Use the Magnifying Glass Tool in Preview to Zoom Into Image Detail on Mac

Preview in Mac OS includes a helpful magnification tool that follows the mouse cursor, allowing you to zoom into details on whatever picture is on screen.

How to Use the Magnifying Glass in Preview on Mac

To activate the Preview Magnifying Glass tool:

1. Open a picture in Preview on Mac
2. Now hit the ~ (tilde) key with an image open in Preview
3. Adjust the zoom level by using the trackpad or tracking surface of Magic Mouse you can pinch or spread to increase or decrease the size of the magnifier

You can also the Magnifying glass tool from the Tools menu and choosing “Show Magnifier”

This is pretty useful and offers a much more precise option than zooming in on a full sized image with the command + and – shortcuts and then navigating around.

The magnifying glass tool in Preview has been included in Mac OS X for quite some time, from Lion onward through Sierra and beyond.

Thanks for the tip Alejandro