Zoom in on a Mac

This article teaches you how to magnify objects on your Mac's screen.

Steps

Using the Trackpad

  1. Open a page or application that supports zooming. Possible examples include web pages, photos, and documents.
  2. Place two fingers on your Mac's trackpad.
  3. Push your fingers away from one another. Doing so will zoom in on your mouse cursor.
    • Repeat this gesture to zoom in further.
    • You can also double-tap the trackpad with two fingers to zoom in.

Using the Keyboard Shortcut

  1. Open a page or application that supports zooming. Possible examples include web pages, photos, and documents.
  2. Hold down ⌘ Command, then press +. Doing so will zoom in on the center of your Mac's screen.
    • You'll zoom in more each time you tap +.
    • You can also zoom in on your screen's center by clicking View in the row of options that are in the top-left side of the screen and then clicking Zoom In.
  3. Hold down ⌘ Command and tap -. This will zoom your screen back out.

Enabling the Screen Zoom

  1. Click the Apple icon. It's in the top-left corner of the screen.
  2. Click System Preferences. It's near the top of the drop-down menu.
  3. Click Accessibility. This option is near the bottom-right corner of the "System Preferences" window.
  4. Click Zoom. It's an option in the sidebar on the far-left side of the "Accessibility" window.
  5. Click the box to the left of the keyboard shortcuts option. It's at the top of the "Accessibility" page; the full option text reads "Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom". Checking this box will enable the default keyboard shortcuts for screen zooming:
    • ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+8 - Zoom in or out of a fixed magnification level.
    • ⌥ Option+⌘ Command - Zoom in while Screen Zoom is enabled.
    • ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+- - Zoom out while Screen Zoom is enabled.
    • ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+\ - Enable/Disable image smoothing, which removes pixelation from highly zoomed-in pictures.
  6. Click More Options. It's in the bottom-right side of the "Accessibility" window.
    • You can also change the stye of zoom from "Fullscreen" (which magnifies the whole screen) to "Picture-in-Picture" (magnifies a window next to your cursor) on this page by clicking the box next to "Zoom Style" near the bottom of the window and selecting your preferred option.
  7. Set the "Maximum Zoom" and "Minimum Zoom" values. To do so, click and drag the pertinent slider right to increase the zoom value or left to decrease the zoom value.
  8. Review the screen movement settings. You have three options for how to move to different parts of the screen while zoomed in:
    • Continuously with pointer - The screen will move as you move your mouse.
    • Only when the pointer reaches an edge - The screen will scroll when your cursor is lodged against a side of the screen.
    • So the pointer is at or near the center of the screen - The screen will move to ensure that your cursor is always near the center of the screen.
  9. Click a screen movement option. Doing so will apply it to your screen when your Mac is zoomed in.
  10. Click OK. Your selected keyboard shortcut will now allow you to zoom in or out on your desktop screen and other Mac windows that don't typically support zoom.

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