4 methods to zoom in and out on Mac

Let's find out details through the following article!

1. Zoom in or out on your Mac using keyboard shortcuts

The easiest way to zoom in and out is to use keyboard shortcuts on your Mac. There are three main keyboard shortcuts that will enable the zoom feature in most Mac applications:

1. Cmd + Plus sign (+): Zoom in on Mac.
2. Cmd + Minus sign (-): Minimize on Mac.
3. Cmd + Number 0 (0): Return to the default zoom level.

If you don't like using keyboard shortcuts, you can still access these common zoom options from the menu bar. Once you open the relevant application, click the View tab and select Zoom In, Zoom Out, or Actual Size, depending on your needs.

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2. Zoom in and out of different apps on macOS

Many built-in and third-party apps for macOS also have their own zoom feature. You can use these options instead of the general keyboard shortcuts mentioned earlier. Here are some examples of how to use the zoom feature in various popular apps for Mac:

1. Safari: Go to Safari > Settings > Websites > Page Zoom from the menu bar. From the When visiting other websites drop-down menu, select your preferred zoom percentage.
2. Google Chrome: Click the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select the Plus (+) or Minus (-) icon from the zoom options.
3. Preview: Click the plus (+) or minus (-) magnifying glass icon to zoom in and out of the image you opened.
4. Photos: Press Z on your keyboard to zoom in or out on your photo by 100%, or use the zoom slider at the top to zoom in up to 400%.

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3. Zoom in and out using trackpad gestures on your Mac

There's also a way to zoom in and out using gestures on your Mac's trackpad. You'll love this method if you're used to using a touchpad for all your tasks.

Click the Apple icon in the menu bar and go to System Settings > Trackpad. Select the Scroll & Zoom tab and make sure Zoom in or out and Smart zoom are enabled. This way, you can pinch or double-tap with two fingers on the trackpad to zoom in and out on your Mac.

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4. Use your Mac's built-in magnifier to zoom in

In most cases, the general keyboard shortcuts and touchpad gestures mentioned above will be enough. However, you cannot use them to enlarge your macOS menu bar or Google Chrome tab. If you need to zoom in on these parts of the macOS user interface, you can activate your Mac's built-in magnifier.

Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Zoom and turn on Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom. For the Modifier key for scroll gesture option, select Control from the drop-down menu. For Zoom style, select Picture-in-Picture.

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Now, to zoom in, press and hold the Control button on the keyboard. At the same time, use two fingers to swipe up on the trackpad to make the magnifying glass window appear. Swiping up multiple times will increase the zoom level.

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To zoom out and exit the magnifier, swipe down with two fingers until the zoom level returns to default. The magnifying glass window will then disappear on its own.

You can customize this zoom setting in many ways. For example, you can choose Full Screen or Split Screen to change how magnified parts of your Mac screen appear. Instead of a small magnifying glass window, Split Screen uses a quarter of your Mac's screen to display the magnified portion.

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As another example, if you don't like swiping on the touchpad and using modifier keys to zoom, you can choose to enable Use Keyboard shortcuts to zoom. When this setting is enabled, you'll have three additional keyboard shortcuts you can use to zoom in and out on your Mac:

1. Option + Cmd + 8: Press this button once to activate zoom. Press again to turn off.
2. Option + Cmd + Equal sign (=): Press these keys to enlarge the screen.
3. Option + Cmd + Minus sign (-): Press these buttons to minimize the screen.

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In general, if you want to zoom in or out on your Mac, the easiest way is to use the three main keyboard shortcuts or the zoom option in the View tab. Popular apps like Photos and Google Chrome also have their own zoom buttons you can use.

If the general options aren't what you're looking for, a built-in magnifier is available. This is one of the Mac Accessibility features for the visually impaired. This function will allow you to zoom anywhere on the user interface.

Marvin Fry

Update 06 March 2024