How to Set Up Display Scaling in Windows 10

System resolutions in Windows 10 define how sharp images and texts are, but to how they are as seen on the screen is determined by scaling.

Regardless of the set level of monitor or TV, Windows 10 makes adjustments to accommodate much on the screen, including icons such as the taskbar containing active windows, where even scrolling and up/down arrows are required.

In some occasions, using a monitor that has higher resolution, say 4K, results to shrinking of text, the windows and the icons.

This one puts pressure on the person at the computer, especially if he or she is in a position where he or she cannot bend forward to have a good view of what is on the screen.

Windows 10 normally sets the scaling on 4K monitors to 150% to prevent small windows and text. However, the option may be missing, but you can always use some guidelines on how to adjust yourself and see more on your default monitor in case that is all you need.

This article also demonstrates how you can set up the display scaling for Windows 10 in one, two or multiple screens at once.

All components can then can be made the same size – or the monitor can be enlarged from what it is now for improved visibility.

Why you should manually change the scaling settings on Windows 10

Working or doing activities with more than one screen is an effective way of working with a computer. Nevertheless, it becomes cumbersome to drag a window across the two monitors’ screens, especially when we have different screen resolutions.

Windows 10 scaling in this case help you to get more close to the default windows scaling in order to match the text, the images or the icons.

Also, it preferred always to have a higher resolution for watching, videos or playing, but sometimes the text and icon size is too small to read comfortably.

This is the stage that scaling comes into the picture. This is something you can do to increase sizes of text, icons, and other features in order to make up for clear high resolution without resulting to blurred vision.

Similarly, Scaling is also useful to individuals who find it hard to read smaller text fonts and view images due to their small size since they can be scaled to a preferred size.

Windows 10 Scaling Settings

It is also necessary to recall that Windows 10 has a scaling feature set in advance, although you may change the settings yourself if the operating system changes the display settings to your preference.

However, the scaling options are only available as 100%, 125%, & 150% of its size at creation. There is also a custom scale option, but Windows utilizes that setting on all the connected monitors.

What Scaling In Windows 10 Does?

In general, scaling allows one to always have an access to the default screen and keep screen sizes relatively similar across different sized monitors, which can be adjusted for different resolution.

Swiping a window or an image to another screen may look different when the scaling ratio is not proportional.

A larger screen may need to be set at a lower scale so that the size difference between the two monitors is effective.

Hence, scaling for multiple displays may not be perfect, but it does add to projection that makes the use of displays a little more smooth.

Windows 10, Some Instances of Typing Instructions by the Checkbox On One Screen, Using the Preset Scaling

Scaling also helps the primary monitor to display larger text, images and icons in a better way. Thus, you can optimally adjust the single monitor interface for your convenience. The Windows 10 preset scaling has the following three choices. Here are the steps.

1. In the easiest way, you can go to the ‘Start Menu’ and then to the ‘Settings’.
2. Select “System. ”
3. Choose “Display. ”
4. Slide down to the “Scale and layout” section and then select the drop-down beneath ‘Change the text size, apps.
5. Select “100%,” “125%,” or “150%. ” As mentioned before, for a single display two scaling sizes are only available in the option “Scale and layout”.

Windows 10 Preset Display Scaling for Two or More Monitors gets set up on a PC running Windows 10 Pro Operating System

When you split screen and when you use multiple monitors and extend your screen, the scaling may not be the same, for instance, a default 1080P screen and 4K HDTV.

Although, after clicking on the ‘Control Panel’, Windows will adjust the scaling to make text and windows larger on the HDTV, it is still necessary to readjust it because when you drag a window to another screen, it may change the size and this is not always helpful.

Here is how you can align multiple monitors to preset sizes so that the scaling enhances and improves to accommodate well.

Note: Ideally, the monitors should have the same resolution, or if they are different, they should be proportionately different. Otherwise, you decrease the readability of the texts and the quality of the images on the material.

1. Right-click “Start Menu” > Settings > System > Display and select the monitor to adjust the scaling. You can also click ‘Identify’ if you are not quite sure about the monitor that you should choose.
2. Under the “Scale and layout” tab, go to the dropdown list and choose a percentage.
3. Secondly, minimize an app’s window of the “Desktop” in the “Monitor 1” below its general working screen size. Right-click on the window and drag it to ‘Monitor 2’ to see whether you enjoy the transition from ‘Monitor 1’ to ‘Monitor 2.’ If you want it to switch the scaling or adjust it, close it on ‘Monitor 2.’ If dissatisfied, redo the “Scale and layout” option outlined above until the right view is attained. Again, it is important to highlight the fact that you may not always be able to choose the percentage that you need as it is offered in only three variants, which range from 100% to 150%.

“Monitor 1” and “Monitor 2” in the above image show what corresponds to the “Identify” option that brings a black box with a number on the screen for every screen.

You also see that the resized window by this using the steps above on ‘Monitor 1’ has the setting of ‘Monitor 2.’ If the scaling is off for ‘Monitor 2,’ moving the minimized window over would change its size.

The following will provide a clear understanding of custom scaling in Windows 10

You can use the advanced scaling if you need to set a more specific scaling of your screen’s display. This choice allows you to set your scaling percentage precisely as you need and this is the most versatile option among others.

Here note that any modification made here impacts ALL the screens you attach to it and it only turns active when you log out of windows. In other words, you are not able to design every screen separately while using this method.

Custom scaling is an effortless process in Windows 10, as we can see here. The instructions below were produced using Windows 10 Home, the version is 21H1, OS Build is 19043.

Date / Edition: 2021, 3 / 1348 with Windows Feature Experience Pack 120. 2212. 3920. 0. It may be noted that the locations of settings may have been different in previous versions or builds.

1. Locate the “Start Menu” icon, click on it, and then click on “Settings.”
2. Select “Ease of Access. ”
3. Again, in the “Make everything bigger”, in the drop-down list under the “Change the size of apps and text on other displays” even through the title of this option suggests ‘other displays’, the setting being set here affects all the screens/monitors.
4. Go to the ‘Scale and layout’ tab, then click on the link that says, ‘Advanced scaling options’.
5. In the “Custom scaling” field, enter another scaling size derived in percentage, then click on “Apply”.
6. Then, you will see the new scaling percentage take effect; please sign out by clicking on the ‘Sign out now’ option. Of course, before that, please ensure that you save any work or progress that you may have.
7. Verify the new scaling size you just set and, if possible, set it back through the above-mentioned methods. Learn that the text and the other items are slightly bigger than the original size because, at some point, the percentage was 140% of the image. Well, of course, the resolution will still be the same.

This will help change the sizes of text and images both on the bigger and the smaller screen, which is only advisable when one requires a closer look at something.

Finally, let me add that compared to older releases, Windows 10 display scaling is handled satisfactorily by the OS if resolutions are proportionally the same. But actually, it is quite simple to change if one has to interdict manually, though it may not always work in the way expected.

For your information about the above diagram, you can select individual scaling for each monitor, or else you can use the three options for scaling at once.

Nonetheless, if you require a distinct scaling percentage, you can only set all the screens at any given time. Although this position confines you to the scaling options, the picture shown is better than nothing, like in the old days when the only choice was the resolution settings.

Finally, with respect to scaling settings, Windows does not take the screen size into consideration as an irrelevant criterion when there is a DPI we deal with. A screen that has pixels twice as many as the other (in proportion) will be twice as detailed as the other.