How To Zoom In And Out In Microsoft Excel

Working with numbers and data in Microsoft Excel makes data handling, data entry, accounting, and any number of other professions and tasks pretty straightforward, reducing the risk that you make a mistake in your calculations, and improving the ease with which you can navigate between various elements of your project.

However, large (or overly small) spreadsheets can be a nuisance to work with when you don’t know how to zoom in and out. 

To learn how to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel, simply follow our step-by-step instructions as laid out below. For any additional information, or if you have any other queries, please direct your attention to our FAQs, located at the end of this article.

How to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel on PC (slider)

1. Open up the Microsoft Excel app on your PC, and load a current project or new document to test zooming on.
   
2. Locate the zoom slider in the bottom-right corner of the screen. It should read ‘100%’ as default zoom.
   
   1. To zoom in on the document, simply drag this slider to the right, until you achieve your desired zoom level
      
      
      
   2. To zoom out from the document, simply drag this slider to the left, until you achieve your desired zoom level
      
      
      
   3. To reset the zoom to 100%, simply drag the slider left or right (accordingly) until it snaps back to the default 100% mark
      

How to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel on PC (zoom tools)

1. Open up the Microsoft Excel app on your PC, and load a current project or new document to test zooming on.
   
2. Locate and click on ‘View’ from the menu bar running along the top
   
3. Locate the ‘Zoom’ section of the ‘View’ menu
   
4. Click on ‘Zoom’ (the magnifying glass icon)
   
5. From the pop-up zoom box, choose a zoom level that suits your needs by clicking the empty circle next to the zoom level (25, 50, 75, 100, or 200%) or by entering a more specific percentage figure into the box next to ‘Custom’, and when satisfied, click ‘OK’ to apply the change
   
   
   
6. To reset the zoom level at any time, navigate back to the ‘View’ menu, and then in the ‘Zoom’ section, locate and click on the ‘100% Page’ icon
   1. (Alternatively, repeat step 5 and select 100% from the pop-up box, then hit ‘OK’)
      

How to fit a selection of cells to the window in Microsoft Excel on PC

1. Open up the Microsoft Excel app on your PC, and load a current project or new document to test zooming on.
   
2. Now, click and drag, or use SHIFT and ARROWS to highlight a particular selection of cells (from 1 cell to as many as you like) within your spreadsheet
   
3. Next, locate and click on ‘View’ from the menu bar running along the top
   
4. In the ‘Zoom’ section, now click on ‘Zoom to selection’
   
   1. Alternatively, click on ‘Zoom’ (magnifying glass icon) and select ‘Fit selection’ from the pop-up box, then hit ‘OK’ to apply this new zoom level
      
5. To reset the zoom level at any time, navigate back to the ‘View’ menu, and then in the ‘Zoom’ section, locate and click on the ‘100% Page’ icon
   1. (Alternatively, repeat step 4a and select 100% from the pop-up box, then hit ‘OK’)
      

How to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel on mobile/tablet (fingers)

1. Open up the Microsoft Excel app on your mobile or tablet device, and load a current project or new document to test zooming on.
   
2. Now, to zoom in on the document, put two fingers close together on the screen, over the area of the document you wish to focus on. Next, keeping your two fingers in contact with the screen, move them apart to zoom in. Repeat as necessary.
   
3. To zoom out from the document, put your two fingers to the screen again, though this time keep them apart. Next, keeping your two fingers in contact with the screen, move them closer together to zoom out. Repeat as necessary.
   
4. To reset the zoom level on your mobile or tablet, repeat steps 2 and 3 until you reach zoom level 55% (which is the default on mobiles – may differ on tablets)

How to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel on mobile/tablet (zoom tools)

1. Open up the Microsoft Excel app on your mobile or tablet device, and load a current project or new document to test zooming on.
   
2. To bring up the menu, tap the folder icon in the bottom-left, next to the name of your document’s first sheet
   
3. Now, navigate to ‘View’ by tapping the upward facing green arrow to the very right of the menu bar along the bottom, and tap again on ‘Home’. From the pop-up menu, select ‘View’
   
   
   
4. Scroll down through the various zoom tools and settings, and you’ll find two buttons – ‘Zoom In’ and ‘Zoom Out’
   1. To zoom in on your excel sheet, press ‘Zoom In’ as many times as necessary
      
      
      
   2. To zoom out from your excel sheet, press ‘Zoom Out’ as many times as necessary
      
      
      
      
5. To reset the zoom level on your mobile or tablet, repeat step 4a or 4b until you reach zoom level 55% (which is the default on mobiles – may differ on tablets)

And there you have it! As simple as following the above guides, you can learn various methods of zooming in and out in Microsoft Excel. For any additional queries or information, see our FAQs below.

Frequently asked questions

Why would I want to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel has been the choice of software for accountants and data processors for decades, at this point. It is a fantastic piece of software to use for data handling, accountancy, and any number of other organizational tasks, thanks to its remarkable ease-of-use, its versatility, and the wide range of calculations it can perform – thus streamlining the everyday experience of the user.

However, if you use Microsoft Excel regularly, you’ll no doubt be working with files and spreadsheets which can soon grow really big – sometimes too big to efficiently manage. Working with larger spreadsheets (or even with small spreadsheets, with minimal data), can become a strain on the eyes and on the brain.

Learning how to zoom in and out in Microsoft Excel – or to fit a specific selection of spreadsheet cells to the size of the Excel window – is the fastest, most efficient way to improve your ability to work with overly large or overly small documents. Simply changing the size of the cells (and thus their contained data) on your screen can dramatically improve your ability to read that data and reduce the chance of headaches, caused by prolonged straining of the eyes.

Can I change the default zoom level in Microsoft Excel?

No, altering the zoom levels in Microsoft Excel does not apply these changes across the application. Furthermore, we can find no options, even in the Advanced Settings of the application, which would allow you to alter the default zoom level of Microsoft Excel.

However, it’s not all bad news. If you alter the zoom level in a specific spreadsheet document, and then save that document, whenever you close and reopen/load your saved document, your set zoom level for that particular project will be preserved. This way, you can effectively change the default zoom level for individual Excel documents, by altering the zoom, and then ensuring you save the document at this zoom.

How do I reset the zoom level in Microsoft Excel?

This one’s easy. To reset the zoom level in Microsoft Excel, do one of three things.

1. Click ‘View’ and then in the Zoom section of the toolbar, click the 100% Page icon to reset the zoom level to 100% 
2. Click ‘View’ and then in the Zoom section of the toolbar, click the magnifying glass ‘Zoom’ icon, and from the pop-up window, click the circle next to 100%, and then hit ‘OK’
3. Using the slider to the bottom-right of the page, click and drag, or click the (+) or (-) buttons accordingly, to bring the zoom level back to the 100% mark.

If I change the zoom on a saved document on the PC app, will the zoom remain at this level when I open the document on my mobile Excel app?

Unfortunately not. Because the mobile and tablet versions of the Microsoft Excel app work differently when it comes to zooming in and out, any zoom changes you make to an Excel document on the PC (even if you save those changes, as discussed in an earlier FAQ) will not be retained or reflected if you then open that document on your mobile phone or tablet.