PDF (adobe.com)

Zoom in or out



Use the Zoom tool  or the View menu commands to zoom in or zoom out of an image. When you use the Zoom tool, each click magnifies or reduces the image to the next preset percentage and centers the display around the point you click. Over 500% magnification, the image’s pixel grid becomes visible. When the image has reached its maximum magnification level of 3200% or minimum size of 1 pixel, the magnifying glass appears empty.

 Do any of the following:

  • Select the Zoom tool , and click either the Zoom In  or Zoom Out button  in the options bar. Then, click the area you want to magnify.

  • Select the Zoom tool. The pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a plus sign in its center. Click the center of the area that you want to magnify. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and click the center of the area that you want to reduce. The zoom will be smooth if your computer has OpenGL and Animated Zoom is selected in the General Preferences.

  • Select the Zoom tool and then click-hold in the image for a continuous-motion smooth zoom in. Alt + click-hold (Windows) or Option + click-hold (Mac OS) to continuously zoom out. To use this feature, your computer must have OpenGL and Animated Zoom must be selected in the General Preferences.

  • Select the Zoom tool and drag a dotted rectangle (marquee) around the area you want to magnify. To move the marquee around the artwork, hold down the spacebar and continue dragging until the marquee is in the desired location.

  • Choose View > Zoom In or View > Zoom Out. The Zoom In or Zoom Out command becomes unavailable when the maximum image magnification or reduction is reached.

  • Set the zoom level at the lower left corner of the document window or in the Navigator panel.

For a video on zooming and navigating in an image, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4010_ps

Set Zoom tool preferences

Some of the Zoom tool preferences require that your computer has OpenGL. If your computer has OpenGL, be sure to enable it in Photoshop. Choose Edit > Preferences > Performance (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > Performance (Mac OS), and then select Enable OpenGL Drawing under the GPU Settings.

 Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > General (Mac OS) and then do any of the following:

  • To enable continuous zooming in or out by holding down the Zoom tool, select Animated Zoom. Zooming from one magnification to another will also be smooth when clicking with the Zoom tool.

  • To enable zooming in or out using the scroll wheel on your mouse, select the Zoom With Scroll Wheel option.

  • To enable centering the zoom view on the click location, select the Zoom Clicked Point To Center option.

Zoom into or out of multiple images

  1. Open one or more images, or open one image in multiple windows.
  2. Choose Window > Arrange > Tile to display the images edge to edge.
  3. Select the Zoom tool, and then do one of the following:

    • Select Zoom All Windows in the options bar, and then click one of the images. The other images zoom in or out at the same time.

    • Choose Window > Arrange > Match Zoom. Hold down the Shift key and click one of the images. The other images zoom in or out at the same magnification.

Magnify by dragging

  1. Select the Zoom tool.
  2. Drag over the part of the image that you want to magnify.
    Dragging the Zoom tool to magnify the view of an image

    The area inside the zoom marquee is displayed at the highest possible magnification. To move the marquee around the artwork in Photoshop, begin dragging a marquee and then hold down the spacebar while dragging.

Temporarily zoom into an image

  1. Select the Zoom tool.
  2. Hold down the H key, and then click in the image and hold down the mouse button.

    The Zoom tool changes to the Hand tool and the image is magnified.

  3. Release the mouse button.

    The image returns to the previous magnification. Releasing the H key changes the Hand tool back to the Zoom tool.

Automatically resize the window when zooming

 With the Zoom tool active, select Resize Windows To Fit in the options bar. The window is resized when you magnify or reduce the view of the image.

When Resize Windows To Fit is deselected (the default), the window maintains a constant size regardless of the image magnification. This can be helpful when using smaller monitors or working with tiled views.

Note: To automatically resize the window when using keyboard shortcuts to reduce or magnify an image view, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Photoshop > Preferences > General (Mac OS), then select the Zoom Resizes Windows preference and click OK.

Display an image at 100%

 Do one of the following:

  • Double-click the Zoom tool in the toolbox.

  • Choose View > Actual Pixels.

  • Enter 100% in the Status Bar and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS).

Note: The 100% view of an image displays an image as it will appear in a browser (based on the monitor resolution and the image resolution).

Fit an image to the screen

 Do one of the following:

  • Double-click the Hand tool in the toolbox.

  • Choose View > Fit On Screen.

  • Select a zoom tool or the Hand tool, and click the Fit On Screen button in the options bar.

    These options scale both the zoom level and the window size to fit the available screen space.