Are you having some difficulties in correctly displaying icons and writings on the desktop and, therefore, would you like to understand how to enlarge the PC screen ? Well, it will probably be trivial to most people, but if you are here now and reading this guide it is clear that things are not exactly this way for you. How do you say? Is this the situation you are in and would you like to know if I can help you? Of course yes, do not worry. If you dedicate some of your precious time to me, in fact, I can show you, with this tutorial, everything that is possible to do to succeed in the enterprise.
Before you can get alarmed and think about who knows what, however, I would like to point out right away that you will not have to do anything overly complex or that is in any case out of your reach. It is all very simple, even for those who, a bit like you, are not exactly practical in terms of new technologies. I also anticipate that the operation is feasible on both Windows and macOS and that you just need to take advantage of the predefined functions of the operating system in use.
Having said that, if you are therefore actually interested in learning more about the subject, I suggest you get comfortable in front of your multimedia station, take a few minutes just for yourself and devote yourself to reading the information I am about to give you. I am sure that in the end you will be satisfied and that you will also be ready to give any support to all your interesting friends on the same topic. Let it bet?
Index
- How to enlarge the PC screen: Windows
- Settings to enlarge the PC screen
- How to enlarge the PC screen with the keyboard
- How to enlarge the PC screen on the TV
- How to enlarge the PC screen: Mac
- Settings to magnify the Mac screen
- How to enlarge the Mac screen with the keyboard
- How to magnify the Mac screen on the TV
How to enlarge the PC screen: Windows
If you want to find out how to enlarge your PC screen and you are using Windows , the instructions to which you must follow are the following. You will find explained how to do this by intervening on the operating system settings, acting from the keyboard and also how to intervene on external screens, such as that of the TV.
Settings to enlarge the PC screen
To be able to enlarge your PC screen, you need to change the Windows settings by adjusting the resolution . If you are using Windows 11 and 10 , right-click with the mouse in a point on the desktop without icons and select the Screen settings item from the context menu that appears.
In the window that opens on the desktop, choose the screen resolution you want to set from the Screen resolution drop-down menu and press the Keep changes button to apply the changes made. In case you have to choose an unsuitable resolution for your monitor and you are no longer able to see anything, don’t worry: without pressing any key, wait 15 seconds, after which Windows will automatically reset the resolution used previously.
You can also go to specifically zoom in on menus, text and other elements visible on the screen. To do this, on Windows 11 directly choose the magnification level from the Resize drop-down menu or set a custom percentage by clicking on the Resizing item , typing a desired value in the Custom Resizing field and pressing the check mark button . Then choose the Text Size option , move the appropriate cursor and click the Apply button .
If you are using Windows 10, click on the Advanced scaling settings item , use the text box corresponding to the Custom scaling box to enter the zoom percentage you prefer and press the Apply button . Once the changes have been completed, in order to apply them, answer in the affirmative to the notice relating to the need to log out of the account.
If, on the other hand, you are using Windows 8 and Windows 7 , to change the screen resolution click with the right mouse button anywhere on the desktop where there are no icons and choose the Screen resolution item from the menu you buy. In the window that opens, use the drop-down menu located next to the Resolution item to set a screen resolution other than the one in use, then press the Apply and OK buttons . to save the changes.
As for the possibility of changing the size of menus, text and other elements , go to the desktop, right-click in an empty part of the same and select the Personalize item from the menu that appears.
In the window that opens, select the Screen item located in the left sidebar, in order to access the settings relating to the size of the characters displayed. Then choose how much to increase the size of the writings by placing the check mark next to the option that you consider most appropriate and first click on the Apply button and on the Disconnect now button to disconnect and make the changes effective. Note that only if you are using Windows 8, before you can make the changes in question you will need to select the option Allow me to choose the scaling level for all displays .
If you want to customize the DPI on the screen even more precisely, click on the Custom text size settings (DPI) item if you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7 or on the Custom size options item if you are using Windows 8 / 8.x and set the value that you think can do more for you from the drop-down menu located at the top right, in the window that is shown to you.
How to enlarge the PC screen with the keyboard
It is also possible to enlarge the PC screen by using the keyboard . To do this, just use the Magnifying Glass tool , a utility pre-installed in all the latest versions of Microsoft’s operating system which, as the name suggests, allows you to enlarge individual portions of the desktop in a very simple way, also and above all. using the appropriate keyboard shortcuts.
To open the utility in question, click on the Start button (the one with the Microsoft logo ) on the taskbar, type “magnifying glass” in the search field and select the relevant suggestion .
Once the Magnifier toolbar is displayed , use the following key combinations: Win + (+) to zoom in on the screen, Win + (-) to zoom out and the combination and Win + Esc to close the Magnifier tool . Alternatively, press the Ctrl + Alt keys and rotate the mouse wheel . You can also adjust the zoom level by pressing the (+) and (-) keys on the utility toolbar.
