How do I make my desktop icons larger?

Question

I have Vista at work and XP at home. I like how the Vista desktop icons are large. I would like to know if there is a way to make the desktop icons larger with XP. My desktop resolution is already on high.

Answer 1

Reduce your screen resolution and your icons will get bigger.

There is a free program from microsoft called "power toys" or "Tweak UI" which will allows you to set icons to any size you want, regardless to screen resolution.

Answer 2

I'm assuming that you mean your resolution is set lower (800x600) so that everything on the screen is larger. If you've already tried that, then you can enlarge the icons in Windows XP with the following:

Right-click on the desktop and choose Properties from the drop-down.

Click on the Appearance tab.

Click on the Effects button.

Click on the box for Use Large Icons.

Click on the Apply button.

By the way, you can enlarge the icons for either of the screen resolutions.

Answer 3

Without changing the screen resolution to something small (1024x768, or even 800x600) there's no obvious way of achieving what you're after.

Vist icons have a maximum size of 256 x 256 pixels, making them suitable for high-DPI displays. These high-resolution icons allow for high visual quality in list views with large icons. This maximum size isn't required for icons used solely for menus, toolbars, glyphs or small symbols, or the notification area.