Windows scaling issues for high-DPI devices

Summary

When you use a high-DPI device such as a Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, or Surface Book together with external monitors, you experience the following issues:

Elements such as applications, the taskbar, icons, toolbars, text, and dialog boxes appear to be fuzzy.

Elements are too large or too small compared to the rest of the desktop.

Blurry text appears in applications or in the Windows interface.

Although these symptoms may be seen on a single monitor, they’re more common when you use multiple monitors that vary in display resolution. These symptoms also occur when the hardware configuration changes, such as when you dock and undock a device that uses external monitors, or you detach an external monitor from the device.

These issues commonly occur in the following scenarios:

Applications are moved between monitors that use different display resolutions.

The monitor that applications are displayed on changes between docked and undocked configurations.

Users mix connections during the same logon session. For example, users log on through a remote desktop connection (RDC), and later connect directly without first logging off.

Display information is determined when a user logs on to the system. A logoff-logon process resets the display information and improves behavior. However, the issue recurs if the monitor configuration changes during the same logon session, such as when you dock or undock the device or detach an external monitor.

This issue has become more prevalent since the introduction of 4k and higher resolution monitors, especially when these monitors are mixed together with older, standard monitors.

For more information about how Windows scales applications, see the following Core Team Blog articles:

Resolution

To resolve this issue, use the following methods.

Check for software updates Improvements are continuously being added to Windows 10 and Office 2016 applications. If you are experiencing a specific issue, first check whether it has been resolved in the latest Windows release or cumulative update. To check Windows 10 updates, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Match screen resolutions Consider deploying monitors that have complementary screen resolutions.

When you use multiple monitors (including when you dock or connect to remote screens), a greater difference in the resolution between the native device and external device is more likely to cause the issues to occur. For more information, see the following OneDrive presentation:

Use UWP applications Use or deploy Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications instead of Win32 applications.

Modern (UWP) apps always scale correctly. If there is a comparable modern app available, you can substitute that app to mitigate the scaling issues. For example, Edge is a modern app that does not cause the DPI Scaling issues that Internet Explorer might experience. Similarly, Remote Desktop is an alternative to mstsc.exe.

Check for known issues See the following articles for more information about known issues in these specific products.

Note Office 2016 applications started being released starting in September 2016. Additional updates are scheduled to follow.
Internet Explorer

3165808 Internet Explorer 11 Window display changes between built-in device monitor and an external monitor

Workaround

To work around scaling issues, try the following methods:

Log out and in Log out and log back in to the system. This improves how applications and elements are displayed when the monitor configuration changes.

Adjust display settings Windows 10

Select Display > Change the size of text, apps, and other items, and then adjust the slider for each monitor.

Earlier Windows systems

Right-click the application, select Properties, select the Compatibility tab, and then select the Disable display scaling on high DPI settings check box.

Change application properties In Explorer or on the Start menu, right-click the application name, select Properties, select the Compatibility tab, and then select the Disable display scaling on high DPI settings check box.

Note: In Windows 10 Version 1703 and later version of Windows, the text of the Disable display scaling on high DPI settings option is changed to Override high DPI scaling behavior, scaling performed by: Application.

Check whether applications are DPI-aware To determine an application’s support of DPI Scaling, follow these steps:

In Process Explorer, click the columns, and then add the DPI Awareness column to the view.

Start the application that you want to check.

In Process Explorer, locate the application, and then examine the DPI Awareness column.

DPI Awareness status definitions

Per-Monitor Aware: Per-monitor DPI-aware. These applications check for the DPI when they are started, and adjusts the scale factor whenever the DPI value changes. These applications are not automatically scaled by the system.

System Aware: System DPI-aware. These applications do not scale for DPI changes. They query for the DPI one time, and then use that value for the lifetime of the application. If the DPI changes, the application does not adjust to the new DPI value. It will be automatically scaled up or down by the system when the DPI changes from the system value.

Unaware: DPI-unaware. These applications do not scale for DPI changes. They are always assumed to have a scale factor of 100 percent (96 DPI). These applications are automatically scaled by the system at any other DPI settings.

