Tip of the Week: Make Your Desktop Icons Bigger (or Smaller)

If you frequently use your desktop to store icons and files, and if you’re like most people who do this, you probably have a cluttered desktop that is difficult to manage. While you can and should take time to clean it up from time to time, one quick way you can do so is by adjusting the size of the icons found on your desktop.

Why Adjust Your Icon Size?

Sometimes you might have a difficult time seeing the icons when they are smaller, particularly if you have poor eyesight or you have a desktop background that makes things a little difficult or contrasting. In cases like this, you can make your icons larger so they stand out more against your background.

In some cases, you might just have too many icons on your desktop that take up a ton of space. You can give yourself more desktop real estate by making the icons smaller. However, in this case, we do highly recommend that you reconsider what you store on your desktop, as if your screen is cluttered with icons in this way, chances are you will only make the problem worse by opening up more space to include even more icons.

How to Adjust Your Desktop Icon Size

Windows will default to the Medium size for your desktop icons, but if you want to change their size to your preference, it’s easy enough to do. All you have to do is right-click anywhere on the desktop and use the View option to change the size. You will see options for Large, Medium, and Small icons.

If you’re on a Windows 11 machine, you have some more options at your disposal, too. You can hold down the Ctrl key and scroll up or down on the mouse wheel to make the icons bigger or smaller than the preset sizes allow.

That’s all there is to it! With a couple of simple tricks at your disposal, you can customize your desktop icons to your preference. For more great tips and tricks, be sure to keep your eyes on our blog.