4 Nifty Ways to Zoom in Photoshop

As a beginner, you may need to do all kinds of zooming in and out, in which case you can increase your Photoshop productivity using these nifty zoom tips and tricks.

Zooming in Photoshop is as simple as clicking on the magnifying glass in the Tools panel. But as a beginner, you may need to do all kinds of zooming in and out, in which case you can increase your Photoshop productivity using these nifty zoom tips and tricks.

How to Do a Basic Zoom in Photoshop

You can use the Zoom tool or View > Zoom in and View > Zoom out to view parts of an image. But for the sake of speed, use the Keyboard shortcuts for Mac (Command + Plus and Command + Minus) or Windows (Ctrl + Plus and Ctrl + Minus). There are several different ways to zoom and different keyboard shortcuts associated with them.

The maximum magnification level is 3,200% and the minimum is 1 pixel. You will notice the empty magnifying glass icon when you read those levels.

Besides the basic zoom, Photoshop also gives you a few more ways to view an image.

How to Use Animated Zoom in Photoshop

Use Animated Zoom when you want to zoom into a pinpointed location in your image quickly.

  1. Select the Zoom tool.
  2. Click and hold the mouse over the point in the image you would like to zoom into. The image will continue to zoom as long as you hold down the mouse button. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) to zoom out.
  3. In the options bar, select Scrubby Zoom. Then drag to the left in the image to zoom out, or to the right to zoom in. Photoshop CC 2018 Scrubby Zoom

If this does not work in your case, go to Photoshop > Preferences > Tools and check if Animated Zoom is enabled.

How to Do a Temporary Zoom in Photoshop

You can move around a large image with the help of a temporary marquee. The temporary zoom function helps you jump from any other tool to a specific part of the image.

  1. Hold down the H key. Click in the image and hold down the mouse button. The current tool changes to the Hand tool.
  2. If the whole image isn’t visible, the image zooms out. Drag the rectangular zoom marquee to a different part of the image and it automatically zooms in. Photoshop CC 2018 Temporary Zoom
  3. Release the mouse button and then the H key. The image reverts back to its last magnification and tool.

How to Zoom Using the Navigator Panel

The red-colored box is a handy way to quickly go to different parts of an image. Photoshop calls it the Proxy View Area.

  1. Go to Window > Navigator to display the Navigator panel. Photoshop CC 2018 Navigator
  2. To move around an image, drag the red box in the image thumbnail. Also, click the image thumbnail to set the viewable area.
  3. The Zoom slider also helps you change the magnification of the image quickly.

What is your preferred way to use the zoom in Photoshop?