Your Windows 10 display doesn't look quite right. Maybe the color is off. Maybe the text is too small (or too large). Maybe the resolution isn't to your liking. Well, don't despair. You can customize your display in Windows 10 to make it look just right; resize the text, change the resolution, calibrate the color, and more.
The process for customizing your display varies somewhat depending on your version of Windows 10. If you're still running a pre-Creators Update version, like the Anniversary Update, you follow one set of steps; Creators Update, which started rolling out in April, requires a different set of steps. Microsoft rarely makes anything simple. But you can still accomplish most of steps no matter which flavor of Windows 10 you're using.
How can you tell which version of Windows 10 you're running? Right-click on the Start button and look at the pop-up menu. If you see the Settings command in the menu, you have the Creators Update. If you see Control Panel in the menu, you do not have the Creators Update. Let's start with the process for those of you running Windows 10 without Creators Update.
Older Versions of Windows 10
First, click on the Start button > Settings > System > Display. Unless you've already changed it, the size of your text, apps, and other items should be set to 100 percent. But maybe you find the text too small to see and work with properly. In that case, move the slider under the option to "Change the size of text, apps, and other items" to 125 percent.
That increases the size of the text and other Windows elements.
If the text is still too small, you should be able to further bump it up to 150 percent, but you might find that too large; 125 percent may be the happy medium.
Next, you can change the brightness level. Move the slider under the option to "Adjust brightness level."
The higher the brightness level, the better you can see the screen. But this eats up the battery, assuming you're using a tablet or a laptop that's not plugged in. We'll revisit this issue a bit later; for now, bump up the brightness to the maximum level.
Now click on the link for Advanced display settings.
Here you can change the resolution; the smaller the resolution, the bigger the text and other elements. However, every PC display is optimized for a certain resolution based mostly on its size. So if you'd like things to appear larger, you're typically better off increasing the size of the text as described above and keeping the resolution at its optimal and recommended level.
You can also fine-tune your colors, a task that's suited for an external monitor, where you can control the color balance, contrast, and other elements. Click on the link for Color calibration.
Follow each screen in the "Welcome to Display Color Calibration" tool. You'll be asked to adjust the gamma, the brightness, the contrast, and the color balance.
When you're finished, Windows takes you to the ClearType Tuner, which can adjust your text to make it appear best for your display. Make sure ClearType is turned on, and then view the five thumbnail screens of text to decide which one looks best on each page.
When you've gone through all the TrueType screens, click on the Finish button. Your TrueType text should look at its best according to your preferences.
Next, click on the link for "Advanced sizing of text and other items."
You're taken to a Control Panel screen with several options for adjusting your display. We've already covered some of these. Two items remain. The screen displays a section to "Change only the text size." Click on each of the items in the first drop-down menu, such as title bars, menus, and message boxes. Then in the second drop-down menu, choose a point size for each item. This way you can increase or decrease the size of specific elements.
Finally, click on the setting to "Adjust brightness."
Here you can change the current brightness via the slider bar at the bottom of the screen. Then, make sure the option for Balanced (recommended) is selected. Click on the link to "Change plan settings."
Here you can determine if and when the brightness dims depending on whether your PC is running off battery power or is plugged in. For example, you may want to lower the brightness under battery power to make it dimmer but keep it at full brightness when plugged in. Adjust the sliders accordingly, click on Save changes, and you're done.
Windows 10 Creators Update
Okay, now let's tackle the same goals in the Windows 10 Creators Update. In this case, however, Microsoft giveth and they taketh away.
Redmond added some tricks to the Display screen under Settings, but for some inexplicable reason it removed the advanced display settings, so you can't change the size of title bars, menus, message boxes, and other elements. Sorry, Microsoft's ways don't always make sense.
Click on the Start button > Settings > System > Display. Maybe you find the text too small. Click on the drop-down menu to "Change the size of text, apps, and other items" and select one of the other percentages, such as 125 percent, 150 percent, or 175 percent.
That increases the size of the text and other Windows elements.
You can also opt for a custom size. Click on the link for "Custom Scaling." At the Custom Scaling screen, type a specific number in the text field, such as 115.
Sign out of Windows and sign back in for the changes to take effect. Return to the Display settings screen. You can turn off the Custom Scaling if you're not happy with it, in which case Windows returns to 100 percent scaling after you sign out and sign back in again. Again, return to the Display settings.
Next, you can change the overall resolution. Again, every PC display is optimized for a certain resolution based mostly on its size. If you still wish to tweak the resolution, click on the drop-down menu and change it to a different size. If you're happy with the new resolution, click on the button to "Keep changes." Otherwise, click on "Revert" to go back to your previous resolution.
You can also fine-tune your colors. Open Control Panel in Icon view. (You'll find Control Panel in the Start menu in the Windows System folder.) Click on the icon for Color Management.
In the Color Management window, click the Advanced tab and "Calibrate display."
Follow each screen in the "Welcome to Display Color Calibration" tool. You'll be asked to adjust the gamma, the brightness, the contrast, and the color balance.
When you're finished, Windows takes you to the ClearType Tuner. Make sure ClearType is turned on and then view the five thumbnail screens of text to decide which one looks best on each page.
When you've gone through all the TrueType screens, click on the Finish button. Your TrueType text should look at its best according to your preferences.
In the Windows 10 Creators Update, you can also adjust your brightness on a laptop or tablet. Open Control Panel in Icon view and click on the icon for Power Options. At the Power Options window, change the screen brightness by moving the slider left or right.
Further, you can set the brightness for a specific power plan. Click on "Change plan settings" for the plan you wish to tweak, such as the Balanced plan.
Here you can adjust the plan brightness based on whether your device is plugged in or running on battery power.
And that's about it for the Windows 10 Creators Update. Again, you have no option to tweak the size of the tiles bars and other elements in Windows. But at least you can still control and customize all the core aspects of your display.
For more, check out these other Windows 10 tutorials:
- How to Retrieve Folders, Files With Windows 10 Quick Access
- How to Run Windows 10 From a USB Drive
- How to Back Up and Restore an Image File of Windows 10
- How to Turn on Cortana by Voice in Windows 10
- How to Share More (or Less) Personal Data With Cortana
- How to Tweak Your Tiles in Windows 10
- How to Check Out Early Versions of Windows 10
- How to Customize Your Default Apps in Windows 10
- How to Find a Lost Windows 10 Device