If you then want to change the type of display used for Magnifier, use these other key combinations: Ctrl + Alt + F to switch to Full Screen mode which allows you to zoom the entire screen, Ctrl + Alt + L to switch to Lens mode that allows you to magnify the screen only in correspondence with the precise area where the mouse pointer is located and Ctrl + Alt + D to switch to Anchored mode to display the zoom only in the special bar visible at the top of the desktop.
If you see fit, you can further customize how Magnifier works. To do this, if you are using Windows 11 , click on the Start button , select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) in the menu that opens and, in the window you see appear on the desktop, choose the Accessibility item from the side menu, then click on the word Magnifying glass on the right and intervene on the options relating to the type of display, the increase in zoom etc.
If you are using Windows 10 and earlier versions , however, you can act directly from the Magnifier toolbar, choosing the type of view you prefer from the Views drop-down menu and adjusting other available settings, such as the degree of change of the view when you use zoom in or zoom out or color inversion by clicking on the gear wheel icon.
How to enlarge the PC screen on the TV
Would you like to understand how to enlarge PC screen after connecting your computer to a TV or an external monitor? I’ll explain immediately how to do it, it’s child’s play!
To begin with, reach the section relating to screen resolution settings as I explained to you in the step at the beginning of the guide , then if you are using Windows 11 and 10 , first click on the screen you want to go to act on from the Multiple screens section in the first case and from that Multiple screens in the second case and then proceed as I explained to you in the previous lines.
If, on the other hand, you are using Windows 8 and earlier versions , select the screen you wish to act on from the Screen drop-down menu and proceed in the same way as I have already indicated.
On all versions of Windows, if the second monitor connected to your computer is not automatically identified you can click the Detect button to fix.
How to enlarge the PC screen: Mac
Now, let’s move on to the Mac side and find out how to enlarge the computer screen in this specific case. Also for what concerns macOS, below you will find explained how to succeed in the enterprise by intervening on the operating system settings, acting from the keyboard and also how to adjust the resolution of any externally connected screens.
Settings to magnify the Mac screen
In order to enlarge the screen of your Apple computer going to act on the resolution , first of all click on the System Preferences icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) that you find on the MacOS Dock bar . In the window that opens on the desktop, then select the Monitor item .
At this point, choose the Resized option and click on the resolution that you think best suits your case among those in the box below. The changes made will take effect immediately.
To intervene, instead, on the size of the characters displayed on the screen, right-click on an empty spot on the macOS desktop and choose the item Show View options from the menu that appears. Therefore, use the drop-down menu located next to the Text size item to set the size of the characters you prefer. From the same window you can also choose the size of the icons and the grid spacing . Again, changes are made instantly.
How to enlarge the Mac screen with the keyboard
If you prefer the use of keyboard shortcuts , I am happy to inform you that you can enlarge the screen of the PC, or rather the Mac, even in this way. To do this, just take advantage of the Zoom function , available among the accessibility options of macOS and which allows you to zoom in on specific parts of the screen, as if it were a magnifying glass.
To be able to use it, click on the System Preferences icon on the Dock bar , and in the window that appears on the desktop select the Accessibility item and then the Zoom item in the list on the left.
Then select the option Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom , if you want to control the zoom level with the keyboard only, or the option Use scrolling gestures with modifier keys to zoom , if you prefer to use a combination of keyboard and mouse.
Then use the Magnification style drop-down menu to define the type of enlargement, choosing between: Full screen to enlarge the entire screen, PIP (Picture in Picture) to intervene on a specific area of the desktop or Split screen to view the enlargement only in one half of the screen. To make further adjustments, both in terms of zoom and controls, click on the Advanced button .
After configuring the use of the Zoom function, use the key combinations cmd + alt + 8 to call up the zoom options, cmd + alt + (+) to enlarge the screen and cmd + alt + (-) to make it smaller.
If you have keyboard and mouse control set, hold down the ctrl key and go up with two fingers on the trackpad , the touch surface of the Magic Mouse, or swipe up the wheel on another mouse to zoom in. To decrease the zoom level, however, always hold down the ctrl key , go down with your fingers or with the scroll wheel of the mouse. Note that the zoom will follow the mouse pointer when it reaches one of the visible edges.
I also point out that if you want to make the text visible on the screen be enlarged when the mouse cursor passes, you must select the option Enlarge text on the passage of the cursor , then press the cmd key on the keyboard to enlarge what is there under the mouse and it’s done. Also, by clicking the Options button you can customize the size, font and position of the enlarged text.
How to magnify the Mac screen on the TV
Have you connected the TV to your Mac to be able to use it as an extension of your current screen or as an external monitor and would you like to understand how to adjust the magnification level of the latter? It’s that easy! To begin with, go to the section on macOS screen resolution settings , as I have already explained to you in the previous lines .
Next, press and hold the button option of the keyboard while clicking on the option Scale to view additional resolutions and select the option you prefer. The changes will be made instantly.
