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HP PCs - Change display settings, background image, icons, and screen saver (Windows 10)

Learn how to change text size, desktop background, icon size, screen saver, and other desktop or display settings in Windows.

Change the text size, display brightness, and screen resolution using display settings

You can modify the size of text and windows on the desktop to fit your personal preferences. You can also adjust the screen resolution, in addition to other display settings.

  1. In Windows, search for and open Display settings. You can also right-click an open area of the desktop and then select Display settings.

  2. To change the Display orientation between Landscape and Portrait or to flip the orientation, select an option from the drop-down menu and then click Keep Changes or Revert.

    Change the orientation of the display.
  3. To change the size of text and app windows, select the size you want from the drop-down menu. Changes take effect immediately.

    Change the size of text, apps, and other items.
  4. To adjust the brightness, click and drag the slider bar under Brightness and color. Changes take effect immediately.

    Adjusting the slider bar for brightness
  5. To reduce the amount of blue light coming from the display, turn on Night light. To schedule the night light and change the hue, click Night light settings.

    Turning on Night light
  6. To change the Display resolution, select a resolution from the drop-down menu and then click Keep Changes or Revert.

    Note:

    We recommend in most circumstances to use the native resolution of the monitor, which is marked as Recommended.

    If you have more than one monitor, select the monitor that you want to adjust and then repeat these steps to change the resolution. A confirmation window is displayed.

    Change the resolution of the screen

Additional methods to change text or object size

Learn to make objects in Windows, such as desktop icons or text, larger or smaller. Also, zoom in or out in applications and webpages to make objects and text display larger or smaller.

Zoom using the scroll wheel on the mouse

If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can use it to make objects (such as desktop icons or a webpage) larger or smaller.

  1. Click anywhere on the Windows desktop or open the webpage that you want to view.

  2. Press and hold the ctrl key on your keyboard.

  3. Roll the scroll wheel on the mouse to shrink or enlarge the objects on the screen.

Zoom using the keyboard

You can use your keyboard to zoom in or out. This method works in many applications and web browsers.

  1. Click anywhere on the Windows desktop or open the webpage that you want to view.

  2. Press and hold the ctrl key, and then simultaneously press either the + (plus sign) or - (minus sign) key to make objects on the screen larger or smaller.

  3. To restore normal view, press and hold the ctrl key, and then press 0.

Adjust the text size in Windows Ease of Access settings

Open accessibility settings to adjust the size settings for text and other items.

  1. In Windows, search for and open Ease of access vision settings.

  2. Move the slider bar under Make text bigger to enlarge or shrink the size of text, and then click Apply.

    Ease of access vision settings
  3. Under Make everything bigger, use the dropdown menu to select the size of apps and text on the main display.

    Note:

    If you have more than one monitor, click Change the size of apps and text on other displays to select another display to configure.

    Ease of access make everything bigger setting

Zoom using the TouchPad (Notebook PCs only)

If you have a notebook computer with a TouchPad, use the pinch gesture on the TouchPad to shrink or enlarge objects on the screen.

  • Zoom in (make larger): Move 2 fingers apart

  • Zoom out (make smaller): Move 2 fingers together

To ensure that the pinch gesture is enabled:

  1. In Windows, search for and open Touchpad settings.

  2. Under Scroll and zoom, select Pinch to zoom.

    Touchpad settings
  3. You can use the other options that are displayed to adjust the TouchPad settings for gestures, such as scrolling, tapping, and clicking.

Adjust zoom in Microsoft Edge

Adjust the zoom in Microsoft Edge using keyboard shortcuts or the Microsoft Edge menu.

  • Zoom using the keyboard: Press and hold ctrl, and then simultaneously press either the + (plus sign) or - (minus sign) key to make objects on the screen larger or smaller.

  • Zoom using Microsoft Edge: With Microsoft Edge open, click the three dots on the top right-hand side of the screen, and then click either + (plus sign) or - (minus sign) next to the Zoom option to make objects on the screen larger or smaller.

Zoom settings in Microsoft Edge

Change the Windows desktop background

You can personalize the pattern or image on the Start screen background.

  1. In Windows, search for and open Background image settings. You can also right-click an open area of the desktop and then select Personalize.

  2. To change the image or color that displays in the background, select Picture, Solid color, or Slideshow from the drop-down menu.

    Background and color options
  3. Choose a picture, color, slideshow, or click Browse to select one of your pictures or slideshows.

  4. To change the way the picture displays on the background, select Fill, Fit, Stretch, Tile, Center, or Span from the drop-down menu. Changes take effect immediately.

    Change the background fit.

Adjust the desktop icons

Change settings to adjust the appearance of icons, display missing desktop icons, and add new folders or shortcuts to the desktop.

Adjust the size of desktop icons

You can change the size of the icons on a Windows desktop.

To change the size of desktop icons, right-click an open area of the desktop, select View and then click Large icons, Medium icons, or Small icons.

Note:

To quickly adjust the size of all icons at once, click an open area of the desktop, and then press and hold the ctrl key and use the scroll wheel on the mouse.

Adjust desktop icon size.

Rename a desktop icon

You can rename a desktop icon.

  1. To rename a desktop icon, right-click the icon, and then select Rename.

  2. Type the new name, and then press enter.

    Rename a desktop icon

Display missing desktop icons

If all desktop icons are missing, you can restore them using this step.

