Windows 10

Personalizing Your Desktop

Personalizing your desktop

Windows 10 makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your desktop. To access the Personalization settings , right-click anywhere on the desktop, then select Personalize from the drop-down menu. The Personalization settings will appear.

opening the Personalization settings

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about using the Personalization settings.

labeled graphic

Browse

Select Browse to choose a desktop background from one of your personal photos.

Background

From here, you can choose and customize your desktop background .

Start

From here, you can customize certain options for the Start menu , like choosing to show the Start menu in full-screen mode.

Themes

If you previously installed themes on an earlier version of Windows, you can view and select them here. However, Microsoft does not currently plan to release new themes for Windows 10.

Lock screen

From here, you can customize the appearance of your lock screen . As with your desktop background, you can use a built-in picture or select Browse to choose one of your own.

Colors

The accent color affects things like the taskbar and the Start menu. By default, Windows 10 will assign an accent color based on your desktop background image. However, you can turn this feature off if you'd prefer to choose your own accent color.

To change the font size:

If you have difficulty seeing the text on your computer, you can increase the font size . Increasing the font size will also increase the size of icons and other items on your desktop.

  1. Open the Settings app, then select System .
    opening the System settings
  2. The Display options will appear. Use the slider to select the desired item size . Note that a larger size may interfere with the way some items appear on the screen.
    adjusting the item size
  3. Click Apply to save your changes. You may then need to restart your computer for these changes to take effect.

To adjust ClearType settings:

ClearType allows you to fine tune how the text on your computer looks, which helps improve readability.

  1. From the Display settings, select Advanced display settings .
    opening the Advanced display settings
  2. Choose ClearType text below Related Settings .
    opening the ClearType settings
  3. The ClearType dialog box will appear. Follow the instructions, choosing the text that appears best to you.
    using the ClearType text tuner
  4. When you're done, click Finish . The ClearType settings will be applied.