How to Access “Advanced Appearance Settings” Option and Change Font Size, Color in Windows 8 and Later?

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1. Try Linux (Mint, openSUSE, and Ubuntu are the easiest to start with. Distrowatch is a good place to start).

2. On my students computers I would like to limit the size of their video displays to less then full screen. (Full screen interferes my monitoring of the open web sites they have when using a program called Interclass) Can I limit the size they can open a video up to?

3. In answer to the two people who were unable to restore a lower screen DPI setting due to the Apply button being off the bottom of the screen: After selecting the desired DPI setting, simply press the [Apply] button’s keyboard shortcut, which is [Alt]+[A].

4. I would like to change the font face (instead of having the Segoe UI font I would like another one)

5. How can I change my icon font to Times of New Roman Italic???????

6. For the people who have the gigantic icons, Just hold CTRL and use the scroll wheel on your desktop, that will make them either larger or smaller
   As for my problem, Im wanting to change the font colors for the title box’s, I want to run “black” as my folder box’s and all over theme color, but the stupid font is in black too…. So needing to change it to a brighter color. Its looking like this isn’t a option in windows 8, (I wish i never installed the damn OS) but that’s what came with this laptop.. To whom wrote Microsoft should put out a add on for these preferences i agree

7. This is a dealbreaker for me. I’ve been working hard to learn to live with this dammed W8 but I see as they get more and more narcissistic and control freaky, the more they take away what I rely on.

   If I MUST have something different forced down my throat, I’ll go to a Mac.

   MS stupidity has caused me to go 100% to Firefox (IE is intolerable) and now will push me to Apple. But first, I will downgrade to W7.

8. This falls into the “OMFG are you effing KIDDING ME?” category.
   Seriously, you’re joking right? You can’t change the font? I want a monospaced serif font. Maybe tomorrow I’ll want a monospaced terminal font. Maybe I want Times Roman. I do this all the time in Windows 7. Are you seriously telling me the only font choice is the default? This is a prank right? Because you can’t be serious.

9. That good contribution, but enter the address of the Windows Registry 8.1, seeking to modify the fonts and did not know how. Can you help ?. download the fonts that I want to default, but not how to apply for registration.

10. Thanks VG. I Have a question I would like the title font instead of Segoe UI would be Calibri for example, which value do I should change?

11. Please help. I am dyslexic and have changed my back ground colour in ‘windows appearance and colour’ box in personalise setting since using Windows 95. I have tried to understand and customise the new way of trying to do this through the ‘high contrast’ options in personalization in Windows 8, but it changes the whole of the look of office applications. I just want the back ground page in word, excel, access to be the lilac colour las I can set in Windows 7 and earlier. I can no longer do this without the whole look of office changing. Also the 3 options of white, light gray and Dark gray in the office tool bars are not dark enough or the contrast is still to similar to the white page. It appears too ‘flat’ and is very hard on the eyes. As a person who relied very much on being able to change the background colour of the page I am typing on, I feel discriminated against with windows 8 and office 2013. I have emailed Microsoft for support and to complain, but have had no response. Thankfully it is only my work computer that has windows 8. I still have windows 7 at home.

12. ^^ Try following:

    Open Registry Editor as mentioned in the above tutorial and go to following keys one by one:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Colors

    In right-side pane, change value of Window to 200 162 200

    Restart your system.

13. I have Windows 8.1 and this doesn’t work to change title bar color.

14. Why the heck would you want to remove that nice clear white UI?! Oh I get it, it’s the geeks hidden in their moms basement that require dark grey interfaces, the darker the better, just as their souls… What a bunch of whiny dorks.

15. As a programmer, you have to remember that some programs use default settings, but many programs control their own colors. For example many web pages have an HTML setting for the background color. Good programs will use the GetSysColor operating system call to determine the user’s choices and then pick their own colors in concert – if possible. However most programs don’t do this.

    These registry settings and GetSysColor have worked on all versions of Windows NT from at least NT3.5, to Windows 2000, to current Windows 8.1. It’s just how the Windows front end chooses to expose it to you.

