Adjusting font size not always possible


Sigurd

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I'm not sure if something has changed in Windows 11 or more likely my personal memory chips are faulty and I'm just not remembering things.A few weeks ago carried out a clean reinstall. All went as expected and then I set about the rest of the necessary work, drivers, apps.
However I am left with one issue which may be my faulty recollection or I have missed something. A lot of apps have very small fonts, look like 8 or so. In many of the apps it is possible to enlarge them. Some apps don't have the option. Outlook is a bit of a mix. The reading pane can only be adjusted via the slider at the bottom of the screen, but the default is small and I have to increase it every time I want to read or create a message. The other panes can be adjusted and set individually, Message boxes however are all tiny - looks like font size 8.
I have adjusted all the Windows settings I can find that alter font size. Same for apps were available. I have looked at a few things on the Nvidia control but the only thing that resolved the problem was changing the resolution of the larger VD which is obviously a bit pointless as I lose graphic workspace.
The other thing which is not as I remember pre-reinstall is if I drag an app from one screen to another, then text is fine in the lower res VDU but too small in the higher res one.
Setup is Windows 11 (whichever one downloaded itself last night)
Graphic card Nvidia Geoforce GTX 1600
VDUs - Both BenQ - 3840 x 2160 and 2560 x 1440

Any thoughts welcome! :unsure:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Updated Chillblast
    CPU
    Intel i7 12700K Twelve Core 3.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 Motherboard
    Memory
    Corsair 32Gb Vengeance RAM
I can't offer a lot of advice. I never have been able to get consistent font sizes in all areas of windows. Some apps have certain areas hardcoded which takes preference over any user settings. To make the fonts in those areas large enough for our old eyes to read, you have to enlarge scale to the point it throws everything else out of whack. (for instance control panel) Same goes for third party apps and some websites. They hardcode certain areas as well. I've had to experiment with my scale, font settings, system font, resolution, and zoom level in browsers to reach an acceptable medium. Keep in mind, the higher the resolution, the smaller the font. So if you use 1 screen to reach your happy medium and then connect another monitor with a higher resolution, you might not be as happy until you tweak your settings again.

I don't know about your graphics driver but ever time I get a new driver I have to reset my scale and resolution changes again.

Regarding Outlook, if you use MS Office Outlook you have more options. Outlook on the web, not so much.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3447
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
In a search this "old" message/post came up first, so my reply is mainly to the font size not remaining as set after rebooting.
Have tried several ways to set the text/font size as read at microsoft "help" pages, yet none of those methods kept the text/font in my windows explorers set to the size I preferred after rebooting. After rebooting the text went back to default (ᵗᵒᵒ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐʸ ᵛᶦˢᶦᵒⁿ) size.
I used an old win98 style of going to the deepest folder of the active user and once there created a blank txt file.
Before creating the text file deep into ACTIVE USERS folders level, I opened FIRST the DISPLAY>SCALE, set it back to 100. (even if its at 100 move it so one gets that message to restart the computer, BUT DON'T RESTART YET. Had it at the DISPLAY>SCALE at 138, which did maintain the text at a decent (FOR ME) size but since the SCALE settings change the size of ALL, app interfaces and toolbars where getting too close to not displaying correctly or fully.)
After setting DISPLAY>SCALE to 100 I then changed the TEXT SIZE slide bar to 150%. Saw the size of the text in the folder's names become nice and large. Opened the txt file, wrote gibberish into the txt file, closed it but then reopned that txt file and left that open and document folder open.
In Win98SE this trick (IN SOME assembly line manufactured MODELS, not customized models) for some reason forced the registry to maintain (unless one changed it) the matching last settings (order of files, size of text, colum choices) of txt and deep level opened folder.
THEN I clicked on the restart choice the DISPLAY>SCALE offered when I had changed it to 100%.
The computer rebooted and have turned it off and on three times (last 6 hrs) and the larger text is still holding. (fingers crossed...which might explain my misspellings🙃).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
If the text looks too small, go to font size, move the slider to whatever percentage you prefer, click apply. Once Windows sets it, move the slider back to the default 100%. Now click apply again and wait for Windows to finish setting it.

Now your text should be normal again.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ZBook G2
    CPU
    Intel® Core i7 5500u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Family Graphics AMD Firepro 4150M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Audio
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Mouse
    HP USB Mouse
    Antivirus
    Zone Alarm Free Antivirus/Zone Alarm Free Firewall NEXT GEN
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook G4
    CPU
    Xeon 1535m v6
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Quadro Pro 4100
    Sound Card
    Bang and Olufson Audio
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
    Mouse
    HP USB Mouse
    Antivirus
    Zone Alarm Free Antivirus/Zone Alarm Free Firewall NEXT GEN
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