Making text larger in Windows XP

This page explains the three ways you can make text easier to see in the XP versions of Windows
Instructions

•    Changing your screen resolution
•    Using large fonts
•    Changing appearance
Changing your screen resolution

Click the Start button, or press the ' Windows ' logo key (located between the ' Ctrl ' + ' Alt ' keys on most keyboards) alternatively press ' Ctrl ' + ' Esc '.
Click on ' Control Panel ' or press ' C ' until ' Control Panel ' is selected and then press ' Enter '.
Note: on earlier versions of XP you will need to click on ' Settings ' or press the letter ' S ' on the keyboard first.
If you see the text ' Pick a category ' as the main title on the page and under the Control Panel title you can see ' Switch to Classic View ' you need to click the ' Switch to Classic View ' (you are currently in ' Category View ') by clicking on the link or press ' Tab ' until the ' Switch to Classic View ' is selected and then press ' Enter'.
Double click on ' Display ' or press the ' D ' key repeatedly until ' Display ' is highlighted and press ' Enter ' to bring up the ' Display Properties ' window. See Fig 1.
 
Fig 1
Click and drag the slider underneath the heading ' Screen resolution ' to a lower setting than what is already there, for example - 640 by 480 or 800 by 600. Alternatively, press ' Alt ' + ' S ' to select the screen resolution slider bar and then press the ' left ' or ' right ' arrow keys to change settings.
Click ' OK ' or press ' Enter ' to close the dialog box and see the changes you have made.
Using large fonts

Click the Start button, or press the ' Windows ' logo key (located between the ' Ctrl ' + ' Alt ' keys on most keyboards) alternatively press ' Ctrl ' + ' Esc '.
Click on ' Control Panel ' or press ' C ' until ' Control Panel ' is selected and then press ' Enter '.
Note: on earlier versions of XP you will need to click on ' Settings ' or press the letter ' S ' on the keyboard first.
Double click on ' Display ' or press the ' D' key repeatedly until ' Display ' is highlighted and then press ' Enter '. This should bring up the ' Display properties ' window.
Click on the ' Appearance ' tab or press ' Control ' + ' Tab ' until the ' Appearance tab ' is at the front.
Under ' Font size ' click on the drop down menu to change it to ‘ Large ‘ or ‘ Extra Large ‘. Alternatively press ' Alt ' + ' F ' on the keyboard and then use the up and down arrows to select the font size followed by ' Enter '. You may need to press ' Enter ' or click ' OK ' again to return to Windows. See Fig 2.
 
Fig 2
Changing appearance

It is possible to change the font size for the individual elements within Windows such as menu's and title bars.
Using the mouse, Click the ' start menu ' button or alternatively you can press the ' Windows ' logo key (or ' Ctrl ' + ' Esc ').
Click on ' Control Panel ' or press ' C ' until ' Control Panel ' is selected and then press ' Enter '.
Note: on earlier versions of XP you will need to click on ' Settings ' or press the letter ' S ' on the keyboard first.
Double click on ' Display ' or press the ' D ' key repeatedly until ' Display ' is highlighted and then press ' Enter '.
Click on the ' Appearance ' tab or press ' Control ' + ' Tab ' until the ' Appearance ' tab is at the front. See Fig 2 above.
In order to change the font for individual items, you need to make sure that the ' Windows and buttons ' setting is set to ' Windows Classic style'. See Fig 2 above.

Click in the ' Windows and buttons ' drop down box and choose ' Windows Classic Style' or press ' Alt ' + ' W ' and then press the ' down ' arrow until ' Windows Classic Style ' is selected and press ' Enter '.
Click on the ' Advanced ' button or press ' Alt ' + ' A ' to display the ' Advanced appearance ' page. See Fig 3.
 
Fig 3
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 instructions.
Click on the drop down box below the ' Item ' heading, or press ' Alt' + ' I ' to jump there. See Fig 3 above.
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 ' drop down 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 having selected the size you want with the arrow keys, press ' Enter'. Alternatively, just type in ' 10' into the size box and press ' Enter '.
Now click ' OK ' or press ' Enter ' to return 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 that works for you.
Apart from the menus within Windows, many other items can also have their font styles changed. Just follow the above instructions, choosing from the item list.
The following items can all 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.