How to Change Icon Size on Windows 10

To change icon size on the Windows 10 desktop, right-click an empty part of the desktop, select View, and choose Large icons, Medium icons, or Small icons. For more sizes, click the desktop, hold Ctrl, and scroll the mouse wheel. In a folder, open the View tab in File Explorer and pick a size in the Layout group.

Applies to: Windows 10. Checked against Microsoft Support on September 25, 2026.

Change desktop icon size

1. Right-click an empty part of the desktop.
2. Select View.
3. Select Large icons, Medium icons, or Small icons.

For a size in between, select an empty spot on the desktop, hold Ctrl, and scroll the mouse wheel up or down. On a touchpad, pinch in or out.

Change icon size in a folder

1. Open File Explorer and go to the folder.
2. Select the View tab.
3. In the Layout group, select Extra large icons, Large icons, Medium icons, or Small icons.

Holding Ctrl and scrolling the mouse wheel works in folders too. To use the same view in every folder of that type, select Options > Change folder and search options > View > Apply to Folders.

Keyboard shortcuts for folder views

In File Explorer, hold Ctrl + Shift and press a number key:

• 1: Extra large icons
• 2: Large icons
• 3: Medium icons
• 4: Small icons
• 5: List, 6: Details, 7: Tiles, 8: Content

Resize Start menu tiles

Right-click a tile in the Start menu, select Resize, and choose Small, Medium, Wide or Large. Some tiles only offer Small and Medium.

Change the space between desktop icons

There’s no setting for this, but a registry value controls it. Back up the registry first. In Registry Editor, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics and change IconSpacing (side to side) and IconVerticalSpacing (top to bottom). The default is -1125; numbers further from zero, such as -1500, add more space. Sign out and back in to see the change.

Make icons and text bigger everywhere

Select Start > Settings > System > Display and choose a larger size under Scale and layout. This makes icons, text, and apps bigger together.

If icon sizes keep changing or look wrong

• Icons changed size by themselves: holding Ctrl while scrolling resizes them, which is easy to do by accident. Pick a size again from the View menu.
• Icons look blurry: open Task Manager, select Windows Explorer, and select Restart.
• No desktop icons at all: tablet mode hides them. Turn it off in the action center, and check that View > Show desktop icons is checked.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change the size of taskbar icons?

Taskbar icons follow the display scale. You can also turn on Use small taskbar buttons in Taskbar settings to make them smaller. See how to change the taskbar size in Windows 10.

How do I make only the text bigger?

See how to increase font size in Windows 10.

My icons got huge after changing the resolution. What happened?

A lower resolution makes everything look bigger. See how to change resolution in Windows 10.

Can I make just one icon bigger?

No. Desktop icons all use the same size. To make one item stand out, give it a different icon by right-clicking the shortcut and selecting Properties > Change Icon.

Why is there no Extra large option on the desktop?

The desktop’s View menu only lists three sizes. Hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel on the desktop to go bigger than Large icons.

Some apps look blurry after I changed the scale. How do I fix it?

Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced scaling settings and turn on Let Windows try to fix apps so they’re not blurry. Signing out and back in also helps.

To give a folder a different picture instead, see how to change a folder icon in Windows 10.

On Windows 11, see how to change desktop icon size in Windows 11.

Microsoft’s guide is Change the size of text in Windows. More help is on our Windows Help & Guides page.

Related: how to make an icon for Windows 10.

Related: desktop icon text color in Windows 10.