Working on detailed objects or with small print may make items difficult to view on your computer. No matter if you are a graphic designer who needs to enlarge a section of an image, or a student needing to enlarge text for ease of reading, quickly magnifying items on your screen can help make your work easier and may minimize eye strain.

Windows 7 comes pre-installed with a magnifying tool that you can use to quickly enlarge or minimize items on your screen. This Windows 7 guide presents a step-by-step guide on how to magnify items on your computer screen.

Place your cursor on the item you want to magnify. The cursor acts as the focal point for the magnification, so place the cursor in the middle of the object or area you want to make larger. The magnification will occur on the screen exactly as it appears on your screen, so make adjustments to window placement prior to activating the magnification process if needed.

Hold down the Windows key (features the Windows flag icon) and press the plus (+) button on your keyboard. Each time you press the plus key, the image will continue to magnify. Continue pressing the plus key until the image is magnified to the size you prefer.

Once you have finished with the enlarged image, return your screen back to its original size by holding down the Windows key and pressing the minus (-) button. If you need to magnify another area of the screen, repeat the process of magnifying with the plus key and minimizing with the minus key.

Check out the how tos below to learn other tips for the Windows 7 Operating System:

1. How to Burn Disk Images in Windows 7
2. How to Change the Taskbar Clock Setting in Windows 7
3. How to Change What the Power Button Does in Windows 7
4. How to Combine Apps and Make the Taskbar Smaller in Windows 7
5. How to Create a Full Search in Windows 7
6. How to Create a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7
7. How to Display Empty Drives in Windows 7
8. How to Dock Window from Left to Right to Center in Windows 7
9. How to Encrypt a USB Drive in Windows 7
10. How to Magnify the Screen in Windows 7
11. How to Make Your Background a Slideshow in Windows 7
12. How to Minimize Hide Expand Browse Windows in Windows 7
13. How to Quickly Arrange Icons in Windows 7
14. How to Quickly Create a New Instance of a Program in Windows 7
15. How to Quickly Lock the Screen in Windows 7
16. How to Remove or Add Run Command in Start Menu in Windows 7
17. How to Run an Application as Administrator in Windows 7
18. How to Run An Application As Another User in Windows 7
19. How to Show or Hide the Preview Side Bar in Windows 7
20. How TO Stretch a Window Vertically in Windows 7
21. How To Turn On and Off Security Settings in Windows 7
22. How to Use the App Locker in Windows 7