To change the size of your desktop icons in Windows 11, right-click an empty part of the desktop, select View, and choose Large icons, Medium icons or Small icons. For a size in between, click the desktop, then hold Ctrl and scroll your mouse wheel up to make the icons bigger or down to make them smaller. Medium icons is the default. If the real problem is a crowded desktop, you can also clear your desktop without deleting files.
Applies to: Windows 11. Checked against Microsoft Support on September 30, 2026.
This is the quickest way, and it gives you three preset sizes.
- Minimize your open windows, or press Windows logo key + D to show the desktop.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, away from any icons.
- Select View.
- Choose Large icons, Medium icons or Small icons.
Your icons change size straight away. The change applies only to the desktop. It doesn’t affect File Explorer windows, the Start menu or the taskbar. To enlarge the icons on the taskbar instead, see how to make taskbar icons bigger in Windows 11.
The same View menu has three other options that are useful after resizing:
- Auto arrange icons lines your icons up in columns from the top left, so they don’t overlap.
- Align icons to grid keeps icons evenly spaced when you drag them around.
- Show desktop icons hides or shows every icon on the desktop. If your icons have disappeared, make sure this has a check mark.
Method 2: Hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel
This gives you more sizes than the three presets, so you can choose exactly how big the icons look.
- Click an empty area of the desktop so it’s selected.
- Press and hold Ctrl.
- Scroll the mouse wheel up to make the icons bigger, or down to make them smaller.
- Release Ctrl when the size looks right.
On a laptop touchpad, you can hold Ctrl and slide two fingers up or down, or use a pinch gesture on some touchpads. There’s a limit in each direction, so the icons stop changing once they reach the largest or smallest size.
Method 3: Use keyboard shortcuts
You can also switch between the preset sizes from the keyboard. Click the desktop first so it’s selected, then press:
- Ctrl + Shift + 1 for extra large icons
- Ctrl + Shift + 2 for large icons
- Ctrl + Shift + 3 for medium icons (the default)
- Ctrl + Shift + 4 for small icons
Use the number keys along the top of the keyboard, not the number pad. Extra large isn’t in the View menu, so this shortcut is the easiest way to get very large icons.
Method 4: Make everything bigger with display scaling
If the icons are hard to see because everything on your screen is small, change the scale instead. This makes text, apps, icons and other items bigger together.
- Right-click the desktop and select Display settings. Or select Start > Settings > System > Display.
- Under Scale & layout, open the Scale list.
- Choose a larger percentage, such as 125% or 150%.
Windows marks one option as (Recommended) for your screen. If only text is too small, go to Settings > Accessibility > Text size instead and drag the slider. That makes text bigger without changing the size of anything else.
Avoid lowering your Display resolution to make icons bigger. It does make everything larger, but it also makes the screen look blurry. Keep the resolution marked (Recommended) and change the scale.
Change icon size in File Explorer
Folders and files in File Explorer have their own icon size, separate from the desktop.
- Open File Explorer and go to the folder you want to change.
- Select View on the command bar.
- Choose Extra large icons, Large icons, Medium icons or Small icons. You can also choose List, Details, Tiles or Content.
You can hold Ctrl and scroll inside a File Explorer window too. Windows remembers the view for each folder, so you may need to change it in more than one place.
Change the size of taskbar icons
Windows 11 doesn’t have a setting to resize only the taskbar icons. Changing the display Scale makes them bigger along with everything else. To make the taskbar take up less room, see how to make the taskbar smaller in Windows 11.
If your icons don’t look right
- The icons changed size on their own. You probably held Ctrl while scrolling on the desktop by accident. Right-click the desktop, select View, and choose Medium icons to go back to the default.
- The icons are all bunched up or overlapping. Right-click the desktop, select View, and turn on Auto arrange icons and Align icons to grid.
- The icons are too big after connecting a monitor or projector. Each screen can have its own scale. Go to Settings > System > Display, select the screen at the top, and check its Scale.
- Your icons are missing. Right-click the desktop, select View, and select Show desktop icons. To bring back This PC or the Recycle Bin, see how to show This PC on the desktop in Windows 11.
- One icon looks blurry at a large size. Some older apps only include small icon images, so Windows stretches them. You can pick a different icon for a shortcut. See how to change desktop icons in Windows 11.
Some guides suggest editing the registry to change the space between desktop icons. That’s easy to get wrong and can make the desktop hard to use, so try the View options above first.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the default desktop icon size in Windows 11?
Medium icons. Choose it from the View menu, or press Ctrl + Shift + 3 on the desktop, to go back to it.
Why is Extra large missing from the View menu?
Windows 11 only lists three sizes in the desktop menu. Use Ctrl + Shift + 1, or hold Ctrl and scroll up, to get extra large icons.
Can I make one icon bigger than the others?
No. Every desktop icon uses the same size.
Do I need administrator rights to change icon size?
No. Icon size is a personal setting, so it only changes the desktop for the account you’re signed in to.
Will changing the icon size move my icons?
It can. Larger icons take more space, so Windows may shift some to a new column. Turn on Auto arrange icons if you want them in neat rows again. If you would rather keep your own layout, see how to keep desktop icons from moving in Windows 11.
Next steps
To change what your icons look like, see how to change a folder icon in Windows 11 and how to customize Windows 11. On a Windows 10 PC, see how to change icon size on Windows 10. Microsoft covers the desktop in Customize the desktop icons in Windows.
Related: how to change the font in Windows 11.
Related: how to add an icon to the desktop in Windows 11.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.