How to Zoom Out in Excel (7 Quick Methods)

Method 1 – Zoom Out Using the Excel Status Bar

We have a dataset (B4:E9) in an Excel worksheet. The zooming of the window is 100%.

• Click the minus sign (–) once to zoom out the worksheet from 100 to 90%.
• Repeat to zoom out further.

Read More: How to Zoom in Excel Graph

Method 2 – Use the Excel Ribbon to Zoom Out

Steps:

• Go to the View tab.
• Go to the Zoom group.
• Click on Zoom.

• A Zoom window will pop up.
• You can choose any default Magnification option or select Custom and type in any Magnification percentage. You must insert a number that is greater than or equal to 10 for zooming out.
• We selected 50% which is a built-in option.
• Click OK.

Method 3 – Zoom Out in Excel with the Mouse

We’ll use the same dataset. You can zoom out of your spreadsheet in steps of 15% if your mouse has a scroll wheel.

Steps:

• Scroll down while holding the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
• The zooming percentage changes from 100% to 85%.
• Repeat to zoom out more.

Method 4 – Apply a Keyboard Shortcut to Zoom Out

We’ll use the same dataset.

• For zooming out, use the keyboard shortcut:

Method 5 – Open the Zoom Dialog in Excel

Steps:

• Press Alt on the keyboard, and the Ribbon will display the key tip labels.
• To open the View tab, press the W key.

• Press the Q key, and the Zoom dialog box will appear.

• To choose a zoom level for zooming out, you can use the up and down arrow keys. If you choose Custom, you need to type in a zoom percentage.
• Click OK or hit Enter.

Method 6 – Insert the Zoom Out Command into the Quick Access Toolbar

Steps:

• Go to the File tab.

• Click on Options.

• A dialog box appears. Click the Quick Access Toolbar tab.

• Choose All Commands from the drop-down menu under ‘Choose commands from’.
• Select the Zoom Out option which has a magnifying glass on the left.
• Click on Add.

• Use the Move Up or Move Down arrows to rearrange the buttons in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list on the right.
• Click OK.

Method 7 – Apply Excel VBA Code to Zoom Out

We’ll use VBA to zoom out in smaller increments.

Steps:

• Right-click on the name of the worksheet in the Sheet bar and click on View Code.

• A Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window will appear.
• Insert the following VBA code in the Code window.

Sub ZoomingOut()
Dim Increment As Integer
  Increment = 4
  On Error GoTo MinimumZooming
  ActiveWindow.Zoom = ActiveWindow.Zoom - Increment
  On Error GoTo 0
Exit Sub
MinimumZooming:
  MsgBox "No more zooming out is possible", vbExclamation
End Sub

• Click on Run and Run Sub/UserForm or hit F5.

• This reduces the zoom of the worksheet from 100% to 96%. This is due to the Increment value in the code being 4.

• If we run the VBA code several times, a message box like the below will appear when you try to zoom out less than 10%.

Download the Practice Workbook

Related Articles

• How to Lock Zoom in Excel
• How to Zoom in Excel Graph
• How to Zoom in on Map Chart in Excel
• How to Zoom in When Zoom Slider Is Not Working in Excel

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