    The proper way to change a system color is with the SetSysColors op system call. This changes the registry and notifies all other running programs to examine color settings and change. When you manually change the registry, this notification is not done.

    And Rebecca K – I like to change the white backgroud from “255 255 255” to “248 248 248” to reduce glare.

16. Rebecca K – some people (including some with dyslexia) have problems reading black text on a white background, especially on a computer screen. I have this problem and even wear tinted lenses much of the time because the administrator blocks on my work computer won’t allow me to make the changes I want to make the screen easier to read.
    Please keep your prejudice assumptions and rude comments to yourself. And for the record I colour my background blue, a nice postal light blue.

17. Thank you, this help me a lot,
    The only question is why M$ removed this feature?

18. Haha thanks! Some people keep changing it on the school computers 😐

19. Nobody has given an answer as i wanted to find out how to change the icon color

20. Maybe I misunderstood,… “Then open Registry Editor and take a backup of the above mentioned Registry keys by right-click on them and select Export option. It’ll create .REG files. Copy those REG files to Windows 8 computer and run them.”. But wouldn’t this be dangerous to run the registry settings of a Win7 computer on some other Win8 computer ? Given the fact that many other registry keys might not even apply ?

21. ^^ Only the backup of mentioned key will not create any problem.

22. Hi VG,

    Neat solutions 🙂 I have a problem in windows 10 – I’m somewhat disabled – I use Dragon dictation and need to keep an eye on its result box. The result box uses the font for the tooltip setting.

    When I change the tooltip setting in the normal GUI windows 10 method it simply does not stick – the size of the result box in Dragon remains the same size to accommodate the larger font size of the tooltip but the font inside reverts back to the 9 point basic will not keep the new settings after shutting down and reloading Dragon.

    I was hoping for some instructions to change it in the registry in the hopes that this might cause to be permanently changed. I read your post too late 🙁 because I can see that the best solution would be to set it all up in Windows 7 exactly how you wanted all these types of things to be and then make copies of all the particular registry keys and so import them into windows 10 but unfortunately just yesterday I destroyed my Windows 7 image.

    It would be nice to change the background colour of this particular Results Box but I have no idea where the settings would be – at present they are a pale yellow which is okay if the font is bold, black and large

    Can you please help, cheers for now, Dan

23. I started reading this article because I wanted to increase the size of title bar font. By the end of it I am more confused than at the start. No Screen Resolution in Win 10 Home and using Reg Edit which of the dwords in the Windows Metrics folder needs to be edited to increase title bar font? Thanks

24. Hi, I need to get to the Appearances & Personalization controls. I do not know where to find them. I simply want images when I download images, not the generic icon. I cannot even see the image to post it now. I understand it to be the default setting and I never changed it myself. I truly thank you for any and all help. I really need it soon if possible. I’m sure you do your best.

25. On my desk top icons the font is set to a shadow mod appearance which makes it hard on my eyes.
    How to change font appearance to normal appearance????

26. ^^ Type sysdm.cpl in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open System Properties. Now go to Advanced tab, click on Settings button in Performance section. Uncheck “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop” option and apply changes.

27. Rebecca K. – you’re the whiney dork. 10 is dreadful. 2019 and it’s actually got worse.

28. Thanks for the Run command explorer.exe shell:::{C555438B-3C23-4769-A71F-B6D3D9B6053A} I am having trouble with several Display links do you know the shell command to put in the Run field for “Change display settings” (Windows 7) and Adjust resolution. These settings all got screwed up when I ran Advanced System Repair and their support was no help.

    Thank you.

29. Hi VG. You replied above to someone, about eliminating Desktop drop-shadows: “Type sysdm.cpl in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open System Properties. Now go to Advanced tab, click on Settings button in Performance section. Uncheck “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop” option and apply changes.”

    I am having a trouble with drop-shadows periodically getting reactivated. I all cased that checkbox is not ticked, and the associated Registry settings have drop-shadows deactivated. What else can be controlling this?

30. ^^ Where are you seeing the drop shadow effect?