Working with large projects in Google Sheets can be a strain on the eyes. Especially when you’ve got lots of different data and different numbers on screen all at one time. Learning how to zoom in and out in Google Sheets can be a game-changer, and make your user experience of the free-to-use software infinitely more enjoyable and, ultimately, productive.
To learn how to zoom in and out in Google Sheets, simply follow our step-by-step guides below. For all additional queries and information, see our FAQs at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
How to zoom in and out in Google Sheets on a desktop
- Open up Google Chrome (or another compatible web browser) and navigate to the Google Sheets homepage. Once there, open up any project (or begin a new one) just to test zooming in and out on.
- Method One: Click ‘View’, then ‘Zoom’ and select a new zoom percentage level from there. Higher than 100% zooms in on the document. Lower than 100% zooms out.
- Method Two: Click the ‘100%’ zoom icon in the toolbar, and then select a new zoom percentage level from the drop-down menu. Again, higher than 100% zooms in on the document. Lower than 100% zooms out.
- To reset the zoom level at any time, repeat either step 2 or 3 but this time select 100% as the zoom level.
How to zoom in and out in Google Sheets on mobile
- Open up the Google Sheets app on your mobile or tablet device and open up any project (old or new) just to test zooming in and out on
- To zoom in, place two fingers together on the screen, and then move them apart (still touching the screen) to enlarge it.
- To zoom out, place two fingers apart on the screen, and then move them together (still touching the screen) to decrease its size.
- To reset the zoom, there is, unfortunately, no quick or easy method – you’ll simply have to play around with steps 2 and 3 until you get yourself back to a zoom level that feels comfortable and normal. Alternatively, save the document you’re working on. Exit out of it, and then enter back into it; the zoom level will have been returned to default.
And there you have it! Whilst it’s not nearly as comprehensive a zoom mechanism as you’d find in Microsoft Excel, and whilst it’s not particularly great on mobile, you can still master the art of zooming in and out in Google Sheets quite easily. All you have to do is follow our instructions!
For any other information, or if you have any other queries, please see our FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I want to zoom in and out in Google Sheets?
Google Sheets is another of Google’s much-used and much-beloved free-to-use office software. Sheets, like Microsoft Excel, is a data-entry spreadsheet program, used for matters of data entry, accountancy, finance, organization, and calendar-keeping, among many other things.
If you’ve been using Google Sheets for a while, or even if you’re new to it, but have already begun filling up spreadsheets with lots of data and information, then you’ll already know that it can get a little confusing to look at. Things can get lost among all the numbers and figures, and navigating your spreadsheets can become problematic.
Thankfully, there’s a very easy fix – zooming in and out. Learning how to zoom in and out in Google Sheets can be a total game-changer, and for those of us who use Google Sheets every day, it’s an absolute necessity. Being able to quickly and efficiently zoom in to and out from your project in Google Sheets means you can cut right through the mess to deal with cells individually, or zoom out to get a better idea for the bigger picture.
To learn how, simply follow our tutorials above.
Does zooming in and out change the default zoom level for next time?
No. Unfortunately, the zoom controls only apply to the sheets you’re working on when you’re working on them. Even though Google Sheets automatically saves your work on the project as you go, this doesn’t seem to apply to changes you make to the zoom level of said project.
What altering the zoom does do, however, is apply that new zoom level across the various sheets of the one project. Helpful? We remain unconvinced. If you’re altering the zoom level to better reflect your sight requirements, then sure. But if you’re zooming in or out to work on a particular set of cells in one area of one sheet of a Google Sheets project, then having this zoom be applied throughout the project is not necessarily helpful…
How do I reset the zoom level in Google Sheets?
Quite simply, repeat the processes above, and when it comes to choosing a zoom percentage level, just choose 100% – this is standard default zoom.
