Keyboard Shortcut of the Week

Zoom Zoom

I’ve had a terrible cold this week, so I’m dreaming of a keyboard shortcut that pops up a Kleenex, or fires a cough drop out of the CD drive. But, since Word does not have any cold and flu care features, I guess I’m stuck doing those things the old fashioned way. Snif.

You may argue with me that this is not exactly a keyboard shortcut because it involves the mouse, but I use it 100 times a day, so I think it’s worth sharing.

Both Word 2003 and 2007 have a Zoom feature that lets you magnify or shrink the display of your document on screen. Zooming way out is great when you need a bird’s-eye view of the layout of your document. Zooming in really helps to focus on your text and makes proofreading easier. It’s also a lifesaver when you forget your glasses!

More information about using Zoom in Word 2003 and Word 2007.

If you have a mouse with a wheel button, you can use it to zoom in or out on your document by pressing the Ctrl key while you roll the wheel. This works in all document views, including Print Preview.¹

At first I had a hard time remembering which way to roll the mouse to zoom in or out. Here’s a trick to help you with this: roll the wheel toward what you want to see closer and away from what you want to see from farther away.

¹ Try this in other Microsoft Office programs and Internet Explorer.