How to Zoom Out in Google Sheets and Zoom Back In [Easy]

Sumit

Last updated October 27, 2022

When I started using Google Sheets a few years ago, there was no way to zoom out (or zoom in) in Google Sheets.

Being a skilled Microsoft Excel user, this frustrated me to the core.

After all, how difficult could it be to build a simple functionality to zoom in and out in the worksheet?

Well, I don’t know how hard it is (or isn’t), but the good news is that now you can Zoom-in and Zoom-out in Google Sheets.

It’s not simple and user-friendly as it’s in Excel, but I’ll take it.

In this tutorial, I will show you a couple of methods of how to zoom out in Google Sheets.

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How to Zoom Out in Google Sheets With the Built-in Functionality

This is a functionality Google Sheets added that allows you to zoom in and out.

Below is how to zoom out Google Sheets:

Click the Zoom option in the toolbar. This will show a drop-down with various zoom levels.
Select the Zoom level you want. You can select from the existing ones or enter a custom value. Anything less than 100% will make the view smaller and anything more than that will make it bigger.

You also get the same options when you click the File tab and hover the cursor on the Zoom option.

While I am glad we finally have a way to zoom-in and zoom-out in Google Sheets, there are still two drawbacks which I wish weren’t there:

When you zoom one worksheet, it also applies the same zoom to all the other worksheets of the document.
There is no shortcut to change the zoom. So every-time you need to increase/decrease the zoom, you need to follow the above steps.

While nothing can be done about the first drawback (at least at the time of writing this tutorial), there is a way to use a shortcut to zoom-in and zoom-out in Google Sheets.

And it comes with its own limitation!

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Google Sheets Zoom Shortcut

Another way to zoom in and zoom out in Google Sheets is by changing the zoom of the entire browser.

Although this method is not ideal in many cases, it does have various shortcuts that you can use.

If you’re using a PC, you can use the below shortcuts:

To Zoom In:

 Control + (hold the control key and press the plus key)

To Zoom Out :

Control - (hold the control key and press the minus key)

To Restore Zoom Back to 100%:

Control 0 (hold the control key and press the 0 key)

If you’re using a Mac, use the Command key (⌘) instead of the control key.

If you’re using a mouse with a scroller, you can also use the following – hold the Control key and then change the scroller to change the zoom levels.

How to Zoom In on Google Sheets by Manually Using the Browser

You can also change the zoom level by manually changing the value in the browser.

Below are the steps to change the zoom level on Google Sheets in the Chrome browser:

Click the Customize and Control icon in Google Chrome browser (it’s at the top-right part of the browser)
In the options that open, change the Zoom level by clicking on the plus or minus sign

You can also find a similar option to zoom in FireFox and all the other popular browsers.

The drawback with this method is that when you zoom in and zoom out the spreadsheet, it also does the same to the entire browser. This not only changes the zoom level of the cells in the worksheet area but also the menu and toolbar in Google Sheet. Not only this, but it also changes the zoom level of all the other windows you have open in that browser.

How to Zoom Out on Google Sheets Mobile

When using an Android or iOS device, you simply have to pinch the screen to zoom in or separate two fingers to zoom out.

How to Zoom Out of Google Sheets FAQ

How Do You Zoom In and Zoom Out on Google Sheets?

The simplest way to zoom in Google Sheets is to use the zoom drop-down in the menu. It’s a little box with a percentage number in it. Alternatively, you can navigate to View > Zoom.

How Do I Change the Default Zoom In Google Sheets?

If you set the zoom level in any sheet, it will automatically become the new default. You can zoom out the spreadsheet by heading to View > Zoom.

How Do I Make Google Sheets Smaller?

To make the cells in Google Sheets smaller, you just need to zoom out. Navigate to View > Zoom, then select a lower percentage than what your current settings are.