Change Font Size on a Computer

Changing the font size on your computer can be helpful when viewing applications that contain text that is too small, or too large to read comfortably. Font size can be changed for the user interfaces in Windows and Mac OS X, and also in every Internet browser. Newer versions of Windows have more options for control over the elements you can adjust.

Steps

Windows 10 System Font Size

  1. Right-click on your desktop and select "Display settings." This will open the "Display" section of the Settings menu.
  2. Use the "Change the size of text, apps, and other items" slider to change font size. Moving the slider to the right will increase the size of the system font, as well as icons and other system elements. Moving it all the way to the left will return the size to the default.
  3. Click "Advanced display settings" to change individual elements. If you'd rather just change the size of menu bars, tooltips, or other elements, you can do so without changing everything at once.
  4. Click "Advanced sizing of text and other items." This will open a new Control Panel window.
  5. Select the element you want to change from the drop-down menu. You can change font sizes for title bars, menus, icon labels, tooltips, and more. Select the element that you want to change.
  6. Select a new font size for the chosen element. You can pick a font size between 6 and 24. You can also choose to make the font bold. The default size for all items is 9.
    • You can repeat this for each element in the drop-down menu.
  7. Click "Apply" to save your settings. Your new sizes will be applied immediately.

Windows 8 and Earlier

  1. Open the Control Panel. The method for opening the Control Panel depends on what version of Windows you are using.
    • Windows 8.1 - Right-click on the Start button and select "Control Panel."
    • Windows 8 - Press ⊞ Win+X and select "Control Panel."
    • Windows 7 and Vista - Open the Start menu and select "Control Panel."
  2. Select "Display." If you don't see this option, select "Appearance and Personalization" and then select "Display."
  3. Select the percentage that you want to increase the font by. Depending on your version of Windows and your monitor, you may be able to select 125% or 150%. Changes won't take effect until you log back in.
    • This will increase the size of all Windows elements, including icons.
  4. Set a custom text size (Windows 7 and earlier). If you're using Windows 7 or earlier, you can set a custom text size:[1]
    • Click the "Set custom text size (DPI)" option in the left frame of the Display menu.
    • Drag the ruler with your mouse or use the drop-down box to adjust the text size. In Vista and XP, you'll just have two presets to pick from
  5. Set a custom text size (Windows 8). If you're using Windows 8, you can change the text size for specific elements.[2]
    • Find the "Change only text size" in the Display menu.
    • Use the drop-down menu to select the element you want to adjust.
    • Set the size you want with the second drop-down menu. You can also make the font bold for that element.
    • Click "Apply" to see your changes immediately.

Mac System Font Size

  1. Open a Finder window. You can do this by opening any folder or by selecting Finder from the Dock.
  2. Open the "View Options" menu. You can click "View" → "Show View Options" or you can press ⌘ Command+J.
  3. Use the "Text size" menu to select a new text size. This will apply to all Finder windows, but you'll need to re-apply the chan ge for each of the different Finder views that you use (Icon, List, Column, etc.).
  4. Increase your sidebar size. Even though you've increased the font size in Finder, this won't affect any sidebars. You can adjust the sidebar size separately:
    • Click the Apple menu and select "System Preferences."
    • Click the "General" button.
    • Use the "Sidebar icon size" menu to adjust the size of the sidebar. This will change both the icon size and the text size.
    • In iTunes, open the Preferences menu and select the "General" tab. Select "Use large text for list views."
  5. Change the font size for Messages. If you use the Messages app a lot, you can adjust the font size for it independently:
    • With Messages open, click the Messages menu and select "Preferences."
    • Select the "Messages" tab and then click "Set font" for either your sent messages or messages you receive. These settings will only affect how you view messages on your computer.

Webpage Font Size

  1. Visit the page you want to increase. Nearly all web browsers allow you to magnify websites so that you can read them more easily. This will increase the text size as well as the size of other items on the page.
    • This method should work for any browser on any operating system, including Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Edge.
  2. Hold .Ctrl/⌘ Cmd and press + to zoom in. This will increase the size of everything in the web browser. You can hit this multiple times to continue increasing the size.
    • You can scroll your mouse wheel up instead of pressing + to accomplish the same thing.
  3. Hold .Ctrl/⌘ Cmd and press - to zoom out. This will decrease the size of the text and everything else in your browser. You can decrease the size below the original default size if you'd like.
    • You can scroll down with the mouse wheel instead of pressing -.
  4. Press .Ctrl/⌘ Cmd+0 to reset the zoom level. This will return the page to the default zoom level so that you don't have to guess what it was originally.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.techtalkz.com/windows-7/516049-how-change-font-size-icon-size-windows-7-a.html
  2. ↑ https://mcmw.abilitynet.org.uk/windows-7-and-8-making-text-larger/

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