How To Zoom Out On Windows

Does your Windows screen look usually smaller than before? And everything else on the screen seems bigger? Then your screen is probably zoomed in.

It’s not a big deal as it can happen accidentally while performing specific actions using a keyboard or mouse. Likewise, turning it back to how it was is not a huge issue either.

There are a variety of ways to zoom out on Windows. And all of them are pretty straightforward and only take about a few seconds or minutes to do so.

Why Is My Screen Zoomed in?

The shortcut keys to access the zoom functionality in Windows are a pretty standard combination of keys that we use every day. This increases the chance of pressing them accidentally, which will cause the screen to zoom in or out.

How to Zoom Out on Windows

As of today, there are 5 ways to zoom in or out on Windows.

Depending on where you are or what program you’re using, some methods might or might not work.

Using Mouse

You can use your keyboard button and the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in or out on Windows. With certain exceptions of applications that have their own zoom preference, this method works anywhere on windows in general.

To zoom out on Windows using your mouse:

1. Press and hold the Ctrl button.
2. Now move the scroll wheel backward.

Do this until the screen looks comfortable enough for your eyes.

Through Trackpad 

If you’re using a laptop and don’t have a mouse, you can zoom out through your trackpad using your fingers. This feature is turned on by default on Windows. But if it’s not, you can follow the steps below to turn it on.

On Windows 11

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
2. Go to Bluetooth & devices.
3. Select Touchpad.
4. Scroll & Zoom to expand it.
5. Check the “Pinch to zoom” option box.

On Windows 10

1. Go to Settings
2. Head to Devices and select Touchpad
3. Check the “Pinch to zoom” box to enable it.

Now you use your fingers to zoom in or out. To zoom out, put any two fingers on the trackpad and expand them.

You can also use the same gesture on your touchscreen to zoom out.

Using Keyboard

Don’t worry if your mouse is not working. Similar to a mouse, you can also use your keyboard to zoom out on Windows. You can achieve this by

1. Press and hold the Ctrl button on your keyboard
2. Press the “-“ button until you’re satisfied with the result
   

Changing Display Settings

You can change the display settings to change the size of the contents on your screen. As per your requirement, you can make them bigger or smaller. You can change the scale of Windows components or the screen’s resolution to zoom in or out.

To zoom out on Windows using display settings, follow the steps below:

Change Scale

Changing the scale will make everything on Windows, i.e. text, apps, and other items, small or large.

To change the scale on Windows:

1. Open Settings
2. Go to System and select Display
3. Under Scale & layout, select the lower scale to zoom out.
   

Change the Resolution

Changing the resolution will allow your screen to be bigger or smaller in size. If everything on your screen looks way bigger, you can change the resolution to make it right.

To change the resolution of your display, follow the same steps as before to go to Display. Then, select the resolution right below the scale, and change it.

Using Magnifier

There’s a built-in app on Windows that allows you to zoom in and out anywhere. Yes! You guessed it right, it’s called Magnifier.

The magnifier tool also comes with a control bar that allows you to use the magnifier easily anywhere on Windows.

To zoom out using the Magnifier, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Settings
2. Select Accessibility
3. Look for Magnifier and click on it
4. Click on the slider corresponding to Magnifier. This will open a control bar
   
5. Now click “-” on the control bar to zoom out

Related Questions

I Can’t Zoom in or Out in Discord.

The methods to zoom in or out on windows don’t work on discord. You need to access the discord’s settings to perform the action.

Go through the steps below to zoom in or out in discord:

1. Open the Discord app.
2. Click on the setting icon.
3. Under App, setting click on Appearance.
4. Scroll down and locate ZOOM LEVEL.
5. Change the slider forward to zoom in and backward to zoom out.
   

How Do I Zoom Youtube Videos?

There are various options on YouTube to zoom videos. Some options are available in both, browser and mobile app, whereas some are available only on one.

On your browser you can zoom videos in the following ways:

• Press “f” or double click on the video to enter the full-screen mode
• Press “t” or click the wide rectangle icon to enter the theater mode

Whereas, on your mobile application you can zoom videos by swiping upwards from the video or by pressing the full-screen button.

How Do I Zoom in or Out in Chrome?

You can use your browser’s zoom feature to zoom in on a page or item without disturbing the other apps. Here’s how you can use the zoom feature in Windows:

1. Open Chrome
2. Click on three tiny dots on the top right corner to open the Chrome menu
3. Locate Zoom and click on the respective signs (+ or -) to zoom in or out.
   

The zoom will only be effective on the website you use; other sites will not be affected.