The default font size in Windows 10 can be too small for some, especially when on a higher resolution screen. We're going to show you how to adjust your system text size to your liking, along with how to change the font while you're at it.

If you want to enlarge more than just the fonts, or only want a temporary zoom, we'll also show you how to use some simple and in-built Windows tools to achieve that.

Change Your Text Sizes

If you're running the Creators Update or beyond for Windows 10, you'll need a third-party program to be able to easily change the size of your system fonts. It's unknown why Windows decided to remove this basic feature.

Creators Update and Later

To get started, download the lightweight System Font Changer utility from WinTools. On first opening it'll ask if you want to save your default settings, so click Yes and choose where to save it. This will let you easily go back to your standard font sizes after changing them.

system font changer windows

When the program opens, select which element you want to change the size of, like the Title bar or Message box. Then use the slider, on a scale of 0 to 20, along with toggling Bold if you desire. Click the Apply button, log out and back in, and your changes will take effect.

Before the Creators Update

Press Windows key + I to open Settings and select System > Display. Click Advanced display settings > Advanced sizing of text and other items.

windows 10 control panel display options

This will open a Control Panel window. Here you can use the two dropdowns: the first to select what element you want to change, the second the font size to change it to. You can choose to tick Bold if desired. When done, click Apply.

Change Your System Font

The default system font in Windows 10 is Segoe UI. Some previous versions of Windows let you easily change the system font, but in Windows 10 it's a bit trickier. As such, we'll need to perform a registry edit, the method of which comes from TenForums.

Before we begin, a couple of notes. Firstly, we're not directly going into the registry here, but always proceed with caution when editing anything in the registry as it can cause severe problems if you mess with the wrong settings.

Secondly, some fonts are not designed to be used system-wide and won't have the full character set. If you've downloaded fonts and try using them, you might find some things look unintelligible because it doesn't have all the necessary characters that your system needs for some elements.

windows 10 fonts

Finally, this change won't impact everything and is unreliable for modern applications, like your Settings, Action Center and the Start Menu. However, it will work on older Windows applications and things like the Taskbar.

To get going, open Notepad and paste the following:

            [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
"Segoe UI (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"=""

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]

"Segoe UI"="NEW FONT"
    

Replace NEW FONT in the speech marks to whatever you want to change your system font to be. For example: Arial, Verdana, or Comic Sans (okay, maybe not that last one). Do a system search for your Fonts folder if you're unsure of the choices. You could even go advanced and learn how to make your own font.

In Notepad, go to File > Save As... and set Save as type as All Files. Set the File name as anything with .reg on the end. Click Save.

Now locate the file and open it (Windows will detect that it's a registry file) to process the change. Click Yes to confirm and then OK. Restart your computer and your changes will be fully applied.

To revert your changes, download this registry file from TenForums, open it, and click Yes > OK. Then start your system.

Resize Your Entire Display

If you want to resize everything on your screen, including text, Taskbar and the Start Menu, you can do so within your Display settings. To access this, press Windows key + I to open Settings and navigate to Display. If you're not running the Creator's Update then you'll have a sliding bar to adjust your scaling percentage. If you don't see that, you'll have a dropdown where you can do the same thing, with Custom scaling allowing you to get more refinement.

windows 10 display settings

To revert back to the default, just look for the option that has (Recommended) after it. Using the percentage scales will smoothly up-scale fonts to the size desired, so it's recommended to just stick with that rather than adjusting the Resolution which tends to make things blurry if not set to your monitor's default.

Temporary Enlargement

If you don't want to enlarge text everywhere, an alternative is to use the zoom in functions that some programs offer. This is often actioned by pressing Ctrl and + (the Plus key) or by going to the View options. It's likely that your internet browser will work with it, so feel free to try it out now! Ctrl and  - (the Minus key) will zoom out.

magnifier windows 10

An alternative approach is to use the Magnifier that is built into Windows. Do a system search to find it and you can click the Plus and Minus buttons to zoom in and out. Click the cog icon to access the settings and change things like whether the magnifier follows the mouse pointer or has keyboard focus.

See With Clarity

With your fonts enlarged you can now clearly see everything on your system. And maybe you're rocking an entirely new font while you're at it! If you want another font trick, check our guide on how to have Windows fonts looking like those on a Mac.

And if all of that has got you in the customizing mood, see our top tips and tricks on how to change the look and feel of your desktop. Your system will feel completely fresh and new when you're done.

Do you need to change your system font size? Is there a method you use that we haven't covered?