3 Ways To Resize Desktop Icons In Windows 10/7

A couple of days ago, after going through our how to open This PC to Computer in Windows 10, a reader asked us if it’s possible to change the default size of the Computer icon on the desktop in Windows 10?

As many of you likely know, it’s possible to resize desktop icons in Windows operating system. While most users will never need to change the default size of icons, one can quickly resize desktop icons without the assistance of third-party programs.

You can follow one of the given methods to quickly change size of any icon on the desktop in Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 7 versions of Windows operating system.

NOTE: You can’t set configure Windows to have different sizes for different icons.

Method 1:

Resizing desktop icons by scrolling mouse wheel

Step 1: When you are on the desktop, simply hold down the left Ctrl key on the keyboard and then scroll the mouse up/down to increase/reduce the size of all icons on the desktop.

This is the easiest and quickest way to resize desktop icons in Windows. The method works good on laptops as well.

Method 2:

Changing desktop icon size from desktop context menu

Step 1: Right-click on desktop and then select View.

Step 2: Select Large icons, Medium icons or Small icons to change the icon size.

Method 3:

Set custom icon size in Advanced appearance settings

Note that this method doesn’t work in Windows 10 or 8.1 as Microsoft has removed Advanced appearance settings for no reason. This method might not work in lower editions of Windows 7 such as Starter and Home Basic.

Step 1: Right-click on Desktop and then select Personalize option to open Personalization window.

Step 2: In the Personalization window, click on Window Color to open Window color and appearance. Here, click on the link labelled Advanced appearance settings to open Window Color and Appearance dialog.

Step 3: Expand the Item drop-down menu (see picture), select Icon from the list to options to change the current size of icons, font and font size.

Step 4: Enter a value in the Size box that appears next to Icon and then click Apply button to set the value. That’s it!