As a trainer, you’re not always in full control of your training environment. Sometimes, the quality of the only available beamer is so abominable that your participants can hardly read what’s on the screen. Or maybe the sun is shining in and limiting visibility, and the blinds are out of order – if there are blinds at all. Not an ideal situation, considering some Excel functionalities require you to clearly see the difference between a period and a semicolon, or a bracket, square bracket and curly bracket. Imagine trying to decipher this Excel Power Query formula on a blurry screen:
= {Number.From(dates[Date]{0})..Number.From(dates[Date]{1})}
If the formula isn’t clearly projected, it can be very tricky to use – especially because it’s case-sensitive.
That’s why Microsoft offers an essential tool for every trainer: ZoomIt. ZoomIt lets you zoom in on the screen, take notes and/or add text. It’s ideal when you need to highlight something.
How do you install ZoomIt?
You can download ZoomIt for free here. It’s a tiny 300kB file that doesn’t require installation; ou just need to download and unzip it. That’s right: even if you aren’t authorized to install software on your PC, you can still use ZoomIt. It only contains one file (apart from the license agreement): Zoomit.exe. Double-click the file to launch the main window:
The most important setting here is Zoom Toggle. This shortcut key lets you zoom in quickly You can close the zoomed-in window by pressing ESC.
Don’t forget to check out the other tabs, where you learn how to:
- enter text;
- select colours;
- draw lines, rectangles or arrows;
- save the zoomed-in window as an image, including notes;
- …
Since I need to demonstrate or explain things every day, I’ve checked Run ZoomIt when Windows starts so that the tool is ready for use whenever I need it.
Looking for more tips? Be sure to check out our open courses.
