Customizing icons is pretty easy on Windows. If you want to resize the icons on Windows 11, then you can easily do it by following this guide.
Here, I will show the various ways you can change the size of the icons on your Windows 11 device as per your needs and preferences.
Let’s get started!
5 Ways To Change The Size Of the Desktop Icons
Changing the size of the icons is pretty simple, and you can choose from three different sizes: small, medium, and large. Here are 5 ways you can do it!
1) Use Keyboard Shortcuts
You can use keyboard shortcuts to resize the Desktop icons.
The four hotkeys for resizing the icons are:
- Ctrl + Shift + 4: Changes to Large Icons.
- Ctrl + Shift + 3: Changes to Medium Icons.
- Ctrl + Shift + 2: Changes to Small Icons.
- Ctrl + Shift + 1: Changes to Extra-Large Icons.
To make the desired changes, make sure to use the row number keys and not the numeric keypad.
Also, here is a complete list of keyboard shortcuts on Windows that you might find interesting.
2) Use Context Menu
The desktop Context Menu provides three options: small, medium, and large.
You can change the Desktop icon sizes with the help of the Context Menu and this is how you can do it:
- Right-click anywhere on the desktop to bring out the Context Menu.
- Select the View button on the Context Menu.
- Now, select the icon size you want from the options, Large icons, Medium icons, and Small icons.
- Click on the Sort By submenu to arrange the icons according to name, date, size, and icon type.
3) Use The Scroll Wheel Of The Mouse
Another way to resize the Desktop icons is to use the scroll wheel of the mouse.
You can quickly expand and shrink the icons by rolling that scroll wheel up or down.
In order to resize the icons with the help of your scroll wheel, here is what you need to do:
- Open the desktop and press and hold the Control key.
- Roll the scroll wheel up to increase the icon size and roll the scroll wheel down to decrease the icon size.
4) Select Different Display Resolution
Icons appear to be smaller at higher resolutions. So, by changing the resolution settings to a lower level you will be able to change the size of the icons easily.
You have to tweak the Settings a bit for doing the same.
Here is how you can do it:
- Right-click on the Search button and select the Settings option.
- Next select System > Display.
- To select a higher or a lower resolution, click on the Display Resolution drop-down menu and select the resolution you want to set.
- Select the Keep Changes option to save the changes.
Select a higher resolution to make the desktop icons size smaller and vice-versa.
You can also follow the next method to resize the desktop icons from Display Settings.
5) Change Display Settings
Using the Display Scale & Layout feature you can also change the size of the icons, texts, and other interface elements.
Here is how to do so:
- Right-click on any empty area on the desktop and select Display Settings.
- Next, select the Scale and Layout option. Expand the drop-down menu for the Scale option.
- Change the default value to a higher percentage to make your icons appear larger.
- After you finish doing so, the display will automatically get adjusted as per the new scale and the icons will change accordingly.
If this method did not work for you, change the size of the icons by tweaking the Registry Editor.
6) Edit Registry Editor
You can tweak the Registry in order to make the icons smaller or bigger.
But make sure to follow exactly what is mentioned. While handling the registry, you need to be extra cautious.
Here is how you can do it:
- Press WIN + R to open the Run box.
- Next, type “regedit” and click on OK.
- After the registry editor opens, copy and paste the path given below into the Registry Editor’s address bar and press Enter.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Right-click on Advance and select New.
- Now, click on DWORD 32-bit Value.
- Next, rename the newly created DWORD value as TaskbarSi.
- Double-click on TaskbarSi and change the value to 2. Click on OK to save the changes.
- Restart your device and see whether the size of the icons has changed.
Related: How To Lock Desktop Icons In Windows?
Wrapping Up
Let us know which of the above methods was useful to you in resizing your Desktop icons.
If you have any doubts or queries related to this topic then get in touch with us in the comment section below.