How To Change The Settings In Your Operating System Or Web Browser To Increase The Text Size, Making It Easier To See.
You can make the text on your computer easier to see and read in a number of ways. These guides explain how to increase the text size in your operating system (Windows or Mac). You can also make the text bigger in specific programmes such as web browsers, which will make it easier to surf the internet.
There are three ways to do this…
- Make the text larger on your computer
Change the settings in your operating system to make the text easier to see every time you use your computer.
- This guide is different depending on your operating system (Windows or Mac). Please select from the options below.
- Windows 7
- Mac OS X
- Make the text larger in your browser
Increase the text size in web browsers such as Internet Explorer temporarily, or for every time you surf the internet.
- This guide is different depending on your operating system (Windows or Mac). Please select from the options below
- Windows 7
- Mac OS X
How To Make The Text Larger On Your Computer In Windows 7
This page explains step-by-step how to increase the size of text and other elements in Windows 7 by either changing the DPI (dots per inch) scale, or by decreasing your screen resolution.
Areas in this guide:
- Change the text size to larger scale
- Change the screen resolution
Note: The ‘Ease of Access Center’ has replaced ‘Accessibility Options’ (which was used in earlier versions of Windows) in the ‘Control Panel’ of Windows 7.
Change the text size to larger scale
Note: You may be required to restart your computer after making some of the changes here. Be sure to save and close any open documents.
Step 1: Open the ‘Ease of Access Center’ window
Press the Windows key + U or click the ‘Start‘ button, followed by ‘Control Panel‘, then ‘Ease of Access‘, then ‘Ease of Access Center‘.
Under the ‘Explore all settings’ header, click on ‘Make the computer easier to see‘ (Fig 1) or press Tab until it is highlighted and then press Enter.
Fig 1
Step 2: Change the scale
Under the ‘Make things on the screen larger’ header, click on ‘Change the size of text and icons‘, as shown in Fig 2, or press Alt + Z.
Fig 2
In the following window (Fig 3), you have three options (or two, depending on your setup). To select the size you want, click the radio buttons or press Alt + S for the default scale (100%), press Alt + M for the medium scale (125%) or press Alt + L for the larger scale (150%).
Fig 3
Click the ‘Apply‘ button, or press Tab until it is highlighted and then press Enter, to save your changes. You may then be required to restart your computer.
Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings cannot be changed due to local IT policies – contact your local IT support for further help.
Change the screen resolution
Step 1: Open the ‘Screen Resolution’ window
You can open the ‘Screen Resolution’ window by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop. From the menu that appears, select ‘Screen Resolution‘ to open the window shown in Fig 2. If you are unable to do this, use the following alternative method. Otherwise, go to Step 2.
Press the Windows key + U or click the ‘Start‘ button, followed by ‘Control Panel‘, then ‘Ease of Access‘, then ‘Ease of Access Center‘.
Under the ‘Explore all settings’ header, click on ‘Make the computer easier to see‘ (Fig 1) or press Tab until it is highlighted and then press Enter.
Fig 1
Under the ‘Make things on the screen larger’ header, click on ‘Change the size of text and icons‘ or press Alt + Z.
Click on ‘Change Display Settings‘ in the panel on the left to open the window shown in Fig 2.
Step 2: Change the display settings
To change your screen resolution, click the button beside ‘Resolution‘ to reveal the slider, as shown in Fig 3. Drag the slider to your desired setting. Alternatively, press Alt + R and then use the arrow keys to move the slider.
Fig 3
Click the ‘OK‘ button, or press Tab until it is highlighted and then press Enter, to save your changes.
Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings cannot be changed due to local IT policies – contact your local IT support for further help.
Spot On Is Not Responsible For The content Of Any External Internet Sites – Disclaimer
Contains Public Sector Information Licensed Under The Open Government Licence v2.0.