Key Takeaways
- Windows Photos now has a dynamic zoom slider for precise adjustments, allowing you to view images from 10% to 800% of their original size.
- Microsoft is also adding more features like grouping Microsoft apps, displaying photo metadata, and a faster photo viewer to Windows Photos.
- While these changes are currently only available in Windows 11 Preview, they should arrive on the main branch once Microsoft has ironed out any bugs.
Zoom controls in image viewers and editors come in two different flavors; they either give you a full range of zoom options for maximum customizability, or they force you into using pre-set zoom options that you cannot change. For a long time, Windows Photos opted for the latter, which made it quite frustrating when you wanted to achieve a specific zoom level. Now, Microsoft is finally fixing this by adding a zoom slider, something it should have honestly added a long time ago.
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Microsoft is adding a zoom slider to Windows Photos
Image Credit: Microsoft
As announced on Windows Blogssome adjustments to Windows Photos are making their way onto the Windows 11 Preview Dev and Canary branches. This does mean that people on the regular release version won’t get these features yet, but it does mean they’ll arrive just as soon as Microsoft has ensured there are no critical bugs with them. There’s a nice range of tweaks, but the one that stands out the most is this one:
Dynamic Zoom Slider : Rather than being limited to only pre-set image sizes, we’ve introduced a slider that lets you view your images anywhere from 10% to 800% of their original size. Effortlessly achieve your desired image size with our easy-to-use draggable slider, enabling precise adjustments for a better photo viewing experience.
If you like the pre-set zoom levels, don’t worry; Microsoft will keep them around.
More features are coming to Windows Photos
Image Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft is adding more quality-of-life changes to Windows Photos; for example, it has grouped up all relevant Microsoft apps into one section. This lets you view the image as part of a gallery, import the image into Clipchamp, or upload it to OneDrive in a snap. Photos will also display the metadata of your photos along the bottom of the window, something Microsoft notes is “a feature many users have asked for.”
Windows Photos will also come with a device import feature that grabs photos from your phone, and Microsoft has found a way to make the viewer load 2.1 times faster than before. All in all, the update is a great addition to Photos, and we’re hoping to see it arrive at the main branch soon.