For more information, see the following MSDN topic:

Report an issue Many UI elements have been updated because of customer feedback. Because DPI Scaling issues can involve multiple symptoms and configuration, information from users can help us identify specific scenarios and prioritize the development of updates.

To provide such feedback, follow these steps:

Record monitor configurations. To do this, take a screenshot of Display window ( Start > Settings > System > Display).

For each monitor, note the make and model, scaling percentage, and resolution.

Record the steps that you must follow to reproduce the issue.

Take screenshots or video of the desktop or applications before and after the scaling issues occur.

Run DXDiag.exe on the system.

Select Start > Feedback Hub. Search on “DPI” to check whether any listed issue matches your specific issue. If you find a match, you can add additional feedback, including screen shots, DXDiag results, and any other relevant information.

More Information

Display scaling is a deceptively complex problem. There is no magic bullet or single fix to resolve all DPI Scaling problems. DPI Scaling benefits from continuous improvements in the core operating system, in application development models, and in applications from both Microsoft and third parties.

Different versions of Windows and application development models have different display scaling capabilities and limitations.

For example, in Windows that were released earlier than Windows 8.1, desktop environment and applications understand only one scale factor, generally based on the primary display at the time that the logon session starts. When the display changes in the middle of a logon session, the system bitmaps scale content from the system scale factor to the new monitor scale factor. This makes sure that content doesn’t become excessively large or small. However, text may appear blurred. (The effect is worse when you scale up.) If the system shrinks or stretches UI elements to the correct size, this may cause some blurriness in dialog boxes and other UI elements.

In Windows 10, investments were made so that large parts of the desktop UX will scale crisply in docking-undocking scenarios. Additional scalability improvements were made to the taskbar, File Explorer, desktop icons, context menu, and other UI elements to improve the user experience.

Microsoft is continuously updating the system and first-party applications. Third-party applications may require similar investments.

References

MSDN: Writing DPI-aware Win32 applications

Thurrott Blog: July 13, 2015 post that discusses DPI Scaling. Article is based on the «Devices» chapter of the Windows 10 Field Guide.

Windows Blog: July 15, 2013

Build 2015: Display Scaling: What it is and what you need to know about it to have great visuals

Build 2014: Windows Desktop Development Platform Advancements

Build 2013: Making your desktop apps shine on high-DPI displays

Display Options: How to change DPI Scaling Level for displays in Windows 10.

This article will show you how to change DPI Scaling Level for displays in Windows 10.

Dots per inch (DPI) is the physical measurement of the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch. DPI setting controls the size of the text, apps and icons.

A lower DPI setting will make them appear smaller and a higher setting will make them appear bigger. By default Windows has setting of 96 DPI.

CHANGE DPI SCALING LEVEL FOR DISPLAYS REGISTRY SETTING

1. Open Registry Editorby pressing Windows + R key combination, type in regeditand press Enter.
2. If prompted by UAC, press Yesto continue.
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
4. In right-side pane, look for a Win8DpiScalingand set the value to 1 and close Registry Editor.
5. Restart your computer.

CHANGE DPI SCALING LEVEL FOR DISPLAYS IN SETTINGS APP

1. Open Registry Editorand make the changes as described above.
2. Open Settingsand click on the System
3. Alternatively, right click on an empty area on your desktop and select Display.
4. In System, settings screen click on Displayoption from left side.
5. Under Change the size of text, apps, and other items: 100% (Recommended), move the slider left or right to the DPI percentage you want to set for that display.

CHANGE DPI SCALING LEVEL FOR DISPLAYS IN CONTROL PANEL

• Open Registry Editorand make the changes as described above in first step.
• Open the Control Panel (icons view)and select Display.
• Under Change size of items, click on the set a custom scaling level

• Drag the ruler left or right to the scaling percentage you want.
• Alternatively, select the scaling percentage you want in the drop down menu.
• Click on Applyand then Sign out now.

How to disable display scaling on high DPI setting for windows 10?

