The sizes of icons that are present on the desktop may not always satisfy users. It all depends on the parameters of the monitor or laptop screen, as well as on individual preferences. To some, the icons may seem too large, but to someone - on the contrary. Therefore, in all versions of Windows, it is possible to independently change their size.
There are several ways to resize desktop shortcuts. The instructions on how to reduce desktop icons in Windows 7 and the latest versions of this OS are almost identical. In Windows XP, this task is solved a little differently.
Method 1: Mouse wheel
This is the easiest way to make desktop shortcuts bigger or smaller. To do this, press the key "Ctrl and at the same time start rotating the mouse wheel. When rotating away from oneself, an increase will occur, and when rotating towards oneself, a decrease will occur. It remains only to achieve the desired size for yourself.
Getting acquainted with this method, many readers may ask: what about the owners of laptops that do not use a mouse? These users need to know how the mouse wheel on the touchpad is simulated. This is done with two fingers. Moving them from the center to the corners of the touchpad simulates rotation forward, and moving from the corners to the center - back.
Thus, in order to increase the icons, you need to hold down the key "Ctrl", and with the other hand on the touchpad, move from the corners to the center. 
To make the icons smaller, move in the opposite direction.
Method 2: Context Menu
This method is as simple as the previous one. In order to achieve the desired goal, you need to right-click on the free space of the desktop to open the context menu and go to the section "View".
Then it remains only to select the desired icon size: regular, large, or small. 
The disadvantages of this method include the fact that there are only three fixed icon sizes for the user to choose from, but for most this is more than enough.
Method 3: For Windows XP
It is not possible to increase or decrease the size of icons using the mouse wheel in Windows XP. To do this, you need to change the settings in the display properties. This is done in several steps.
Windows XP also provides more flexible settings for desktop icon sizes. For this you need:
Now all you have to do is press the button OK and make sure your desktop shortcuts are large (or smaller, depending on your preference).
On this, acquaintance with ways to increase icons on the desktop can be considered complete. As you can see, even an inexperienced user can cope with this task.
Good day, dear visitors of the site. Recently, while visiting a friend, I encountered some problem on his laptop with an operating system Windows 7. This problem was that he had everything on his desktop. shortcuts changed extension to .lnk. Besides none of the shortcuts worked. He said that this happened when he selected the shortcut from the video file and made "to open with", then clicked "Select program" and in the window that opened, I accidentally forgot to uncheck the option "Use the selected program for all files of this type". And after that, all shortcuts on the desktop began to open with the then-selected KMPleer program.
And as you understand, this program will not be able to open all programs on the computer. When you specify another desired program, again, this other program is compared with all files, i.e. she opens (tries to open :)) and video files, and photos and .exe files.
So what happened you ask? And what happened was file type associations gone. Of course, you are not interested in how and why this happened, but you just want to quickly correct this situation. Believe me, my friend and I were also interested and wanted to solve this puzzle.
Indeed, otherwise, in order to launch a particular program or game, you have to press the left button on each shortcut and select properties there. Then, on the "Shortcut" tab, click the "File Location" button and run the program from the source folder. Agree - this archi is inconvenient. So let's move on to solving this problem.
Go…
The shortcuts don't work and the extension has changed to .lnk. What to do? [Decision]
Solving this problem turned out to be not easy, due to the fact that I am “you” with the system registry (categorically I do not advise you to go into the registry if you do not have solid knowledge in this area). But, as it turned out, if you have the necessary software at hand, then solve the problem with broken labels sheer rubbish. We are talking about a small program, or even a utility called . I came across this program on the site http://www.winhelponline.com. You can download this program by clicking on the download button. This program is free and does not require installation.
Unassociate File Types Program
When you run the program, you will see a window like this.
In this window on the left you see a list of file types, extensions. We need to find the file type .lnk. In order not to scroll down the list and not look for such an extension with your eyes, there is a search bar in the program on the left above the list. Here we enter the name of the extension we need .lnk.
Having found the extension, select it and press the button Remove File Association. This button removes file association with this extension. And if you did everything right, then all the shortcuts on your desktop should return to normal and work fine. In the same way, you can fix associations for other types of files. (this is if suddenly the extension of your labels has changed to something else)
There is one more button in the program - Delete File Type. It removes the selected file type from the registry.
P.S. For those who are unable to unzip the compressed file (due to the fact that the archiver does not open, etc.), I post a link to an uncompressed (not archived) file - .
Afterword.
That's all. You can also fix file type associations through the system registry, but that's a completely different story. I hope this article will help you, dear users, and make your work with your computer more comfortable. Stay with us and learn more interesting things.
