How can I change font sizes and magnify content in my browser?

Most of the main desktop browsers include a feature to change the font size and other content on web pages to a level you feel comfortable with.

There are two ways you can increase font sizes:

• Magnification/zoom: This increases the size of all content on the page (such as text, images, embedded videos, and so on), not just the font size.
• Text-only resizing: Only the font is resized – other content (such as images, embedded videos, and so on) remains the same size.

Be aware that not all browsers or websites support text-only resizing and, where they do, you may occasionally notice that some text becomes obscured or bleeds over other content on the page, effectively making it unreadable. We therefore recommend using magnification/zoom where possible.

Keyboard shortcuts (all browsers)

Most popular browsers support the following keyboard shortcuts for increasing/decreasing the magnification level:

• Most popular browsers support the following keyboard shortcuts for increasing/decreasing the magnification level:

  • Windows:
    • Press the Ctrl and the + (plus) keys together to increase the size of the content.
    • Press the Ctrl and the – (minus) keys together to decrease the size of the content.
    • Press the Ctrl and the 0 (zero) keys together to reset the size of the content to the default level (normally 100%).
  • Mac:
    • Press the Cmd and the + (plus) keys together to increase the size of the entire page content. Hold down the ⌥ (option) key as well to increase the font size alone.
    • Press the Cmd and the – (minus) keys together to decrease the size of the entire page content. Hold down the ⌥ (option) key as well to decrease the font size alone.
    • Press the Cmd and the 0 (zero) keys together to reset all content to its default size (normally 100%).

You can also use tools within the browser itself, as described in each of the following sections.

Google Chrome

To make everything on a web page larger or smaller:

1. Locate and activate the More button at the top right-hand side of the browser to open the related submenu.
2. Next to the Zoom option, activate the + (plus) icon to increase the magnification level, or the – (minus) icon to decrease the magnification level.

Zoom functionality on Google Chrome

If you want to change the zoom level for all websites, or only want to change the text size:

1. Locate and activate the More button at the top right-hand side of the browser to open the related submenu.
2. Select Settings.
3. Under the Appearance heading:
   • To change the font size for all websites, locate the Font size drop-down and select your preferred font size (very small, small, medium, large, very large). Note that medium is the default option.
   • To change the magnification level for all websites, locate the Page zoom drop-down and select your preferred zoom level (from 25% to 500%). Note that the default level is 100%.

Appearance menu on Google Chrome

For further information on adjusting magnification levels and font sizes on Google Chrome, refer to: Google Chrome Help: Change text, image, and video sizes (zoom).

Mozilla Firefox

To make everything on a web page larger or smaller:

1. Locate and activate the application menu button at the top right-hand side of the browser window to open the related submenu.
2. Next to the Zoom option, activate the + (plus) icon to increase the magnification level, or the – (minus) icon to decrease the magnification level.

Zoom functionality on Mozilla Firefox

If you want to change the zoom level for all websites, or only want to change the font size:

1. Locate and activate the application menu button at the top right-hand side of the browser window to open the related submenu.
2. Select Settings.
3. Under the Language and Appearance heading:
   1. To change the magnification level for all websites, locate the Default zoom drop-down and select your preferred zoom level (from 30% to 500%). Note that the default level is 100%.
   2. To change the setting so that only text is resized when increasing/decreasing the magnification level, check the checkbox labelled Zoom text only.

Language and Appearance menu on Mozilla Firefox

For further information on adjusting magnification levels and font sizes on Mozilla Firefox, refer to: Mozilla Support: Font size and zoom – increase the size of web pages.

Microsoft Edge

To make everything on a web page larger or smaller:

1. Locate and activate the Settings and More button at the top right-hand side of the browser to open the related submenu.
2. Next to the Zoom option, activate the + (plus) icon to increase the magnification level, or the – (minus) icon to decrease the magnification level.

Zoom functionality on Microsoft Edge

If you only want to change the font size across websites:

1. Locate and activate the Settings and More button at the top right-hand side of the browser to open the related submenu.
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Appearance.
4. Under the Zoom option, use the Page Zoom dropdown in increase or decrease the page.

Appearance menu on Microsoft Edge

5. Under the Fonts heading, select your preferred font size (very small, small, medium, large, or very large) from the Font size drop-down. Note that the default font size is Medium.

Fonts menu on Microsoft Edge

For further information on adjusting magnification levels and font sizes on Microsoft Edge, refer to: Microsoft Support: Increase default text size in Microsoft Edge.

Safari

To make everything on a web page larger or smaller:

1. Locate and activate the View menu item within Safari’s main navigation menu.
2. Scroll down the menu until you locate the Zoom In and Zoom Out menu items and use these to set your desired magnification level.
3. If you only want to increase/decrease the font size, hold down the ⌥ (Option) key while the View menu is expanded. You will notice that the Zoom In and Zoom Out options change to Make Text Bigger and Make Text Smaller Activate either of these options to set your preferred font size.

View menu on Safari

For further information on adjusting the magnification level and font sizes on Safari, refer to: Apple Support: Change the font size or zoom level of web pages in Safari.