In this article, you’ll get to know how to Zoom In on Google Docs. If you are like most of us, you are used to picking up your laptop and bringing it closer to your face to see better what’s on the screen!
That’s fine when you are on your own but could be embarrassing with others around.
Either way, learning how to zoom in or out of your Google Doc sheet is extremely handy. It can reduce errors and ensure you have the right punctuation marks without having to increase your text size. There are a couple of ways you can do it.
It’s worth remembering that none of the methods will permanently change the format of your document.
It’s just a way to quickly make a text or image larger or smaller by adjusting the overall size.
As zooming in and out on a Google Doc is different for desktops/laptops and smartphones, we will take a look at them separately. Let’s begin by learning how to do it properly!
Table of Contents
How to Zoom In on Google Docs using a computer
Pinch to Zoom
If you are using a trackpad, you can change your settings so that you can use two fingers to zoom in and zoom out. From Mac, you need to open your System Preferences in the Dock. Then click on “Trackpad”.
Here, you have two options. The first is Zoom in or out. If you tick this box you can pinch your fingers to zoom in. When you release your fingers, the screen will stay enlarged.
If you then put two fingers back on the trackpad and pinch them together, the document will go back to its original size.
The second box, “Smart zoom” will zoom in so that your document fits the screen. If you double-click again, it will return to the normal size. We have both ticked as we find them equally handy.
You can do the same with a Windows trackpad by finding the Control Panel, then following these steps:
- Click on “Touchpad”;
- Choose the “Clickpad settings” tab followed by “Clickpad settings”;
- Make sure the “Pinch zoom” is ticked;
- Click on “Apply” or “Ok”.
If you are using a mouse with Mac or Windows, you can use the scroll wheel to zoom in on and zoom out of Google Docs. Again, you may have to check the mouse settings first.
Using the toolbar to zoom
The toolbar has some quick options for printing, going back/forward, changing your font style and size as well as other formatting solutions.
To zoom in and out, you need to find the 100% button and click on this to open the drop-down menu.
You will notice that by default, it is set to 100%. When we change this to 200%, here is the effect…
And as you can imagine, 50% will have the opposite effect.
How to do it on a Smartphone
Having Google Docs on your smartphone is awesome. You can really make the most of a spare five minutes by accessing your Google Docs.
But if you’re using it on your smartphone, you may have noticed that the toolbar is rather limited.
When you open a Google Doc, you will see that it fits the screen of your phone. We find this a really good, clear size!
If you want to zoom in on your smartphone, you need to pinch to zoom in and out. The other option you have to zoom out so that you can see the document as it would print is to open your settings.
Click on the “three vertical dots” in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
The first option is “Print layout”. Slide the menu across so that it is blue.
This will reduce the size of the page so you can see the overall layout, or that any images or links are in the right place.
It is probably not the most practical if you are typing. You run the risk of putting your phone up to your face and squinting like an elderly person!
For this reason, from a smartphone, it’s quicker to pinch to zoom in and zoom out.
Wrap Up
Many of us spend hours in front of a screen nowadays. Ocular fatigue or eye-strain is a common problem. Your eyes become sore and/or blurry and you may even get headaches.
Nevertheless, we can’t just walk away from our work.
Making sure you have enough light is a good start, as well as regular short breaks from the screen.
You can give your eyes a helping hand now that you know how to zoom in on and zoom out of Google Docs.
Rather than bringing your eyes closer to the screen and upsetting your posture, try the options we have mentioned to make your screen time easier.
Check out some of our other awesome articles:
- Adding line numbers in Google Docs
- Making bigger periods in Google Docs
- How to convert a Microsoft Word document to use in Google Docs
- Adding bullet points in Google Docs
- How to double the spacing in Google Docs
- Mirroring text in Google Docs
- Sluggish performance in Google Docs: why?
- How can I move images in Google Docs
- Printing double-sided on Google Docs (how to)
- How to disable auto capitalization in Google Docs
- Numbering pages in Google Docs
- Printing multiple pages on one page in Google Docs
- How can I print Google Docs with comments?
- Changing margins in Google Docs
- How can I remove headers and footers in Google Docs
- How can I flip an image in Google Docs
- Creating two columns in Google Docs
- Creating a graph on Google Docs
- How can I delete a page in Google Docs
- How to use Google Docs real-time chat
- How can I insert shapes in Google Docs?
- Google Drive and Google Docs: what is the difference?
- Google Docs ownership – How to transfer?
