Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Zooming In On Your Worksheet.

Zooming In On Your Worksheet

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 15, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


When you are working with your data, you may want to enlarge what you see on the screen without actually changing the font size used by Excel. For instance, you may have formatted your text so that it uses a small font. (This is often necessary to get all your information on a printout.) When working in the worksheet, however, the font is difficult to read because it is so small.

The solution to this problem is to use the Zoom command to enlarge just what is displayed on the screen. Excel provides two primary methods to zoom in on your data. First, you can use the Zoom control on the Standard toolbar. This drop-down list provides a way you can easily select any of six predefined zoom settings.

If you want more zooming choices, you should select the Zoom option from the View menu. Excel displays the Zoom dialog box, which lists the six selections available from the toolbar, but also a Custom setting which allows you to specify any magnification level you want, between 10% and 400%. When you are done with your selection, just click on OK. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Zoom dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3017) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Zooming In On Your Worksheet.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Searching for ASCII and ANSI Characters

Need to get down to the "character level" when searching for information in a document. Word allows you to search for any ...

Discover More

Connecting To a Discussion Server

How to connect to a discussion server for online collaboration.

Discover More

Squeezing Lines Together

The space between lines of text is technically referred to as "leading." This tip examines various ways you can adjust ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Using Overtype Mode

Have you ever typed something in Excel, only to have it replace whatever is to the right of the insertion point? That's ...

Discover More

Quickly Filling a Column

Excel has a great (and little known) shortcut for filling a column with information. It comes in very handy when you need ...

Discover More

Contingent Validation Lists

Data validation can be used to create lists of choices for entry into a particular cell. Using the techniques in this tip ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two less than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.