How to Zoom in on a PC

Easily magnify objects on your Windows PC with this user-friendly guide

Last Updated: August 23, 2022 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to magnify the text, images and other objects on your Windows PC display. If you just want to zoom in on a webpage or photo, you can use an easy keyboard shortcut, your scroll-wheel mouse, or a touch-screen gesture. If you need to zoom in on the entire screen, you can use an accessibility tool called Magnifier.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Zooming in One Window

1
Open the application or page you want to zoom in on. You can use keyboard shortcuts and gestures to zoom in and out on in most apps. This is helpful when you want to zoom in on something like a website or a photo.
2
Press Ctrl++ to zoom in. You can press this keyboard combination as many times as you need to zoom in for a closer look.
- If you're using a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can also zoom in by pressing the Ctrl key while you scroll the wheel upward.
- If your PC has a touch screen, you can place two fingers together on the screen and spread them apart to zoom in.
- The zoom feature may not be available in all apps.
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3
Press Ctrl+- to zoom out. As with zooming in, you can keep pressing the button to zoom out as far as you'd like to go.
- If you're using a mouse with a scroll wheel, hold the Ctrl key while scrolling the wheel downward.
- If you have a touch screen, pinch two fingers on the screen to zoom out.
4
Press Ctrl + "0" to return the screen to default magnification.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Zooming on the Whole Screen with Magnifier

1
Press ⊞ Win++ on the keyboard. Pressing the Windows key and the + (plus) key at the same time will activate the Magnifier feature on Windows 10 and 8.1.^{[1]
X
Trustworthy Source
Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
Go to source} The tool will immediately magnify the entire screen until you change the settings.
- If you're using Windows 7, click the Start button, type magnifier into the search bar, and then click Magnifier in the search results.
- Windows 10 and 8 users who'd prefer to use a mouse can also open Magnifier by navigating to Settings > Ease of Access > Magnifier > Turn on Magnifier (or use the slider).
2
Click the + to zoom in. This magnifies the entire screen. You can keep clicking this button until you reach the desired zoom level.
- The percentage (e.g., 200%) will update as you zoom in and out.
- If you'd rather zoom in with the keyboard, press Windows key and the + key (the same shortcut you used to open the tool).
3
Click the - to zoom out. As with zooming in, you can keep clicking this button until you're zoomed out to the desired level.
- You can also zoom out by pressing the Windows key and the - (minus) key.
4
Click the Views menu to choose where to zoom. The default option is to magnify the entire screen, but you have other options:
- Lens acts like a magnifying glass that you move around the screen.
- Full-screen magnifies the entire screen (the default).
- Docked magnifies a fixed portion of the screen in a bar or box. The zoomed content will appear in the box as you move the cursor around.^{[2]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  Microsoft Support
  Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
  Go to source}
5
Click the gear icon to manage your Magnifier preferences. This opens the Magnifier panel in settings, where you can customize Magnifier to your liking.
- If you'd like Magnifier to launch automatically when you start your computer, select either Start Magnifier after sign-in or Start Magnifier before sign-in for everyone.
- To change the default view, select an option from the "Choose a view" menu.
6
Click the X at the top-right corner to close Magnifier.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Web Browser Zoom Features

1
Open a web browser. All web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, have their own built-in zoom options that can be accessed from different menus.
2
Open the web browser's menu. The location of nearly all browser menus is at the upper-right corner of the application.
- Microsoft Edge: Three horizontal dots
- Google Chrome: Three vertical dots
- Mozilla Firefox: There horizontal lines
- Internet Explorer: If you're using this browser, click the View menu at the top and select the Zoom menu to access the zoom controls.
3
Click the + to zoom in. You'll see a "Zoom" option on the menu of nearly all web browsers. Clicking the + to the left of the word "Zoom" in the menu makes the items on each page bigger.
- The magnification level (e.g., 125%) will update as you continue to click the button.
- Clicking on the icon at the extreme right will activate the full screen mode (hit F11 to exit full screen mode).
4
Click the - to zoom out. It's to the right of "Zoom." This makes the items on each page smaller.
5
Press Ctrl + "0" to return the screen to default magnification.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I do a screenshot on a laptop?

Reyhan Palakka

Community Answer

Press windows + PrtSc at the same time.Your screenshot will be on the "pictures" tab on Windows Explorer.
Question

How to fix the zoom level to 100 on Windows 10?

RapidGum

Community Answer

If you are on Microsoft Edge, you can click the three dots in the top corner and then click the Xoom button five down. If you have a mouse, you can hold CTRL and scroll forwards or backwards to zoom in as well. Or, press CTRL + and CTRL - to zoom in and out.
Question

How to zoom in screen on PC?

MACARTHUR GAISIN

Community Answer

If you click the three dots on the top right corner of the screen, you should see the word zoom. And on the right of the zoom word, you can adjust how you want to zoom. Note that this only works in Microsoft Edge.