- Open the ' Start ' menu by clicking on the ' Start ' button or by pressing the ' Windows ' logo key (located between the 'Ctrl' + 'Alt'keys on most keyboards) alternatively press ' Ctrl ' + ' Esc ' .
- Click on ' Settings ' or press the letter ' S ' on the keyboard.
- Click on ' Control Panel ' or press the letter ' C ' on the keyboard.
- Either double click on ' Display ' or press the ' D ' key until the ' Display ' item is highlighted and then press ' Enter'. This will bring up the ' Display Properties ' dialog box (see Fig 1) .
- Click on the ' Appearance ' Tab or press ' Ctrl ' + ' Tab ' until it is at the front.
Fig 1
As an example we'll change the font style of all the menus through out Windows from ' 8 point MS Sans Serif ' to ' 10 point MS Comic Sans ' . If you do not want to keep these changes, you can just press cancel at the end of the exercise.
- Click on the drop down box below the ' Item ' heading, or press ' Alt' + 'I ' to jump there.
- Use either the mouse or the up and down arrow keys to navigate through
the list of items. Each of these items can be modified individually. Move
down the list until ' Menu ' is highlighted and then press ' Enter ' . Any font
changes you now make will only apply to ' Menu ' items throughout Windows.
- Click in the ' Font ' drop down box or press ' Alt' + 'F ' to select it. Use the
mouse or the arrow keys to select the font you want to use, for example ' Comic Sans
MS ' (western).
- Click in the ' Size ' box to the right of the font dropdown box or press
' Alt' + 'E ' to jump there.
- Use the mouse or the arrow keys to scroll through the different sizes
and either click on the size you want, for example ' size 10 ' , and then click ' OK ' ,
or when the size you want is selected press ' Enter ' . Alternatively,
just type in ' 10 ' and press ' Enter '.
You should have returned to Windows. Now look at a menu to see the changes
you have made. If you are still not happy with the font, repeat the above
steps until you find a font style and size you are happy with.
Apart from the menus within Windows, many other items can also have their
font style modified. Just follow the above instructions, choosing, from any of the following items which can have their font style changed:
- Active titlebar
- Icon
- Inactive titlebar
- Menu
- Message box
- Palette title
- Selected items
- Tooltip
Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings cannot be changed due to local IT policies - contact your local IT support for further help.