Whether you’re editing an image, navigating a map, or preparing for a virtual meeting with co-workers, it’s important to be able to view all of the information and details on your computer screen. That’s why learning how to laptop zoom out can be an invaluable skill, especially if you have trouble seeing small text or images on your screen.
Many modern laptops allow you to connect an external monitor to the system, which can be particularly helpful for business professionals who need to present information and graphics during a conference call or in-person meetings. However, if you’re seated several feet away from your laptop screen and have a hard time reading the text or making out objects on the screen, it may be necessary to increase or decrease screen magnification to be more comfortable while working from home. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can do this using keyboard shortcuts, mouse scroll wheels, touch-screen gestures or an accessibility tool called Magnifier.
Most computers come with a key combination that you can use to quickly zoom in on an object or website. To do this, press the Ctrl key and either + or – at the same time. Depending on your keyboard layout, you might need to hold down the previous key while pressing the next one. For example, if the keys are listed as ctrl+plus and ctrl+minus on your keyboard, you must continue to hold down the plus key while pressing the minus key to zoom in. You can then release both keys to reset the magnification.
If you don’t have a keyboard with dedicated + and – keys, you can try holding down the Control key while scrolling the wheel on your mouse up or down. This is a quick, intuitive way to zoom in and out on most apps. Similarly, if you have a touchscreen, you can pinch together or spread apart two fingers on the screen to zoom in or out. This is easy enough to do with most applications and should be familiar to anyone who has used a smartphone or tablet before.
If you’re looking for a more controlled method of zooming, you can open the Magnifier feature by pressing the Windows key or visiting your settings and selecting “Ease of Access.” Once Magnifier is active, click on the plus button to enlarge the view of an object or your entire screen. You can also select the minus button to decrease the magnification. When you’re finished, simply click the X to close Magnifier. Then, you can adjust the default zoom level under the Scale and Layout section of your Display settings menu.