I just upgraded to windows 10 and noticed that some programs have the same issue with dpi scaling like on previous versions of windows (8.1/8/..). But on windows 10 I dont have the option (dont remember actually the name of it but was a check box nexet to the scaling setting) that fixed the problme for all the programs. In windows 10 i dont have that check box so I have to manually do the fix (right click->properties->compatibility->disable display sclaing on high DPI settings) for all my progmas but this works only for insitalled programs, I cant do it like for exampe: Device Manager so its blurry.

How ever I found out that if I set size of text, apps, other items to 150% will fix the issue, but I found out running that high on my notebook is making everything to BIG.

Hope that someone can help, thank you.

Replies (13) 

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Thank you for your interest in Windows 10.

If you’ve enabled scaling and the text in an application is blurred or unreadable, then the only option is to disable display scaling for that particular application. As stated, right-click the application’s shortcut and then click Properties. On the Compatibility tab, select Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Settings, and then click OK.

You can also search «dpiscaling» and change the scaling settings in the display window. In the display window, you can click on set a custom scaling level option and check if it helps.

Hope this information is helpful. Do let us know if you need any further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

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If you’ve enabled scaling and the text in an application is blurred or unreadable, then the only option is to disable display scaling for that particular application. As stated, right-click the application’s shortcut and then click Properties. On the Compatibility tab, select Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Settings, and then click OK.

You can also search «dpiscaling» and change the scaling settings in the display window. In the display window, you can click on set a custom scaling level option and check if it helps.

Hope this information is helpful. Do let us know if you need any further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

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If you’ve enabled scaling and the text in an application is blurred or unreadable, then the only option is to disable display scaling for that particular application. As stated, right-click the application’s shortcut and then click Properties. On the Compatibility tab, select Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Settings, and then click OK.

You can also search «dpiscaling» and change the scaling settings in the display window. In the display window, you can click on set a custom scaling level option and check if it helps.

Hope this information is helpful. Do let us know if you need any further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

Ok, I understand that the only fix for apps is by right click->etc. But for example how do I fix device manager witch is blurry?

Fantastic — dpiscaling fixed the problem for me! I just upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7. With Windows 10, text was fuzzy in all programs. Never had the problem before. I have a 1366 x 768 laptop screen. Selected 125% under DPI scaling «set a custom scaling level». Now all text is razor sharp in all programs in Windows 10, just as it was in Windows 7. Thank you!

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This isn’t helpful.

There is no compatibility tab when I right click the application (in this case, Powerpoint) icon, nor does it show up under «properties». I’ve tried this step on everything from start menu icons, quick start bar icons all the way down to the .exe file.

Right-clicking the .exe file gives me something called a «Compatibility Troubleshooter», which at least references the problem (Troubleshoot program —> The program opens but doesn’t display correctly —>Test the program —> Next) but doesn’t actually let me do anything other than test run the program — which still looks wrong.

Generally changing dpiscaling doesn’t seem right, since it is only some of my applications that have this problem. For example, powerpoint, acrobat, calculator and my desktop icons seem to have this problem, whereas word, excel and chrome look great. Finally, dpiscaling’s minimum setpoint seems to be 100%; given that I want to reduce the size of icons not increase them this doesn’t seem useful.

Note that this is on Windows 10 Pro, running with Admin rights.

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same problem my hi dpi laptops menus, fonts and pops are too small and I have limited control to fix it.

my only solution is to reduce the resolution until I find something usable

windows 10 is not ready for high dpi

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That didnt help.

I have problems with my new Surface Book. It’s frustrating with some objects.

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Scaling is a hit or miss kind of thing. So older programs never were designed for HD or higher screen resolutions. In order for display scaling to work in Windows 10 everything is set the same including those programs never intended to scale. This causes poor display issues for those programs, including blurry text, grainy and over sized windows. Sadly the choices are trying to make it a little better by disabling scaling for those programs, or fiddling with Windows 10 over all scaling so as those programs look better but will probably make everything else too small. I never realized this was such a problem until I bought my first HD laptop.

I had HD desktop monitors but they always displayed at 100% DPI so no real problems. It was no so with my laptop which has to raise DPI to 125% in order for everything to scale properly and not be too small. My wife actually has to scale her Envy laptop to 150% just so she can read some text. Of course this adds to the issues with older programs. These issues will be around for a while until all programs update and are designed to work with scaling.

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