Although the operating system can deal with different resolutions, we all use and adjust our computers differently, as such Windows 10 includes a number of options to change the display settings to meet your needs. In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to change the DPI scaling level on Windows 10 to make icons and text bigger on your display.

How to change display DPI scaling using Settings How to change DPI scaling using Control Panel

How to change display DPI scaling using Settings

On Windows 10, Microsoft has spent a lot of time trying to improve the DPI scaling settings. It’s still not perfect, but it works well. DPI stands for “dots per inch” and it’s a term to define the number of pixels a screen can display per square inch. The ability to change the screen scaling level allows the operating system to adjust the size of visual elements on the screen. Without scaling things on a small 15-inch laptop display featuring 4K resolutions would look really tiny, and you won’t be able to use it properly. You can change your display DPI settings to make visual elements bigger if the default customization is not optimal for your vision, for example. To change the DPI scaling settings on Windows 10, do the following: If you don’t have a high-DPI display, then the default scale level will be 100%, but you can change the settings up to 150% to make icons and text bigger. Windows 10 DPI scaling settings

How to change DPI scaling using Control Panel

If neither of the available settings make the changes you want, you can click the Advanced display settings link. Then you can click Advanced sizing of text and other items to open Control Panel in the Display settings. On the old display settings, you can click the set a custom scaling level to choose a specific percentage. If the currently DPI settings are good enough, but you only want to change the size of certain visual elements, you can use the settings under “Change only the size”. From the drop-down menu select the text for title bars, menus, message boxes, palette title, icons, or tooltips, and change the font size. You even have the option to make the text bold, if that’s something you want. When you’re done, simply click Apply to complete the task, but you may need to restart your computer for the new configuration to take effect.

Wrapping things up

Although for the most part the default settings are optimal for most users, there are a lot of people with vision problems, and a simple slider to adjust the DPI scaling level can make a big difference to help see elements better on the screen. In addition, while you can always change the screen resolution on Windows 10, it’s not the correct way to make icons and text bigger. If you change the screen resolution, instead of the DPI scaling settings, elements won’t scale properly and they will look blurry. All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.