How to Make Your Windows XP Screen Smaller

If everything on your XP monitor looks over sized, it can make icons, shortcuts and text difficult to view. As long as you are using a CRT monitor, you can change the monitor's resolution right from the desktop. The resolution is simply the number of pixels, which are little dots of colors, displayed on the screen. By changing this number, you can alter the size of the monitor's appearance in just a few simple steps.

Instructions

1. 

   Turn on the computer and close and currently running programs. Right click any blank area of the desktop. Select "Properties" from the right-click menu that is displayed.

2. 

   Click the "Settings" tab in the "Display Properties" dialog box.

3. 

   Click the slide rule button in the "Screen Area" section of the Display Properties dialog.

4. 

   Drag the slider to the right. While this might seem counter-intuitive, by increasing the resolution the text and pictures will look smaller. Click "Apply" to save the changes.

5. 

   Click "OK" if you are able to read the text in the message dialog that appears. Click "OK" again to close the Display Properties dialog box and save the changes.

Resources

• Windows Vista screen resolution