How To Zoom In And Out In Microsoft Word

Applications

Microsoft Word, the world’s leading word processor software, is used by millions of people around the world on a daily basis. And its popularity is not unwarranted. Its functionality – accessible to even the least tech-savvy members of the digital age – alongside its sleek design and myriad well-designed in-built features, make it almost everyone’s number one go-to when they look to create a text document. 

Now, whether you are the reader or the writer of a word document, chances are you’ll need to be able to alter the size of the document readily and easily, in order to better engage with its content. In other words, you’re going to want to know how to zoom in and out in Microsoft Word. 

Well, look no further. This article is designed to help you find the most relevant method of zooming Microsoft Word and to do so in just a few simple steps. Read below for three different methods of zooming in Microsoft Word.

Zoom In and Out in Microsoft Word via the in-built slider

  1. Open Microsoft Word on your device, and open the document you wish to read/edit (or create a new one, for test purposes)
  2. Locate the part of the document which you wish to zoom in or out on
  3. In the bottom-right of the page, you should see a small slider, with a ‘+’ (plus) sign to the right and a ‘-’ (minus) sign to the left. It should be at the default zoom setting of 100%
  4. Using your mouse (or touch, depending on device) slide this zoom slider toward either side, depending on whether you wish to enlarge or shrink the size of your document (alternatively you can manually click on the ‘+’ or ‘-’ buttons, to do the same job)
  5. You will find that your page size zooms in or out in increments of 10%. Take your time and determine the most appropriate percentage for the particular document, and for your needs. Remember, the default zoom setting is 100% – manually return it to this if you wish to reset the document’s zoom level.

Zoom In and Out in Microsoft Word via the View tab

  1. Open Microsoft Word on your device, and open the document you wish to read/edit (or create a new one, for test purposes)
  2. Locate the part of the document which you wish to zoom in or out on
  3. Along the top of the page, you will find the Microsoft Word toolbar, locate and scroll along to (or click on) the View tab
  4. In the center of the View toolbar, you will find the section for altering the Zoom of your page. 
    1. There are several one-click options, such as ‘one-page’ (which zooms out to show you each page in full), ‘multiple pages’ (which zooms even further out to show you multiple pages of your document at once), or ‘page width’ (which zooms in until the full page width occupies the majority of your screen. Finally, there is the ‘100%’ option which, if selected, returns your view to the default 100% zoom setting, as is standard across all Word documents
  5. For greater control, however, this time click on ‘Zoom’, which is symbolized by a magnifying glass
  6. This brings up a pop-up settings window, giving you the full range of zoom options. You can choose to alter the percentage of the zoom manually, by clicking the up or down arrows on the percentage box until you reach the zoom which meets your requirements.
    1. Alternatively, there are several preset options, which you can toggle by clicking the white circles next to them: ‘200%’, ‘100%’ (default), ‘75%’, ‘Page Width’ (see above), ‘Text Width’ (a further zoom even than page width, zooming in on your text until its width occupies the majority of your view), ‘Whole Page’ (see ‘one-page’ above), or ‘Many pages’ (see ‘multiple pages’ above, but note that in this advanced zoom settings screen, you can alter the exact number of pages displayed in your screen by clicking on the computer icon below ‘Many pages’)
  7. Once you are satisfied with your new zoom settings in Microsoft Word, click ‘OK’

Zoom In and Out in Microsoft Word using your trackpad

  1. Open Microsoft Word on your device, and open the document you wish to read/edit (or create a new one, for test purposes)
  2. Locate the part of the document which you wish to zoom in or out on
  3. Placing two fingers on your trackpad/touchpad, move them apart (to zoom in) or together (to zoom out). In essence, what you are doing here is using touch, rather than a mouse or trackpad click, to adjust the zoom of the Microsoft Word built-in slider
  4. To reset the zoom to default, repeat step 3 until the slider in the bottom-right of the screen reads 100%

And there you have it! By following any of the three suggested means of zooming in and out in Microsoft Word, you can ensure that your future interactions with this most popular word processing application always meets your reading, writing, and editing visual requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Does adjusting the zoom in one document affect others?

In short, yes. Adjusting the zoom in one document applies this level of zoom as a default across your other Microsoft Word documents. If you were to quit Microsoft Word and then open it back up, you will find that whichever level or mode of zoom you last employed, has been retained and is applied to this new document. This is handy, if you prefer a specific zoom level (‘page width’ for example), but is also easily adjustable per document, just by following the steps listed above.

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