Easily enlarge images on the Web without clicking

Imagus in action.
Nicole Cozma/CNET

On social media, the larger version of an image is usually just a click away. However, if you’re shopping on a site like Amazon, once you click it’s easy to get distracted by other recommended products. It’s similar to what happens if you read Wikipedia and get wrapped up in connected vaguely connected topics.

As an alternative to clicking each image, check out the Imagus for your Chrome or Firefox Web browser. You can easily see the enlarged version of each image without a single click.

Here are some examples where this extension is super-handy:

  • Reddit
  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Google Images
  • Apartment searching

Ready to check it out? Here’s how:

Grab a copy of Imagus for your Web browser of choice, Chrome or Firefox.

The extension has many options for how the image enlargement works and what to do with each image. For instance, you can ask it to preload the larger version of all images on a page, add the links to larger versions to your browser history, and decide where the large version is shown in relation to your cursor. There’s also a large list of keyboard shortcuts to save photos, their captions, or even rotate images as you’re viewing them.

A sample of the Imagus settings.
Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET

To adjust the settings for the extension/add-on:

Chrome: Click the Settings button in the top right-hand corner > More Tools > Extensions > click the options link under Imagus.

Firefox: Click the Settings button in the top right-hand corner > Add-ons > click the Options button next to Imagus.

Make sure to save any changes you make before leaving the settings area.

Now you’ll be able to see all of the full-size versions of images across the Web without loading a new page.