Would you like to increase the zoom level of a part of your desktop to highlight it during a public presentation, but you don’t know how to do it? Do you feel that the work area displayed on your computer screen is too small and you would like to enlarge it? Maybe I have some “tips” that might be just right for you!
If you don’t know how to zoom in on your PC screen, there are several solutions you can rely on, either “standard” in your computer’s operating system or external. Using them, you can either zoom in on individual portions of the desktop or expand the entire work area, improving the view of windows and elements on the screen. If you are interested in this, take a few minutes of your free time and concentrate on reading the following.
Together, in fact, we’re going to find out how to perform the operation in question on Windows and macOS: I can assure you right now that, contrary to what you might think, this is an extremely simple procedure to perform. Are you ready to get to work? Are you? Great! Then let’s cut the crap and get on with it!
How to enlarge your PC screen
Are you using Windows and would like to figure out how to zoom your PC screen? Then read the instructions below on how to do it. You can do this by using a utility that is already included in the latest versions of the Microsoft operating system, by using keyboard shortcuts or by using third-party software. In this regard, it can also be useful to change the screen resolution. But let’s go in order.
Magnifying glass
If you’re using Windows 10, Windows 8.x or Windows 7 and you want to zoom in on your PC screen, I’m happy to tell you that all you have to do is take advantage of a tool already included in the operating system: Magnifying Glass. This is a utility preinstalled in all the latest versions of Windows that, as its name suggests, allows you to enlarge individual portions of the desktop or even the entire screen, in an incredibly simple way.
To use it, go to the Start menu by clicking on the Start button (the one with the Windows flag) at the bottom left corner of the taskbar, type Magnifying Glass in the search field that appears and, once the relevant result is highlighted, press the Enter key on your PC’s keyboard. After that, the aforementioned utility will launch.
At this point, if you want to zoom in on a single part of the desktop, click on the View menu on the toolbar of the Magnifying Glass tool and choose the Magnifying Glass option. A rectangle will appear at the mouse pointer with the magnification of the reference area that you can move to the point you prefer.
Do you want to zoom the entire desktop? If so, select the Full Screen option from the View menu and then move the mouse pointer to navigate the zoomed desktop. If you choose the Thumbnail option, you can quickly preview the entire desktop.
I would also like to point out that, again through the View menu, you can select the Anchored option: by doing so, you will see a bar at the top of the desktop with the zoom of the part of the screen visible at the mouse pointer.
If you need to, you can also adjust the settings of the Magnifying Glass tool. To do so, click on the gear button at the bottom right of the toolbar. In the window that will appear on your desktop, you can make all the necessary adjustments. For example, you can choose whether to automatically start the Magnifying Glass tool before or after logging in to Windows, whether to activate color inversion or not, etc.
If you need to, you can also adjust the settings of the Magnifying Glass tool. To do so, click on the gear button at the bottom right of the toolbar. In the window that will appear on your desktop, you can make all the necessary adjustments. For example, you can choose whether to automatically start the Magnifying Glass tool before or after logging in to Windows, whether to activate color inversion or not, etc.
Enlarge the PC screen from the keyboard
If you prefer using keyboard shortcuts, I am happy to inform you that you can zoom your PC screen in this way as well, using the following key combinations.
To increase the zoom use: Win (Windows flag) + [+] (plus symbol).
To zoom out use: Win (Windows flag) + [-] (minus symbol).
To zoom out use: Win (Windows flag) + [-] (minus symbol).
To switch to Lens mode use: Ctrl + Alt + L.
To activate Full Screen mode use: Ctrl + Alt + F.
To activate the Full Screen Preview mode use: Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar.
To activate the Anchored mode use: Ctrl + Alt + D.
To close the Magnifying Glass tool use: Win (Windows flag) + Esc.
Virtual Magnifying Glass
The Magnifying Glass tool, as I mentioned earlier, is only available on the latest editions of Windows. If you’re using Windows Vista or earlier versions, you can turn to the Virtual Magnifying Glass program, which performs much the same functions as the tool included in the latest Windows releases. It is free and works on any variant of Microsoft’s operating system (as well as macOS and Linux).
To use it, connect to the download page of the program and click on the link Vmgx.x_install.exe that you find under the name of the version of Windows you are using, to download it to your PC.
When the download is complete, open the downloaded .exe file by double-clicking on it and, in the window that appears on your desktop, click on the OK and Next buttons. Then accept the terms of use of the program by checking the box next to I accept the terms of the license agreement, and click Next (four times in a row), then Install and Finish to finish the installation process and start Virtual Magnifying Glass.
