Keyboard Shortcut for Zoom
Some applications let you adjust the zoom level with your keyboard. This works in web browsers, Microsoft Office programs, and other software.
Windows
If you’re using a PC, hold down the Ctrl key while tapping either + (to zoom up) or - (to zoom out). The plus (+) and minus (-) icons are in the top-right corner of the main set of keys.
MacOS
The zoom function is similar on a Mac except that you’ll use the Command key with + or -. Press and hold ⌘, near the bottom-left of the keyboard, and then use either of the zoom icons to zoom in or out on your Mac. If you also hold down Option, only the font size will change, not the size of images.
Windows Zoom Settings
Another way to change the font size on your Windows computer is through settings that affect the whole operating system. Doing this won’t change the text size in all programs but it will make menus and other selections easier to read. These directions are different depending on the version of Windows you’re using: If you ever need to reverse these steps, just return to the above settings and make the change there. In Windows 10, scroll to Scale and layout and select the menu next to the text that says Change the size of text, apps, and other items. In Windows 8 and 7, select Display on the bottom left. In Windows 8, adjust the slider to make text and other items larger or smaller. There’s also a Change only the text size option at the bottom of this page that you can modify to make title bars, menus, icons, and other items larger or smaller. In Windows 7, choose a different zoom level, either Smaller, Medium, or Larger.
Mac Zoom Settings
The best way to make text easier to read on your Mac is to adjust it within each app you’re using. For example, to make email text larger and easier to read in Mail, go to Mail > Preferences, choose Fonts & Colors, choose Select next to Message font, and then select a font size. In Messages, go to Messages > Preferences > General, and then move the Text size slider to the right. You can also change the font size for desktop icons by right-clicking the desktop and choosing Show View Options. Move the Icon size slider to the right, and choose Text size to pick a different text size. To increase the size of items in the Finder and Mail sidebars, go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences > General, select Sidebar icon size, and then choose Large.
Adjust Mac Font System-Wide
There’s a zoom tool built-in to macOS that you can read more about in our How to Use Zoom, Apple’s Built-In Screen Magnifier guide. Something else you can try if the other methods aren’t working to increase the font size on your Mac is to adjust your computer’s screen resolution:
Browser Font Adjustment
Web browsers have built-in zoom settings, too, so that you can change the font size on just the one website you’re on. This means each website can have its own custom zoom level. To do that, you can use the Ctrl or Command shortcut explained above. However, a browser can also have a default zoom level set up so that each website displays larger text. Here’s how to change the default font size level in various web browsers:
Firefox
In the upper-right corner of the screen, select the menu icon (three lines) to find the Zoom toggles. In the browser’s settings is an option you can turn on called Zoom text only so that images don’t zoom as well.
Chrome
Access the zoom icons from the Chrome menu, or open Settings from there to change the Font size or Page zoom level, which will affect all pages.
Edge
Like most browsers, use the menu at the top right to find the zoom options. Get deeper in the settings, in the Appearance section, to change the default zoom level.
Safari
From the Safari menu, choose Preferences. Under the Websites tab, choose Page Zoom, and then choose a default zoom level from the right panel. Adjust the setting for When visiting other websites to change the font size for other sites.
