Picking a Desktop Icon Size

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 23, 2021)

If your desktop is like mine, it tends to gather icons—lots of icons. As I get older and my monitor resolution gets finer, I find it helpful to once in a while change up how those icons appear. Windows provides three different sizes (small, medium, and large) that you can switch between. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Windows provides three different icon sizes for your desktop.

If you want to try out different icon sizes on your system, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click anywhere on desktop. (Don't right-click an item on the desktop; right-click the desktop itself.) Windows displays a Context menu.
  2. Hover over the View option. Windows displays additional choices to the right.
  3. Choose the icon size option that fits your needs; they are the first thee options on the menu: Large Icons, Medium Icons, or Small Icons.

Windows immediately makes the change and adjust what you see on your desktop. The change remains in effect until you explicitly change it again.

 This tip (13129) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Setting Row Height in a Macro

Macros can be used to change the formatting of your worksheet, if desired. One change you might want to make is to the ...

Discover More

Using Different Colors with Tracked Changes

When changes are made in a document with Track Changes turned on, each author's changes are normally shown in a different ...

Discover More

Copying, Moving, and Deleting Notes and Comments

Comments or notes are often added to documents to aid in their development. You can use regular editing techniques to ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Keeping the Scroll Bar

Scroll bars are helpful in showing that there is more information to be seen. By default, Windows 10 hides scroll bars, ...

Discover More

Disabling Automatic Updates

If you don't like that Windows automatically downloads and applies updates in the middle of the night, you can gain some ...

Discover More

Enabling and Disabling Windows Features

Want to make sure that Windows is trim and fit, using only those features you routinely use? Here's how to enable or ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven more than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.