How to Zoom-in and Zoom-Out in Excel (Shortcuts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rxh1pqej2M

We all know how important it is to be able to see the data in our spreadsheets clearly.

I find the functionality to zoom in on a specific section of the data set in Excel quite useful when I used to present my work in calls and meetings.

Once you know how to zoom in or zoom out in Excel, it only takes a simple keyboard shortcut or a couple of clicks to quickly get the right zoom level of your data.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you simple methods to zoom-in and zoom-out in Excel. I will cover some important Zoom shortcuts you should know and some cool tricks.

Keyboard + Mouse Combo to Zoom in and Zoom Out

In my experience, the easiest and the fastest way to quickly zoom in and zoom out in a worksheet in Excel is by using this combination of mouse and keyboard.

Control + Scroll Wheel

Below are the steps to zoom in Excel using the above mouse and keyboard combo:

  1. Activate the worksheet in which you want to zoom
  2. Hold the Control key on your keyboard
  3. To zoom in, use the scroll wheel and move it in the forward direction (for zooming out, move the scroll wheel in the backward direction)

When using the scroll wheel, it zooms in the increments of 15% (and zooms out at 15% as well)

You can see the current zoom level in the status bar

Zoom level shown in the status bar
Also read: Keyboard & Mouse Tricks that will Reinvent the Way You Excel

Keyboard Shortcuts to Zoom in and Zoom Out

If you are more of a keyboard shortcuts person, then you can use the below keyboard shortcuts in Excel:

Keyboard shortcut to Zoom-In:

Control + ALT + Plus Key

Keyboard shortcut to Zoom-Out

Control + ALT + Minus Key

To use the keyboard shortcuts, you need to hold the Control key and the ALT keys together, and then press the plus key or the minus key.

Pressing the plus or minus keys would change the zoom level by 15%. So if you need to zoom more, you will have to press the plus or the minus key multiple times.

Note that this keyboard shortcut would only work if you have a numeric keypad.

Setting the Zoom Level Using the Ribbon

In the above keyboard shortcuts, I showed you how to change the zoom level by 15% at a time.

But if you already know the zoom level to which you want to set your worksheet, you can use the option in the ribbon to open the Zoom dialog box and specify the zoom level there.

Below are the steps to open the zoom dialog box through the ribbon:

  1. Click the ‘View’ tab
Click the View tab
  1. In the Zoom group, click on the Zoom option. This will open the Zoom dialog box
Click the Zoom option
  1. Select the magnification level from the predefined options or you can enter your own custom value in the Custom field option
Zoom dialog box

You can also use the below keyboard shortcut to open the Zoom dialog box:

ALT + W + Q (press one after the other)

Zoom Worksheet to 100%

In case you have changed the zoom levels of your worksheet and you want to revert back to the original 100% zoom, you can do that by clicking on the 100% option in the View tab.

Zoom to 100%

Alternatively, you can use the below keyboard shortcut to get your worksheet into the 100% zoom level:

ALT + W + J

Zoom to Selection

If you want your Excel worksheet to be completely zoomed into the selected data set, you can do that by clicking on the ’Zoom to Selection’ option in the View tab.

Zoom to selection

Alternatively, you can use the below keyboard shortcut to quickly zoom into the selection:

ALT + W + G

Also read: How to Make Cells Bigger in Excel?

Setting the Zoom Level Using the Status Bar

Another quick way to zoom in and zoom out in Excel is by using the Status bar:

By default, at the right end of the status bar, you would see the zoom slider where you can use your cursor and drag the slider left to zoom out and right to zoom in.

Zoom scroll bar in the status bar

Also, if you click on the zoom percentage value, it would open the dialog box where you can use any of the pre-defined zoom levels or specify your own custom value.

In case you do not see the zoom slider or the zoom percentage value in the status bar, right-click on the status bar and then make sure these two options are selected.

Zoom In Zoom out When Using Touch Screen

If you’re using a touchscreen monitor or laptop, you can also zoom in and zoom out by putting two fingers on the screen and moving them apart to zoom in (or moving them closer to zoom out).

Important Things to Know About Zooming In and Out in Excel:

  • Excel allows you to set the zoom settings between 10% and 400%
  • If your Excel worksheet has named ranges, and you zoom below 40%, you will be able to visually see the name of the named range in the range itself (as shown below)
Named Range is when zoom is below 40%
  • When you zoom in or zoom out on a worksheet in Excel, it only impacts that specific worksheet. All the other worksheets in the same workbook would remain unchanged
  • In case you want to set the zoom level of multiple worksheets in the same workbook in one go, you need to first group these worksheets by selecting them together and then change the zoom levels. To group the worksheets, hold the control key and then click on the sheet tab names. Also, remember to ungroup the worksheets once you’re done (or else anything you do afterward would also be done on all the worksheets that are grouped)

In this tutorial, I showed you multiple ways to quickly zoom in or zoom out in Excel.

I also covered different Zoom options you have in the ribbon (such as bringing back the zoom level to 100% or Zoom to Selection”).

Other Excel articles you may also like:

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Hello there! I'm Sumit Bansal, founder of trumpexcel.com and an Excel MVP. I started this website in 2013 with a simple goal: to share my love for Excel through easy to follow tips, tutorials and videos. I'm here to help you get the best out of MS Excel to save time and boost your productivity.

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