App Scaling on High DPI Displays (2018 Edition)

Not all apps on Windows can handle high DPI screens yet, even such which you would assume would, like Adobe apps. The shift to high DPI screens is coming. Two years ago I wrote about this in a post called “How to Fix App Scaling on High DPI Screens“. Fast forward to 2018, Microsoft released a Windows Update which will help you with this issue. It makes it much easier to fix this issue. Windows now has a built-in setting to deal with the high DPI issue. It makes the old solution obsolete and it is now very easy to fix issues like this.  

Update: Just wanted to let everyone know that this solution still works in 2023 and I have used it on numerous older applications for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Step by Step Guide

1. Right-click the shortcut icon of the application which you want to fix

2. Select “Properties” (If the icon is in the taskbar, you will have to right-click the app icon in the start menu)

3. Select the “Compatibility” tab

4. Click on “Change high DPI settings” at the bottom of the tab

5. Check Mark “Override high DPI scaling behavior” at the bottom

6. Select “System (Enhanced)” from the drop-down list

6. Click on “OK” and then “OK” again to apply the changes
7. Launch the application to see the difference and enjoy.

Note about fixing high DPI issues

Even though this works with most applications, there are some applications where this fix will help but you might have some cut off lines of text. It makes it easier to use the actual app but it can have some negative effects if it comes to the “appearance” of the app. Overall, I think it is still better if the app looks to 90% better but has a few cut off lines of text. Alternatively you can contact the developer and tell them you would like to get a fix for this. 

Update: Even in 2023 there are still plentiful of apps out there, which have issues with high DPI screens. Some of them are abandoned by the developer and others work well enough with this fix and the developer doesn’t care about fixing it in the app.

Change high DPI scaling for all users

If you have multiple user accounts on your PC, it makes sense to change the high DPI scaling for all users. The process is very similar. Follow steps 1 to 3 as above.

• After that click on the button “Change settings for all users”. 
• A new window will open. Click on “Change high DPI settings” button at the bottom of the window. 
• Another new window will pop up, here you will checkmark “Override high DPI scaling behavior” at the bottom of the window.
• Select “System (Enhanced)” in the drop-down list.

You have to have administrator access to change this setting for all users.