Changing the Zoom Level in Adobe Photoshop CS5
From the book
From the book
You can display the whole image in the document window or magnify part of it when you need to work on a small detail. The current zoom level percentage is listed in four locations: on the Application bar, on the document title bar or tab, in the lower left corner of the document window, and on the Navigator panel.
Note: For smoother and more continuous zooming, check Animated Zoom in Edit/Photoshop > Preferences > General, and check Enable OpenGL Drawing in Preferences > Performance. The latter preference must also be checked to use the Scrubby Zoom feature, which is discussed below. For the other Zoom preferences, see page 386.
To change the zoom level using the Zoom tool
- Do any of the following:
- Choose the Zoom tool,
then check Scrubby Zoom on the Options bar. In the document window, drag immediately to the right to zoom in A or to the left to zoom out.* 
- To spring-load the Zoom tool with its current settings, hold down Z.
- In the Zoom Level field on the Application bar or in the lower left corner of the document window, enter the desired zoom percentage.
- Right-click in the document window and choose a zoom option from the context menu.
- Click a zoom button on the Options bar: Actual Pixels to set the zoom level to 100%; Fit Screen to display the entire image at the largest size that can fit in the window; Fill Screen to have the image fill the window (only part of the image may be visible); or Print Size to display the image at an approximation of its print size.
Using the Navigator panel, you can change the zoom level of an image. And when the zoom level is greater than 100%, you can also use the panel to move the image in the document window, to bring an area you want to edit or examine into view.
To change the zoom level or move the image in the window by using the Navigator panel
- Display the Navigator panel.
- To change the zoom level, do any of the following:
- Ctrl-drag/Cmd-drag across an area of the image thumbnail to marquee it for magnification.
- Type the desired percentage in the zoom field, then press Enter/Return. Or to zoom to a percentage while keeping the field highlighted, press Shift-Enter/Shift-Return.
- Drag the Zoom slider.
- Click the Zoom Out or Zoom In button.
- If the zoom level is above 100%, you can move the image in the window by dragging the view box on the panel.A
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Another way to move a magnified image in the document window is by using the Hand tool.
To move a magnified image in the window with the Hand tool
- Choose the Hand tool
(H) or hold down the Spacebar for a temporary Hand tool, then drag in the document window.
Note: If the document is in a tabbed window in the Application frame and is magnified, you can overscroll it — that is, drag it farther off to the side than you can in a floating window.
- You can also move a magnified image in the document window by clicking the up or down scroll arrow in the lower right corner of the document window. Or to move the image more quickly, drag the horizontal or vertical scroll bar.
Matching the Zoom Level or Location
If multiple documents are open in Photoshop, from the Arrange Documents menu 
on the Application bar, you can choose Match Zoom to match the zoom level of all the windows to that of the currently active image, or Match Location to synchronize the position of all the images in their windows, or Match Zoom and Location to perform both of those functions at once.
Flick Panning
If the image is magnified and you’re working on an OpenGL system, try this: Do a quick little drag in the document, then release; the document will float across the screen. Click once more to stop the motion. For this nifty little feature to work, Enable OpenGL Drawing must be checked in Edit/Photoshop > Preferences > Performance and Enable Flick Panning must be checked in Preferences > General.
When you have multiple documents open (say, in a 2-Up or 3-Up layout), you can save time by scrolling or zooming all of them simultaneously.
To scroll or zoom in multiple windows
- Open two or more documents, then on the Arrange Documents menu, click a 2-Up, 3-Up, 4-Up, 5-Up, or 6-Up icon.
- Do either of the following:
- To scroll or zoom all the open Photoshop document windows, hold down Shift while using the Hand or Zoom tool.
- Check Scroll All Windows on the Options bar before using the Hand tool, or check Zoom All Windows on the Options bar before using the Zoom tool.