How to scale a view up or down

Paul Hudson @twostraws September 3rd 2021

Updated for Xcode 14.0 beta 1

SwiftUI’s scaleEffect() modifier lets us increase or decrease the size of a view freely.

For example, we could make a text view five times its regular size like this:

Text("Up we go")
    .scaleEffect(5)
    .frame(width: 300, height: 300)

Download this as an Xcode project

The large, slightly blurry text “Up we go”.

You can scale the X and Y dimensions independently if you want, allowing you to squash views like this:

Text("Up we go")
    .scaleEffect(x: 1, y: 5)
    .frame(width: 300, height: 300)

Download this as an Xcode project

The text “Up we go” stretched vertically.

If you want more control, you can specify an anchor for your scaling like this:

VStack {
    Text("Up we go")
        .scaleEffect(2, anchor: .bottomTrailing)
    Text("Up we go")
}

Download this as an Xcode project

Two lines, both reading “Up we go”. The upper line is both larger and offset to the left such that the lines' trailing edges align.

That makes the text view twice its regular size, scaled from the bottom-right corner.

Tip: Scaling up a view won’t cause it to be redrawn at its new size, only stretched up or down. This means small text will look fuzzy, and small images might look pixellated or blurry.

Sponsor Hacking with Swift and reach the world's largest Swift community!

How to scale a view up or down

Similar solutions…