Zooming in Excel is like adjusting the focus on a chart – sometimes you need to see the details up close to catch what’s important. When you’re working with big spreadsheets or lots of data, zooming in can help spot patterns or mistakes that are easy to miss.
If you don’t know how to do it, it can slow you down and make things harder than they need to be. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to zoom in quickly and easily. By the end, you’ll be able to handle your spreadsheets confidently. Let’s jump in!
Using the Zoom Slider

The Excel zoom slider in the lower bottom corner of the workbook is the default tool to change the view of your worksheet. It allows you to take a closer look at datasets, charts, and other Excel objects or get a bird’s eye view of all the data or pages in your worksheet by reducing its size.

So, head over to the zoom slider on the Excel status bar and click on the Zoom In button or the plus icon.

Alternatively, if you wish to get a complete picture of the worksheet or its pages, click on the Zoom Out button or the minus sign.
The Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons increase or decrease the worksheet’s zoom level by 10% each time you click them.
You can zoom in on an object or data table up to 400% or zoom out up to 10%.
If you zoom in or out in one worksheet, that zoom setting won’t be carried forward to the rest of the sheets in the active workbook.
However, you can select all the worksheets in the Sheet tab area of the Excel workbook, by pressing the Ctrl key on the keyboard and clicking on the sheet names one after the other. Then, change the zoom setting of one worksheet, like increasing or decreasing the zoom level.
Excel will instantly copy and apply the zoom setting of the active worksheet to all other selected sheets.
Using the Zoom Box on the Status Bar
If you find using the zoom slider a bit slow or inconvenient use the zoom box. It’s the zoom setting box that shows the percentage value of the current zoom level. Again, it’s in the bottom right corner of the Excel app.

Click on the percentage value to bring up the Zoom dialog box.

You can choose a zoom setting from popular zoom-in levels, like 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, etc.

Another convenient option in the Zoom dialog is the Fit selection option. It fills the screen to show the whole part of the highlighted cell ranges.

Lastly, you can use the Custom box and enter a preferred zoom level to change the zoom setting. For example, entering 200 in it will set the worksheet view to a 200% zoom-in level.
Using the View Tab in the Ribbon
Another common place to find various zoom options is the Zoom block in the View tab.

Go to the View tab in your worksheet and click on the Zoom command to bring up the Zoom dialog box. It’s the same tool that I’ve explained earlier that you can activate from the Zoom box on the Excel status bar.
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
There’s a cool trick to zoon in Excel using the mouse and keyboard. You don’t have to click on any user interface commands.
Go to the source worksheet, press the Ctrl key, and keep it pressed when you’re changing the zoom level.
Now, scroll the mouse button away from you to zoom in. Each unit of scroll increases the zoom level by 15%.
To zoom out, scroll the mouse wheel towards you.
When you’ve achieved the required zoom level, release the Ctrl key.
Using the Zoom to Selection Command
The Zoom to Selection feature in Excel adjusts the view to focus on selected cells to maximize the visibility of a dataset. It does so by fitting the selected range to the entire screen. It works on any cell, cell range, table, PivotTable, charts, objects, shapes, and more.

To try it out, select a cell range on the active worksheet and press the Alt + W + G keys to use Zoom to Selection.

Excel will zoom in on the selected cell range or table to enhance the view.
The entire worksheet is zoomed in and you only see the selected table or cell range on the screen.
Press the Alt + W + J keys to restore the zoom level to 100%.
Zooming In and Out on Excel Mobile App
If you’re viewing or editing a worksheet in Excel for mobile Android or iOS apps, you can zoom in and out to change the visibility settings.
Open your worksheet using the Excel mobile app.
Hold the dataset by placing two fingers on the screen.

Now, move fingers away from each other to zoom in on the selected cell range.

To zoom out, pinch two fingers together on the mobile screen.
When using Excel on a tablet, like an iPad, you have a user interface button for zooming in and out in addition to the pinching zoom gesture.

To find it, tap on the View tab in the Excel ribbon at the top of the app.
Swipe the View toolbar to the left to reveal more options from the right side.

When you reach the end, you should see two magnifying glasses one with the plus sign (zoom in) and the other with the minus sign (zoom out).
Conclusions
Now you know how to zoom in on Excel using user interface buttons, like the zoom slider or the View tab, and also using a shortcut key, the Ctrl, and mouse wheel scroll.
Furthermore, you’ve learned how to zoom in on a specific cell range or table using the Zoom to Selection command.
Moreover, I’ve shown and explained to you how to zoom in and out in Excel mobile and tablet apps.
If you’ve learned something new today about Excel and liked the guide, drop a line in the comment box. You can also reply if you’ve got any suggestions and feedback to share.
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