How to change the size of your icons

Thu, 02/01/2007 - 17:41 — George

When I installed and logged into Windows Vista, the first thing that I noticed were the big icons from my desktop. Immediately I searched for a way to make them smaller. So far, this is the easiest method I found:

Desktop Icons

Minimize all the windows you have open (if any), then press and hold the "Ctrl" key and scroll up or down with your mouse wheel. This will allow you to increase or decrease the size of the icons from your desktop.

Desktop Icons

In Windows Explorer you can do the same thing to change the size of the icons shown. Press and hold the "Ctrl" key and scroll up/down with your mouse wheel.

Views

Alternatively, click on the small arrow near the "Views" button from the upper menu. A drop down menu will appear and you can select the size you want for the icons shown in Windows Explorer.

Views

Comments

Thu, 06/05/2008 - 18:38 — Pabita Pushker (not verified)

Cheers

Thank you!

Thu, 06/19/2008 - 00:43 — Anonymous (not verified)

thanks a lot i thought i'll

thanks a lot i thought i'll have to install a driver but your method was easy one thanks again.

Tue, 07/01/2008 - 23:05 — Leo/California (not verified)

Desk Top Icon size

I have a laptop, so no mouse with wheel. Any suggestions on how to do it without a mouse???

Fri, 08/15/2008 - 00:26 — Sandi Hudson (not verified)

Thank you!

I've hated those massive icons since the day I got this computer! I've seriously considered just going back to my old PC. I don't like icons anyway (is there a way to get rid of them altogether??) so these monster-sized things on my desktop were driving me nuts!

Sat, 08/16/2008 - 03:44 — mariana (not verified)

thanks

you guys are the best mi little girl touched something and the desktop icons where huge i spent 2 hours checking control panel ,personalization etc etc and nothing I called technical support nothing then i decide to google "how to change icon size on a desktop" i search and found this . I resolved in two seconds hahahaha this is the best.......

Sat, 08/16/2008 - 22:44 — bapodaca53 (not verified)

Icons Way tooooo BIG

Thank you so much for the help. My 2 yr old made them so big you couldn't do anything. You helped me fix it. Thanks again.

Mon, 08/18/2008 - 10:12 — Naveen (not verified)

Large in vista

it is so simple to change the desktop icons in vista using with cntl & scroll, thanks alot really really helped me out

Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:13 — Anonymous (not verified)

THANKS SO MUCH

Thank you so much. I have had my friends children around at my house, and they fiddled with all of my settings, and i spent 3 days trying to put all of it back to normal :D

THANKS :P

Thu, 08/21/2008 - 10:54 — Wayne (not verified)

Thanks for the help, a mate

Thanks for the help, a mate who thought I knew everything asked me how to reduce the size and I was stumped, I didn't like the large icons either. Much appreciated.

Sun, 08/24/2008 - 12:45 — Katwoman (not verified)

trouble with laptop vs desktop

I agree with Leo above -- I have a laptop with touchpad, so no mouse or trackball. Unfortunately, can't get CTRL button to make a difference. My icons (and even the size of my wallpaper!) change spontaneously, then resume their normal (smaller) size after a few weeks. Any suggestions for how to fix this (rather than just waiting it out and praying for the best) would be appreciated! It is more than a simple annoyance -- the size issue impacts databases and data registries I need for work!

Login / Register