How to zoom in and out on a screen recording

Updated 17 October 2026

A zoom shows the viewer where to look, and it makes small text readable once the video is shrunk into a web page or onto a phone. This guide is for anyone making tutorials, demos or walkthroughs of software. Which way suits you depends on two things: whether you have recorded yet, and how often you make videos.

What zooming in does for the viewer

Here is one recording twice. Before is a plain screen capture. After is the same recording with a zoom on each click, placed by ScreenCursor and not touched by hand.

In the second, you never have to hunt for the cursor.

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Which way should you use?

For any video you haven’t recorded yet, automatic zoom is the easiest: you record as usual, and the zooms are already there when you stop.

1. Zoom in while you record

Windows and macOS both have a magnifier built in. Turn it on before you start recording and zoom with the keyboard as you go.

On Windows: Magnifier

• Press the Windows logo key and the plus sign (+) to turn Magnifier on and zoom in. Press it again to go deeper.
• Press the Windows logo key and the minus sign (-) to zoom out.
• Press the Windows logo key and Esc to turn Magnifier off.
• Use the Full screen view (Ctrl+Alt+F) for a recording. It zooms the whole screen and follows your mouse. Lens (Ctrl+Alt+L) and Docked (Ctrl+Alt+D) magnify only part of it.

On a Mac: Zoom

• Open System Settings, then Accessibility, then Zoom, and turn on Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom.
• Press Option, Command and 8 to turn zoom on or off.
• Press Option, Command and the equals sign (=) to zoom in, and Option, Command and the minus sign (-) to zoom out.
• Or turn on Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom in the same place, then hold Control and scroll.

Test before the real take

Whether the magnified view ends up in the video depends on how your recorder captures the screen. Some record what you see. Others record the screen underneath the magnifier, so the video shows no zoom at all, and some show a second cursor. Record ten seconds, zoom in and out once, and watch it back before you record anything that matters.

The other catch is that a live zoom is part of the video. Zoom at the wrong moment, or forget to zoom out, and the only fix is another take. And every zoom costs you a keyboard shortcut in the middle of what you are showing.

2. Zoom in after you record, in a video editor

If the recording already exists, this is the way. Every video editor can animate a clip’s scale and position over time with keyframes. Each zoom takes four of them: two to go in and two to come back out.

1. Put the recording on the timeline and find the first click you want to zoom in on.
2. Move the playhead about half a second before the click. Add a keyframe for scale and position, with the scale at 100%. The zoom starts here.
3. Move the playhead to the click. Set the scale to between 150% and 200%, and change the position until the button is in the middle of the frame. The editor adds the second keyframe.
4. Move to where the viewer has seen the result, usually a second or two later, and add a keyframe with the same scale and position. The zoom holds until here.
5. Move half a second further on and set the scale back to 100% and the position back to the middle. That is the zoom out.
6. Do the same for the next click, then export.

Where the controls are in four common editors:

• Premiere Pro: select the clip, open Effect Controls, and click the stopwatch next to Scale and Position under Motion.
• DaVinci Resolve: select the clip, open the Inspector, and use the keyframe button next to Zoom and Position under Transform.
• CapCut: select the clip, and under Video, then Basic, click the keyframe diamond next to Scale and Position.
• iMovie: select the clip, click the Cropping button above the viewer and choose Ken Burns, then set where the zoom starts and ends. Ken Burns runs across the whole clip, so split the clip first (Command-B) to zoom in on one part of it.

This works on any video, including one you recorded months ago. The cost is time: a two-minute tutorial with 20 clicks worth zooming is 80 keyframes, and if you cut the video afterwards, every zoom after the cut has to move with it.

3. Let the recorder zoom in on every click: the easiest way

A recorder with automatic zoom notes where and when you click while you record, then places a zoom on each click for you. Because it knows the click is coming, the zoom can arrive just before it, which is the hard part to get right by hand. Here is how it works in ScreenCursor.

Record

1. Click the ScreenCursor icon in Chrome’s toolbar. If you cannot see it, click the puzzle-piece icon and pin ScreenCursor.
2. Click Choose screen…, pick the tab, window or screen to record, and click Share.
3. Use your product as you normally would. After each click, keep the mouse still for a moment so the viewer sees what changed.
4. To stop, click the ScreenCursor icon again. The editor opens with a zoom already placed on every click, drag and keystroke.

Each zoom arrives about two-thirds of a second before the click and holds for about three-quarters of a second after it. Clicks close together in time and place share one zoom, so the camera doesn’t bounce. Every automatic zoom goes in to 1.75 times. Zooms place themselves for clicks in web pages in Chrome; in a desktop app, ScreenCursor records the screen but cannot see the clicks, so you add those zooms yourself in the next step.

