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How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons

This wikiHow teaches you how to enlarge or shrink the taskbar icons in Windows 7. Taskbar icons are the icons that appear in the bar at the bottom of your computer's screen. You can safely adjust taskbar icon properties, as well as you...
Method 1 of 3:

Using Small Icons

  1. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 1How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 1
    Open Start
    How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 2How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 2
    . Click the Windows logo on a blue background in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 3How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 3
    Click Control Panel. This tab is on the right side of the Start menu.
    1. If you don't see Control Panel here, type "control panel" into Start and then click Control Panel when it appears at the top of the Start window.
  3. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 4How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 4
    Click Task Bar and Start Menu. It's toward the bottom of the Control Panel page. Doing so will open the Taskbar window.
    1. If you don't see this option, click the "View by" drop-down box in the top-right side of the window, then click Large Icons.
  4. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 5How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 5
    Click the Taskbar tab. This option is in the top-left side of the window.
  5. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 6How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 6
    Select a taskbar button type. Click the "Taskbar buttons" drop-down box, then click one of the following options:
    1. Always combine, hide labels - Condenses taskbar buttons into squares that display the program's icon, but not its label. Multiple windows from one program will fit into one taskbar button.
    2. Combine when taskbar is full - Displays rectangular taskbar buttons individually and with labels until the taskbar fills up, at which point buttons are combined into the square configuration mentioned above.
    3. Never combine - Taskbar buttons will remain rectangular with labels regardless of how many there are.
  6. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 7How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 7
    Check the "Use small icons" box. This box is near the top of the page. Doing so will shrink your Windows 7 icons on the taskbar.
    1. If this box is already checked, your computer is displaying small icons in the taskbar.
  7. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 8How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 8
    Click Apply, then click OK. This will save your changes and refresh the screen. Once the screen refreshes, your taskbar icons should be smaller (or larger) than they were before.
Method 2 of 3:

Adjusting Screen Resolution

  1. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 9How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 9
    Open Start
    How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 10How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 10
    . Click the Windows logo on a blue background in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 11How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 11
    Click Control Panel. This tab is on the right side of the Start menu.
    1. If you don't see Control Panel here, type "control panel" into Start and then click Control Panel when it appears at the top of the Start window.
  3. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 12How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 12
    Click Display. It's toward the top of the Control Panel page. Doing so will open the Display window.
    1. If you don't see this option, click the "View by" drop-down box in the top-right side of the window, then click Large Icons.
  4. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 13How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 13
    Click Adjust resolution. This link is in the upper-right side of the page.
  5. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 14How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 14
    Click the "Resolution" drop-down box. It's in the middle of the page. Doing so will prompt a drop-down menu with all of your monitor's possible resolutions listed.
  6. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 15How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 15
    Increase or decrease your screen's resolution. Click and drag the slider up to increase resolution and make icons smaller, or drag the slider down to decrease resolution and make the icons larger.
  7. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 16How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 16
    Click Apply.
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    Click Keep changes when prompted.
  9. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 18How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 18
    Click Make text and other items larger or smaller. This link is in the middle of the page. Doing so takes you to the Appearance and Personalization menu.
  10. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 19How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 19
    Select a size option. Click the circular button to the left of one of the following options:
    1. Smaller - 100%
    2. Medium - 125%
    3. Larger - 150% - Not all monitors will have this option.
  11. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 20How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 20
    Click Apply. It's in the lower-right side of the page.
  12. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 21How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 21
    Click Log off now when prompted. Doing so will log you out of your account. Once you log back in, all of your icons will be larger or smaller depending on the options you chose.
Method 3 of 3:

Setting a Custom Icon Size

  1. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 22How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 22
    Open Start
    How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 23How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 23
    . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 24How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 24
    Type run into Start. Doing so searches your computer for the Run program.
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    Click Run. This program, which resembles a speeding envelope, should be at the top of the Start window.
  4. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 26How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 26
    Type regedit into Run, then click OK. Doing so will open the Registry Editor program.
    1. You may have to click Yes when prompted before you can continue.
  5. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 27How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 27
    Open the WindowMetrics folder. To do so:
    1. Double-click HKEY_CURRENT_USER. It's in the top-left side of the Registry Editor window.
    2. Double-click Control Panel.
    3. Double-click Desktop.
    4. Click WindowMetrics.
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    Double-click MinWidth. This item should be on the right side of the Registry Editor window. Double-clicking it opens it in a new window.
    1. If you don't see the MinWidth item, first do the following: click Edit, select New, click String Value, type in MinWidth, and press ↵ Enter.
  7. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 29How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 29
    Enter in the new width. Type in a new width for icons, then press ↵ Enter. The default width for regular icons is 52, and the minimum you can enter is 32—anything smaller, and the icons will not display properly.
    1. You can enter values larger than 52, though icons too large will cause problems on the taskbar.
  8. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 30How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 30
    Restart your computer. Open Start, click ►, and click Restart to restart your computer.
  9. How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 31How to Customize the Size of the Windows 7 Taskbar Icons Picture 31
    Re-pin your icons. Windows caches icon images when applications are pinned, so you will need to re-pin any pinned icons for the new size to take effect. Right-click on each pinned icon and select "Unpin". You can then re-pin the program by right-clicking on it in the Start Menu and selecting Pin to Taskbar.[1]
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