In the window that now opens on the screen, click on the Classic Mode button to start using your virtual magnifier. The magnification follows the mouse cursor. You can then use the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the zoom level. When you want to, you can turn off the zoom function by clicking on the Virtual Magnifying Glass icon in the notification area, next to the Windows clock.
If, on the other hand, you need to zoom in only a specific area of the desktop on mouseover, select the Dynamic Mode option from the program’s menu, accessible by right-clicking on the Virtual Magnifying Glass icon in the notification area (next to the system clock).
Next, you can zoom in on the desktop by left-clicking on the Virtual Magnifying Glass icon (also in the notification area) and continuing to hold it down until you reach the exact point on the desktop where you want the magnifying glass to appear. To deactivate the function in question, instead, just right-click on the program’s icon and uncheck the Dynamic Mode option from the menu that opens.
Change the screen resolution
Is your problem that the work area displayed on the screen seems too small to hold all the windows you need? Try seeing if you can increase the screen resolution.
If you’re using Windows 10, then right-click somewhere on the desktop with no icons and select, from the context menu, the Display Settings option. In the window that opens, locate the Resize and Layout section on the right, click on the Resolution menu and, if available, select a higher resolution than the one you are currently using.
If, on the other hand, you are using Windows 8.x, Windows 7 or Vista, right-click somewhere on your desktop where there are no icons and select Screen Resolution from the menu that appears. In the window that opens, scroll through the Resolution drop-down menu and see if a higher resolution than the one you’re using is available: if so, select it and click the OK button to save the changes.
If you are using Windows XP and want to increase the screen resolution, right-click on a place on the desktop where there are no icons and select Properties from the menu that appears. In the window that opens, click on the Settings tab and, again, see if a higher resolution than the one you are using is available in the Screen Resolution slider bar, if so select it and click the OK button to save the changes.
How to enlarge Apple PC screen
Are you using a Mac and would like to figure out how to zoom in on its screen? I’ll let you know right now. Below you will find explained how to do it using the Zoom function of macOS and keyboard shortcuts. I would also like to point out that, also on the Mac side, you can adjust the screen resolution so that you can eventually enlarge the desktop.
Zoom function
To zoom the screen of your Mac you don’t need to download any extra tools. Similar to the latest versions of Windows, in fact, macOS includes a special function, called Zoom, which is useful precisely for the subject of this tutorial.
To use it, first click on the System Preferences icon (the one with the gear) that you find on the Dock bar and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the Accessibility icon (the one with the little white man and the blue background).
On the next screen, select the Zoom item from the left sidebar and check the boxes next to the Use scrolling gestures with modifier keys to zoom in and Smooth images options, then select the A scrolling gesture with modifier keys to zoom out option.
Then, from the menu located at the Magnification Style item, choose the PIP (Picture In Picture) option (to magnify only a specific area of the screen) or the Full Screen option (to magnify the entire screen).
Next, you can enable the zoom function by pressing and holding down the ctrl key on your Mac keyboard while moving up with two fingers on the mouse (or trackpad). To decrease the zoom level, on the other hand, simply go down with your fingers.
In all cases, the zoom will follow the mouse pointer. If you want to change this behavior, click on the Options button attached to the System Preferences > Accessibility > Zoom section and adjust the available options in the additional window that opens.
Keyboard shortcuts
Want to zoom in on your Mac’s screen using keyboard shortcuts? It can be done. First, however, you need to enable the said possibility in the macOS settings.
So, click the System Preferences icon (the one with the gear) on the Dock bar and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click the Accessibility icon (the one with the white man and blue background). Then select Zoom from the left sidebar and check the Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom in option. After that, you can use the following key combinations to increase (or decrease) the zoom level of the screen.
To activate or deactivate the zoom use: cmd + alt +8.
To increase the zoom use: cmd + alt + = (equal symbol).
To zoom out use: cmd + alt + [-] (minus symbol).
To enable or disable Blur images use: cmd + alt + / (slash).
If, however, you want to try to increase the screen resolution, so that the desktop can hold all the windows you need, all you have to do is go to System Preferences, clicking on the icon (the one with the gear) on the Dock bar, and then select the Monitor item in the window that opens.
At this point, choose the Resize option, locate, in the box below, the resolution that you think is best for you and click on it. The changes you make will be applied instantly.
If you prefer, you can also have macOS automatically detect the most suitable resolution for your screen. To enable this feature, select the Default for monitor option from the Monitors section.