Check and adjust the zooms

Play the recording through once, then change anything you don’t like:

• Remove one: select the zoom and press Delete.
• Add one: press Z to add a zoom where the playhead is.
• Deeper or shallower: select the zoom and drag Depth, anywhere from 1.1 to 3.5 times.
• Longer or shorter: drag Duration, or move the zoom on the timeline.
• Follow the cursor: on, the zoom drifts after your pointer once it has landed. Off, it holds on one spot.
• Aim it: right-click the zoom, choose Zoom focus point and drag the box over what matters. This is also how you zoom into a desktop app.
• How it moves: under Motion, Snappy lands just before the click, and Gentle moves more slowly.

Export

Export an MP4 at 1080p or 720p. It saves to your Downloads folder with no watermark, and nothing is uploaded at any point. ScreenCursor zooms the recordings it makes; it cannot open a video from another app, so for an old recording, use an editor as in the second way.

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4. Make the zoom easy to watch

Whichever way you zoom, the same few things decide whether it helps or gets in the way.

• Go in 1.5 to 2 times. That is enough to read a button or a menu. Deeper, and the viewer loses track of where on the screen they are.
• Arrive before the click. The viewer should already be looking at the button when you press it, not catch up afterwards.
• Hold, then come back out. Stay in long enough to see what changed, about a second, and zoom out before moving to another part of the screen.
• One zoom for a run of clicks. Filling in a form is one zoom on the form, not one per field. A camera that jumps at every click is tiring to watch.
• Make the text bigger before you record. Zooming enlarges a video’s pixels, so small text turns soft when you zoom far in. Press Ctrl and + in the browser, or Cmd and + on a Mac, once or twice first.
• Move the mouse on purpose. The viewer’s eye follows the pointer, so go straight to the next thing rather than wandering.

Making a whole series? Our guide to software tutorial videos for your help center covers the rest, and the one on how to make a product demo video covers videos that sell.

Common questions

Can I zoom in while I’m recording my screen?

Yes. On Windows, press the Windows logo key and the plus sign to turn on Magnifier and zoom in, and the Windows logo key and the minus sign to zoom out. On a Mac, turn on “Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom” in System Settings, Accessibility, Zoom, then press Option, Command and the equals sign to zoom in. Whether the zoom shows up in the video depends on how your recorder captures the screen, so record a ten-second test first. A zoom made while recording is part of the video and cannot be changed afterwards.

How do I zoom in on a video I’ve already recorded?

Open it in a video editor and animate the clip’s scale and position with keyframes: one at 100% half a second before the click, one at 150 to 200% on the click with the button in the middle of the frame, one to hold the zoom, and one back at 100% to zoom out. Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and CapCut all keyframe scale and position, and iMovie’s Ken Burns effect zooms between a start frame and an end frame.

How do I zoom in and out smoothly?

Give each move about half a second, and let it speed up and slow down rather than move at one speed. In a video editor, that means keyframes at least half a second apart, with easing turned on where the editor offers it. A recorder with automatic zoom animates every zoom for you: ScreenCursor offers Snappy, which lands just before the click, and Gentle, which moves more slowly.

How much should I zoom in on a screen recording?

For most buttons, menus and form fields, 1.5 to 2 times. That makes small text readable and still leaves enough of the screen in view for the viewer to know where they are. ScreenCursor’s automatic zooms go in to 1.75 times, and you can set any zoom between 1.1 and 3.5 times.

Why does my screen recording look blurry when I zoom in?

Zooming a video enlarges its pixels: at 2 times, each pixel is twice as wide and twice as tall, so text that was only a few pixels high turns soft. Make the text bigger before you record, with Ctrl and plus in the browser (Cmd and plus on a Mac), zoom no deeper than you need, and export at 1080p.

Can I zoom in on one part of the screen?

Yes, by pointing the zoom at that part. In a video editor, change the position while zoomed in until the part is in the middle of the frame. In ScreenCursor, right-click the zoom on the timeline, choose Zoom focus point and drag the box over the part you want.

Is there a screen recorder that zooms in automatically?

Yes. ScreenCursor, which we make, is a Chrome extension for Windows, Mac and Linux that places a zoom on every click, drag and keystroke as you record, keeps every zoom editable and never uploads your recording. You pay once, with no subscription. Our comparison of auto-zoom screen recorders at https://screencursor.com/best-auto-zoom-screen-recorders covers the other options.

Can ScreenCursor zoom in on a video I recorded with another app?

No. ScreenCursor places zooms on the recordings it makes, using the clicks it saw while recording, and it cannot open a video file from elsewhere. To zoom in on a video you already have, use a video editor’s keyframes.

Does automatic zoom work in desktop apps?

ScreenCursor records a browser tab, a window or the whole screen. Zooms place themselves for clicks in web pages in Chrome. In a desktop app it records the screen but cannot see the clicks, so you add those zooms yourself: press Z where the zoom should be, then aim it with Zoom focus point.