If the desktop icons are too small or big, you can resize them as needed. Follow the steps in the article to resize desktop icons.
On Windows, you can place any number of icons on the desktop. One of the biggest advantages of desktop icons is they provide quick and easy access to files, folders, and applications. For example, I always have a simple text file and recycle bin icon for quick access. I’ve seen people meticulously organize their desktop icons for easy access.
By default, all icons on the Windows desktop as of medium-sized. In general, the medium size icons are pretty good for the vast majority of people. However, if the default icon size is not working for you or if you’ve accidentally changed the desktop icon size, you can easily resize them as needed. i.e, you can increase or decrease desktop icons size.
In this quick and simple guide let me show two different ways to resize desktop icons in Windows.
Note: The steps shown below will working Windows 8 and 7 too.
Resize Desktop Icons from Right-click Menu
You can change the desktop icon size from the right-click menu. Here’s how.
First, minimize all the application windows and go to the desktop. On the desktop, right-click and select “View”. From the sub-menu, select one option between Small icons, Medium icons, and Large icons. As soon as you select the option, the desktop icons will automatically resize.
After resizing, you might have to shift them around to better organize.
Also, the small, medium, large sizes are completely dependent on the screen resolution and DPI settings. For example, if you are using a high resolution (4K) monitor with windows recommended DPI settings, the small or large option might be too small or too big for your screen. So, keep that in mind while choosing the option.
Use Mouse Scroll to Resize Desktop Icons
For better control over desktop icons size, you can use the mouse wheel trick. The best thing about this approach is that you can choose the exact icon size you want, not just between the three predefined sizes. With the mouse wheel, you can cycle through a variety of desktop icon sizes. As you can guess, this method is especially useful if the icon size from the above method is too big or too small.
To start off, minimize all the application windows. Next, hold down the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard and scroll the mouse wheel up or down to resize desktop icons. If you scroll down, the desktop icons size will reduce. If you scroll up, the desktop icons size will increase.
There is an upper and lower limit to how big and small desktop icons can be. You cannot go past that limit. So, keep that in mind while resizing.
I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. Also, did you know that you can hide desktop icons in Windows? Do check out the linked article to know how.
