesn't work in wayland environment.

To use xmag, simply run the command. A crosshair cursor will appear. Click on the area of the screen you wish to magnify. A new window will then appear, displaying a magnified view of that area. Use the -mag flag to define the level of zoom

xmag is part of the standard X Window System utilities, which have been developed and refined over decades. It has remained a relatively simple utility with minimal feature changes since its inception, focusing on its core functionality of basic screen magnification.

xwd(1), xwinfo(1)