Mouse Zoom is a browser extension for the Firefox web browser that improves the mouse zooming capabilities of Firefox. Among the things it adds are using only the mouse to zoom from any location on a page, and configuration of zoom levels.
Users of the Firefox web browser can zoom in and out of pages that are displayed in the Internet browser by using the menu toolbar, or keyboard shortcuts to do so.
The [Ctrl +] and [Ctrl -] keyboard shortcut will zoom in and out of a page which may sometimes be necessary to read all the text and information presented on the website without having to scroll horizontally.
The Mouse Zoom add-on for Firefox adds zooming to the mouse as well which has the advantage that it can be done easier than with the keyboard shortcuts or menu.
Note: Firefox offers native mouse zooming capabilities as well. Just hold down the Ctrl-key on your keyboard and use the mousewheel to zoom in or out of the current page. One main feature of Mouse Zoom is that it does away with having to use the Ctrl-key for that.
The add-on extends the native capabilities: a right-click and the use of the mouse wheel will increase or decrease the zoom on the specific page only. The zoom level will be remembered by the web browser so that the same view becomes available when you open the website, or access it in future browsing sessions.
Mouse Zoom displays the zoom in the Firefox main toolbar. A left-click on the icon will open the add-on’s options which can be used to configure the onscreen display of the zoom during changes, the status icon, and the zoom levels offered by the software.
The zoom level can be used to configure individual zoom levels that can be activated with the mouse wheel up to a maximum zoom level of 300%.
The add-on offers a handful of additional options including the option to reset the zoom level to the default value by holding the right-mouse button and left-clicking or pressing the middle-mouse button instead to hide the toolbars.
Mouse Zoom is compatible up to Firefox 3.5x. Users of Firefox 3.6x can force compatibility to make it work in their version as well.
Update: The developer of the extension has updated it so that it is compatible with all versions of Firefox from version 3.0 onward.
Closing Words
Mouse Zoom is a handy extension for Firefox for users who zoom regularly. Using the mouse to zoom may be more convenient for most users, unless you happen to have both hands on the keyboard most of the time when you use the Firefox browser.