How to Zoom in on Photoshop

Need to zoom on your images on Photoshop but don’t know how? Worry not! This article will show you some ways how to zoom in on Photoshop using several commands and shortcuts available in Photoshop. You’ll also get familiar with several zoom tools.

Let’s get started…

How to Change the Zoom Level?

The document’s lower left corner has a zoom level indication. The system to adjust the zoom level from here is the difference.

1. To highlight the current value, click twice on it.
2. Next, type a new value, such as 50 for 50%.
3. Press’ Return’ or ‘Enter’ on a Mac or Windows computer. And the image immediately changes its zoom level.

Zoom Image with the Scrubby Slider

1. To turn your cursor to a ‘scrubby slider,’ hold down the ‘Ctrl’ key on your computer or the ‘Command’ key on a Mac while moving your mouse over the zoom level in the lower left.
2. After that, you can zoom in or out by dragging to the right or left.
3. You can zoom in or out by 10% by using the ‘Shift’ key in addition to the other keys (Shift+Ctrl in Windows or Shift+Command on a Mac).

Photoshop’s Zoom in and Zoom Out Commands

1. Go to ‘View’ in the Menu Bar
2. Then, use the ‘Zoom In’ and ‘ZoomOut’

The Zoom in and Zoom Out Keyboard Shortcuts

The two most beneficial Photoshop shortcuts to learn are these two.

1. Press the ‘plus symbol (+)’ while holding down the ‘Ctrl’ key or ‘Command’ on a Mac to zoom in.
2. Hold down the ‘Ctrl’ or ‘Command’ keys while pressing the ‘minus symbol (–)’ on a Mac (-) to zoom out.

Photoshop’s Zoom Level Presets

1. Use ‘Ctrl++’ in Windows or ‘Command++’in Mac to zoom in on the image and ‘Ctrl+-‘in Windows or ‘Command+-‘in Mac to zoom out while keeping an eye on the zoom level in the document tab. Take note of how the zoom level changes at different points.
2. Next, use ‘Ctrl++’ on Windows or ‘Command++’ on Mac to zoom in; the level will increase to 33.3%.
3. As you continue to zoom in, the zoom level increases to ‘50%’, ‘66.7%’, and ultimately ‘100%’.
4. When you continually zoom out by pressing ‘Ctrl+-‘in Windows or ‘Command+-‘in Mac, the zoom level swings from 100% back to ‘66.7%’, then to ‘50%’, ‘33.3%’, and finally back to ‘25%’.
5. You won’t always see all the pixels when zooming in on an image less than 100%. So photoshop will redraft the image using fewer pixels while attempting to maintain the possible accuracy.
6. The image will appear softer on your screen than it actually is when you have the zoom level set to something other than one of these defaults.
7. Use the keyboard shortcuts’ Ctrl++’ in Windows or ‘Command++’ in Mac to zoom in or ‘Ctrl+-‘in Windows or ‘Command+–’ in Mac to zoom out to the closest level whenever you require a clearer view of your image.

Fit on Screen Command

1. From the ‘View’ menu, choose Fit on Screen to see the entire image at once. Also, remember the shortcut key, which is ‘Ctrl+0’ on Windows or ‘Command+0’ on Mac.
2. Selecting ‘Fit’ on Screen under ‘View.’
3. After selecting ‘Fit’ on ‘Screen,’ the complete picture will be visible again.

Use Zoom Tool

1. You can utilize the ‘Zoom Tool’ in Photoshop, which is located towards the bottom of the toolbar, to choose the area of the image we want to zoom in on. You may also choose the ‘Zoom Tool’ by hitting the letter’ Zoom’ on your keyboard.
2. When the ‘Zoom Tool’ is selected, your mouse cursor will become a magnifying glass with a ‘plus sign’ in the center.
3. Use the ‘zoom tool’ to click on the area to enlarge it. Click again to enlarge it even further. For the most realistic look, utilize the ‘Zoom Tool,’ which has the same default values as the ‘Zoom In’ and ‘Zoom Out’ options.
4. On a keyboard, hold down the ‘Alt’ key or the ‘Option’ key on a Mac to zoom out with the ‘Zoom Tool.’ There will be a ‘minus’ symbol instead of the ‘plus’ symbol.
5. Lastly, click to zoom out more after you select the area.

Scrolling Wheel of Mouse

1. You can scroll the wheel of the mouse to zoom in and out. 
2. This option will work when the zoom with the scroll wheel box has been checked in ‘General’ preferences.
3. Go to the ‘Edit’ menu bar, then go to the bottom of the menu to hover over preferences. 
4. Select ‘General’ from the menu.
5. From the new pop-up window click on ‘Tools’, and click on the box zoom with ‘Scroll Wheel’.

Animated Zoom Tools

1. Click the magnifying glass icon several times or use the continuous zoom functions, by clicking the ‘Animated zoom’ option in settings.
2. Click ‘Edit’ from the menu bar.
3. Hover over “Preferences” and click “General”. 
4. Click “Tools” and then confirm the ‘Animated zoom’ checkbox is clicked.
5. Now you can click and hold, and the screen will slowly zoom as much you keep that hold in.

How Can You Temporarily Shift to the Zoom Tool Using the Keyboard?

The Zoom Tool is excellent for focusing on a particular area. However, it is also a good way to temporarily access the Zoom Tool from your keyboard rather than choosing it from the toolbar each time you need to zoom in or out.

1. Press the ‘spacebar’ while holding down the ‘Ctrl’ key on a Windows computer or the ‘Command’ key on a Mac.
2. The ‘Zoom Tool’ will be available once the keys are held down. It will help you to click an area for zooming in.
3. Press the ‘Option’ key on Mac or the ‘Alt’ key to zoom out. For returning to zooming in, leave the ‘Alt’ or ‘Option’ key, then leave all the keys to return to the previous tool so you may carry on working.

To Conclude

You might frequently need to zoom in and out of an image while working with Photoshop Elements, both while editing an image in the image window and when working in other windows.

When you want to alter or inspect a piece of a picture accurately, you must zoom in. You must then zoom out the complete image to find out the accuracy. So, learning this method is a must for you while editing an image.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Scrubby zoom in Adobe Photoshop?

Scrubby zoom offers a continuous, smooth zoom to your image. To zoom in, use the Zoom tool and click and drag to the right. Click Left to enlarge. However, Scrubby zoom is considered bothersome for some. It is believed to benefit trackpad-equipped laptop users the most.

How do I fix the zoom tool in Photoshop?

Use the scroll wheel to ‘zoom in’ and ‘zoom out’ while holding down the ‘Option’ or ‘Alt’ key. You can control the zoom to the standard percentages as you press and hold the ‘Shift’ key while using the scroll wheel.

How do I open preferences in Photoshop?

Select the portion you wish to edit in the ‘Preferences’ dialog box by selecting ‘Edit > Preferences’ in Windows or ‘Premiere Elements > Preferences’ in Mac OS. While the program starts, hold ‘Alt’ (Windows) or ‘Option’ (Mac OS) to return to the default preference settings.

Can you zoom to a specific percentage?

You will get to enter an option at the bottom left corner of the screen to mention a specific percentage of zoom. For example, there can be mentioned 100% but you can do more zoom in and out as your preferences.

How to enable the navigator in Photoshop?

Choose ‘Window’ and select ‘Navigator’. Then use the slider in the ‘Navigator’ panel after selecting the image. Now you can adjust to the magnificent level.