How to Change Font Size on a Computer

Make your font bigger or smaller

Written by Scott St Gelais | Edited by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: February 25, 2023 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to change the text size on your Windows or Mac computer, as well as how to change your computer's web browser's text size.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

On Windows

1
Open Start
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2
Open Settings
. Click the gear-shaped icon in the lower-left side of the Start window.

Advertisement
3
Click System. It's a screen-shaped icon in the upper-left side of the Settings window.
4
Click Display. This tab is in the top-left corner of the window.
5
Click the "Change the size of text, apps, and other items" drop-down box. You'll find it near the middle of the Settings window. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
6
Click a size. In the resulting drop-down box, click a percentage which pertains to the amount you want to zoom in.
- The lowest size you can choose is 100%.
- Some text won't be changed until you restart your computer.
7
Consider using Magnifier. Magnifier is a feature which allows you to zoom in to view items on your screen without having to change other settings:
- Press ⊞ Win++ to bring up Magnifier (you can also type magnifier into Start and then click Magnifier to open it).
- Click - to zoom out to a maximum of 100%.
- Click + to zoom in to a maximum of 1600%.
- Place the cursor in one of the screen's corners to pan across the screen.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

On Mac

1
Open
Finder. Click the Finder app icon, which resembles a blue face in your Mac's Dock.
2
Click the View menu item. It's in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
3
Click Show View Options. This option is in the drop-down menu. Clicking it opens a pop-up window.
4
Click the "Text size" drop-down box. It's near the top of the View Options pop-up window.
5
Select a text size. In the resulting drop-down menu, click the font size you want to use.
- If you change your Finder's view to a different format, you'll need to redo this process.
6
Change your sidebar size. If you want your Finder's menu options to be larger, do the following:
- Click the Apple menu
  .
- Click System Preferences... in the drop-down menu.
- Click General.
- Click the "Sidebar icon size" drop-down box.
- Click a size (e.g., Medium).
7
Consider using your Mac's "Zoom" feature. Your Mac has an accessibility feature which allows you to zoom in without changing your system settings. You'll have to enable Zoom before you can use it:
- Click the Apple menu
  .
- Click System Preferences....
- Click Accessibility.
- Click Zoom.
- Check the "Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom" box.
- Use ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+8 to enable Zoom, then zoom in with ⌥ Option+⌘ Command++ to zoom in or ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+- to zoom out.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Using Google Chrome

1
Open
Google Chrome. Click or double-click the Chrome app icon, which resembles a red, yellow, green, and blue sphere.
- Keep in mind that, if you want to change the size of your web browser's menu items, you'll need to use your computer's Magnifier (Windows) or Zoom (Mac) feature.
2
Try changing a specific web page's font size. If you just need one specific web page to be zoomed in or out, you can use a keyboard shortcut to do so. This will only apply to the web page in question, and you may need to re-zoom if you clear your browser's cookies:
- Go to the web page for which you want to change the font size.
- Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (Mac).
- Zoom in by pressing the + key while holding down Ctrl or ⌘ Command.
- Zoom out by pressing the - key while holding down Ctrl or ⌘ Command.
3
Click ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.
4
Click Settings. You'll find this near the middle of the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Chrome Settings page.
5
Scroll down and click the "Font size" drop-down box. It's in the "Appearance" group of options near the top of the page. This will prompt a drop-down menu.
6
Select your preferred font size. In the drop-down menu, click the word (e.g., Medium) which pertains to the amount you want to zoom in or out.
7
Restart Chrome. To do so, close Chrome and then re-open it. This will ensure that any open pages reset to your preferred text size.

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Using Firefox

1
Open Firefox. Click or double-click the Firefox app icon, which resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
- Keep in mind that, if you want to change the size of your web browser's menu items, you'll need to use your computer's Magnifier (Windows) or Zoom (Mac) feature.
2
Try changing a specific web page's font size. If you just need one specific web page to be zoomed in or out, you can use a keyboard shortcut to do so. This will only apply to the web page in question, and you may need to re-zoom if you clear your browser's cookies:
- Go to the web page for which you want to change the font size.
- Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (Mac).
- Zoom in by pressing the + key while holding down Ctrl or ⌘ Command.
- Zoom out by pressing the - key while holding down Ctrl or ⌘ Command.
3
Click ☰. It's in the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.
4
Click Options. This is in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Options page.
- On a Mac, you'll click Preferences in the drop-down menu.
5
Scroll down to the "Language and Appearance" section. You'll find this near the top of the Options page.
6
Click Advanced…. It's in the lower-right side of the "Language and Appearance" section. A pop-up window will appear.
7
Uncheck the "Allow pages to choose their own fonts" box. This is near the bottom of the pop-up window.
8
Click the "Minimum font size" drop-down box. It's in the middle of the pop-up window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
9
Click a font size. In the drop-down menu, click the number you want to use for your browser's minimum font size.
10
Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window.
- If you choose a size higher than 24, Firefox will warn you that some pages may be impossible to use.
11
Restart Firefox. Close and re-open Firefox to do so. This will ensure that your settings are applied to all future Firefox pages.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Using Microsoft Edge

1
Open Microsoft Edge. Click or double-click the Microsoft Edge app icon, which resembles a blue (or white) "e".
- Keep in mind that, if you want to change the size of your web browser's menu items, you'll need to use your computer's Magnifier feature.
2
Click ⋯. It's in the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.
3
Zoom in or out. In the "Zoom" section of the drop-down menu, click the - icon to zoom out or click the + icon to zoom in.
- Unlike many web browsers, using this menu to zoom in or out on a web page will also apply the zoom to other webpages visited in Edge.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Using Safari

1
Open Safari. Click or double-click the Safari app icon, which resembles a blue compass in your Mac's Dock.
- Keep in mind that, if you want to change the size of your web browser's menu items, you'll need to use your Mac's Zoom feature.
2
Try changing a specific web page's font size. If you just need one specific web page to be zoomed in or out, you can use a keyboard shortcut to do so. This will only apply to the web page in question, and you may need to re-zoom if you clear your browser's cookies:
- Go to the web page for which you want to change the font size.
- Hold down Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (Mac).
- Zoom in by pressing the + key while holding down Ctrl or ⌘ Command.
- Zoom out by pressing the - key while holding down Ctrl or ⌘ Command.
- You can click View and then click Actual Size in the drop-down menu to return the web page to its original size.
3
Click Safari. It's a menu item in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
4
Click Preferences…. You'll find this option in the Safari drop-down menu.
5
Click the Advanced tab. It's in the upper-right side of the Preferences window.
6
Check the "Never use font sizes smaller than" box. This option is in the "Accessibility" list of options.
7
Click the "9" drop-down box. You'll find it to the right of the "Never use font sizes smaller than" line of text. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu to appear.
8
Select a text size. Click a number in the drop-down menu to use that number as your browser's default text size.
9
Restart Safari. To do this, close Safari and then re-open it. Doing so ensures that your font size settings will be applied across your browser.

Community Q&A

Question

How do you increase the Gmail font size?

Community Answer

Click the button on the right of the blue "send" button. Then click the button that looks like two letter Ts, and you can click on the font.
Question

How do I enlarge the size of the letters on my computer?

Community Answer

Go to control panel, and choose "Ease of Access" on Windows 7. In Windows 8.1 and 10, open your charms panel and type "Ease of Access" into the search box. There will be a number of ways to modify your computer display there. An easy trick is to hold down the CTRL key, and roll your mouse wheel.

Warnings

Unfortunately, you can't zoom out by using the Settings menu on a Windows computer; the lowest text size you can select is 100%.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0