Want to save time and use multi-touch gestures on your Mac to zoom in? Are you trying to see something up close on your Mac? Have you accidentally zoomed in and want to zoom out on your Apple computer? Then there are some keyboard shortcuts you should learn that will make your life a lot easier.
Once you enable the zoom feature, you can enlarge text on applications, zoom in on websites, and expand upon details. These features allow you to zoom in or zoom out on Mac. To get a visual guide, you can also check out multi-touch gestures on your Mac.
How to Zoom In on a Mac?
If you are using a new Mac computer and never set up Zoom, then you should check to see if it’s enabled in the Accessibility areas of “System Preferences.”
Here is a step-by-step process to enabling Zoom.
- Locate “System Preferences” on your dock. You can also access it through the Apple menu in the top left corner.
- Once in system preferences, then open “Accessibility” and select “Zoom” in the lefthand menu.
- Place a check in the box for “Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom.”
- You may also want to place a check in “Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom.”
Once enabled, the main keyboard shortcut needed to zoom in is “Command + Option” with the “+” to zoom in.
How to Zoom Out?
If you accidentally zoom in, you can easily zoom out using the keyboard shortcut “Command + Option” and the “-” key.
How to Zoom In and Out in Any Application Window?
You can zoom in to any website or application window by using “Command + Option” with “+” or “-“, and it will incrementally enlarge or reduce the window as many times as you press the keyboard shortcut combination.
Everything in the window will magnify if you press the keyboard shortcuts to zoom in. You can see the zoom percentage as you zoom in. As you zoom in, the images, text, fonts, and everything else in the window will magnify.
You can hit the zoom-out keys to go back to the standard screen size or reduce the screen size even further.
What is Scroll Gesture with Modifier Keys to Zoom?
If you decide to turn on the “Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom,” then you will be asked what specific key you want to use with your scroll feature. These keys include control, command, and option. As you hold onto one of these keys, then you can scroll up or down with your mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
How to Zoom In and Out with Two Fingers on Mac Touchpad?
If you have ever accidentally zoomed in or out on a window, you may have activated a keyboard shortcut with your fingers on the touchpad. Accidentally zooming in or out using the touchpad is a very common occurrence.
To zoom in or zoom out on your Macbook screen, you can hold down the “CTRL” key while holding two fingers on the touchpad. You can move the fingers together or apart to zoom in and out.
Zoom In and Out Commands for Mac Pro or iMac?
If you are using a desktop computer, then you will have a standard keyboard and mouse with a mouse wheel. You can press down the “control” key and then scroll the mouse wheel up or down to zoom in and out in an application window. In this case, the entire screen will enlarge or minimize depending on whether you zoom in or out.
Zoom Not Working on Mac?
If you have tried the above and nothing works, then you should recheck your accessibility settings. You can search for “Zoom” inside of the System Preferences dialog to bring up all settings for zoom. You may have turned off zoom, or your mouse wheel may not be working with the software.
How to Zoom on OlderMacs?
For those working with an older Mac system, such as Mac OS X 10.6, then you will need to go to the “Mouse” settings in “System Preferences.”
Once in the mouse settings, you should select “Zoom using scroll wheel while holding …” and then choose what key you want to use with your scroll wheel. For example, you may select the “control” key.
Wrapping Up
The trackpad and mouse wheel are the main ways to quickly zoom in and zoom out on your Mac unless you use the keyboard shortcut “Command + Option” with “+” or “-” to zoom in or zoom out respectively.
