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Zoom, Zoom, Zoom • Use Magnification in Desktop Publishing Software

Change the view of your document

By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com

Zoom out to see the whole page

Zoom out to see the overall look of the page

How many different ways are there to change the view and zoom in or zoom out with your software? In even the simplest documents you will probably want to view the page from a variety of perspectives.

Whether you use the mouse or keyboard shortcuts, it's a good idea to at least become familiar with all the different ways to use zoom and the view or zoom options of your software. In the process, you may discover ways to work more effectively and efficiently.

Zoom Out
A full page view allows you to get an overall feel for the layout. In some programs, the text becomes unreadable or "greeked" at small sizes, allowing you to focus on the arrangement of elements on the page without being distracted by the words. By "greeking" the text, it also improves performance by not using up valuable resources to render readable text at tiny sizes.

Zoom In
Move in close for precision placement of text and graphics. Most programs allow for a few preset magnification settings and some will allow you to specify exact zoom magnification.

Software Zoom Tutorials
Learn how to use the view and zoom options in InDesign, PageMaker, Publisher, and QuarkXPress. Find keyboard commands, shortcuts, and tips on using zoom in each program.

Adobe InDesign | Adobe PageMaker | Microsoft Publisher | QuarkXPress

Desktop Publishing Tutorials > Software Tutorials > Zoom/Magnification

Jacci Howard Bear
Guide since 1997

Jacci Howard Bear
Desktop Publishing Guide

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