If all desktop icons are missing, right-click an open area of the desktop, select View, and then make sure that Show desktop icons is selected.

Show desktop icons

Create a new folder

To create a new folder that is displayed on the desktop, use the following procedure.

  1. To create a new folder on the desktop, right-click an open area of the desktop, select New, and then select Folder.

  2. Type a name for the folder, and then press enter.

    Create a new folder on the desktop.

Create a new shortcut on the desktop

To create a new shortcut on the desktop, drag and drop apps from the Start menu to the desktop.

You can also right-click an open area of the desktop, select New, and then select Shortcut. Follow the on-screen instructions to create the shortcut.

Create a new shortcut.

Change the appearance of windows and text for Windows features

You can personalize the appearance of Windows by choosing text colors, text background, window borders, and many other elements. You can also choose the font and size of text for different Windows features, such as menu items.

  1. In Windows, search for and open Themes and related settings. You can also right-click an open area of the desktop, and then select Personalize.

  2. In the Personalization window, select Background, Colors, Lock Screen, Themes, Fonts, Start, or Taskbar to open the corresponding settings window.

  3. Adjust the settings. Changes take effect immediately.

    Personalization window displaying the Lock screen settings.

Additional display settings

Open the advanced display settings or display adapter properties to view the modes, set the refresh rate, or manage the color and other advanced settings.

  1. Open the advanced display settings by searching for and opening Display settings in Windows. You can also right-click the desktop and open Display settings. Scroll down and click Advanced display settings.

    Opening the advanced display adapter properties.
  2. In the Advanced display settings window, select a display to see the current settings. To change the display settings, click Display adapter properties.

  3. Click a tab to adjust the corresponding settings.

    Note:

    Your computer might have more tabs than those listed here. Many video card manufacturers provide settings designed for their video hardware. These extra settings vary by the type of video hardware used and are not discussed here.

    • Adapter
      • Properties : Click the Properties button to access the hardware properties for your video card or on-board video hardware. This properties window can also be accessed through Device Manager.

      • List all modes : Lists all the supported graphic resolutions and refresh rates that can be sent to the monitor by the video card or on-board video hardware. You can use the list of valid modes to find a mode that is compatible with the monitor you are using. After finding a compatible mode, you can change the refresh rate from the Monitor tab, and the display resolution from the Settings tab of the basic display properties window.

    • Monitor
      • Properties : Click the Properties button to access the hardware properties for your monitor. This properties window can also be accessed through Device Manager.

      • Screen refresh rate : Determines how many times the monitor displays an entire screen in one second. Higher refresh rates might be more pleasing to the eye, but cause the video hardware to work harder and use more resources. Select a lower rate that is compatible with the adapter. If you can detect minute flickering or the change bothers your eyes, try adjusting the rate to the next available higher rate. Never exceed the rate available to the monitor.

        CAUTION:

        Do not remove the selection next to Hide modes that this monitor cannot display. Changing the refresh rate to a rate that the monitor cannot accept might permanently damage some monitors.

    • Color Management :

      The Color Management tab provides settings to change the color output to the monitor. Typically, you would not use Color Management unless a special situation called for it, such as matching the colors on the monitor to the colors on a printer. Adjusting this setting changes the color output for everything displayed in Windows and should be done only if needed.

  4. Click Ok to save your changes and close the window.

Change the screen saver

Windows is preloaded with a number of screen savers that you can choose from.

  1. In Windows, search for and open Change screen saver. The Screen Saver Settings window displays.

  2. Select a screen saver from the menu.

    Screen saver settings.
  3. Click Settings to open a settings window for the selected screen saver (if settings are available).

  4. Click Preview to see how the screen saver displays on the computer screen. Move the mouse when finished previewing the screen saver.

  5. Select the number of minutes in the Wait field. This is the number of minutes of inactivity before the screen saver opens.

    Note:

    Make sure the Wait time for the screen saver is lower than the number of minutes before the computer enters a sleep state.

  6. If you want the computer to require login credentials when the session is resumed, select On resume, display logon screen.

  7. Click Ok to save the settings and close the Display Properties window.

Troubleshoot the screen saver

If the screen saver does not open after the selected time has elapsed, the issue might be due to activity from certain hardware devices. Use Device Manager settings to prevent these hardware devices from interfering with the screen saver.

  1. In Windows, search for and open Device Manager.

  2. Double-click the device type that might be interfering with the screen saver, then double-click the device name to open the Properties window.

    Some devices that commonly interfere with a screen saver are an optical mouse (Mice and other pointing devices), an "always-on" internet connection (Network adapters), and high-definition audio (Sound, video and game controllers).

  3. Click the Power Management tab, and then remove the selection from Allow this device to wake the computer.

    Note:

    If you prevent the mouse from waking the computer, you can wake the computer using the spacebar on the keyboard.

    Power management tab for a mouse.
  4. Click OK, close any open windows, then restart the computer.

  5. Disconnect all nonessential connected devices such as printers, scanners, and USB drives.

  6. Restart the computer with only the original mouse, monitor, and keyboard connected.

    If this resolves the sleep/standby problem, one of the connected devices was causing the problem. Replace one device and test to see if the problem occurs again. Continue adding devices and testing until you find the device that is causing the problem.