Update (03/16/2015):
I will add a way to remove the association through the system registry, since many people have difficulties with the methods described above.
We launch the Registry Editor by entering the "regedit" command in "Start - Run" (mono open by pressing the Win + R key combination) and pressing Enter. The editor will open. In it, open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT section and already here we are looking for the desired branch with your extension.
Found? Then get the hell out. That's all.
With the development of technology, monitor screens increase, their resolution becomes larger. Therefore, program shortcuts on the screen become smaller. This is inconvenient, especially for users with poor eyesight. What to do? It turns out that you do not need to install additional software. Everything is done by the built-in means of the system. Consider how to increase the icons on the Windows desktop in more detail.
Why use it
The OS uses icons so that the user can quickly open the desired program. They are located on the desktop. People have different levels of vision, so to make it convenient to work, adjust the size of the icons for yourself.
What to do first
Before you enlarge the icons on the Windows Desktop, make sure that the screen is spelled correctly. Click on it with the right mouse button (RMB), then select "Settings". Go to the "Display" tab, select the resolution recommended by the system. She will determine the optimal settings herself.
How to make desktop icons bigger in Windows 10
As in the method discussed above, we press RMB on the screen, then we find the “View” item. Use one of the three options. As shown. 
Only three options are available, setting a different icon size in this way will not work.
How to resize to an arbitrary amount
Follow the sequence of these steps:
- Minimize all applications press and hold the "Ctrl" key;
- Scroll the mouse wheel. If it is not available, for example, on a laptop, use the touchpad.
How to zoom using explorer
Open File Explorer, press RMB. An item called Huge will be added to the View menu. 
Using this method, only the icons in the current folder will change.
To resize for the rest, do the following:
Now the icons will be displayed as in the configured directory.
Scaling
How to enlarge desktop icons in Windows 7
In the "Personalization" section (accessible by right-clicking), click the "Screen" link at the bottom left. 
In the new window, make it large. The system offers to change from as a percentage - from 100 to 150%. Not only icons will change, but other elements as well. 
Another interesting way
If you have the classic theme installed when using Windows 7, set the item options.
- Right-click on the desktop, select "Resolution";
- Click "Make Items Large";
- Go to "Change scheme" - "Other";
- Select "Icon", define its size in pixels (pixel).
Conclusion
We looked at how to increase the size of icons on the desktop. I recommend using the second described method (mouse wheel + "Ctrl"). It is simple and allows you to increase the size of the icon by an arbitrary value. Use the methods described above to make your PC experience more convenient.
When working on a computer, many users need to increase or decrease desktop icons. The level of vision of all people is different, so it will be more comfortable for the user to adjust the display of the size of the Desktop icons to suit their needs.
By default, the size of desktop icons is adjusted depending on the screen resolution of the monitor on a particular computer. The dimensions of all elements of the desktop, if necessary, can be changed.
In the Windows operating system, you can change the size of the icons on the Desktop using regular system tools. These methods work on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 operating systems.
Let's take a look at two options separately: how to reduce the icons on the Desktop, and how to increase the icons on the Windows Desktop. We will consider changing the size of Desktop icons using the Windows 10 operating system as an example.
The easiest way to make desktop icons smaller is to use keyboard shortcuts. This is the simplest and easiest way to change the size of icons on your desktop computer.
How to reduce icons on Windows 10 (1 way)
Open the Desktop, press the "Ctrl" key on the keyboard, and then scroll the mouse wheel down (towards you). You will see the Windows 10 desktop icons shrink in size. Thus, you can choose a more acceptable icon size option for yourself.
How to reduce desktop icons (2 way)
After right-clicking on the Desktop, in the context menu, click on "View", and then select "Small Icons".
All icons on the desktop became small, decreased in size.
How to increase icons on the Windows desktop (1 way)
Using keyboard shortcuts, you can increase the size of desktop icons. With the desktop open, press the Ctrl key and then scroll the mouse wheel up (away from you). After that, the icons will increase in size, depending on the degree of scrolling of the mouse wheel.
Increasing the size of desktop icons (2 way)
On the desktop, click the right mouse button. In the context menu that opens, select "View" and then "Large Icons".
This is not a custom way to enlarge icons.
How to increase desktop icons in Windows 10 (3 way)
In Windows 10, right-click on the Desktop and select Display Settings from the context menu.
In the "Screen" section, under the inscription "Change text, applications and other elements: 100% (recommended)" move the slider on the scale to the desired position.
The size of the desktop elements will change depending on the position of the slider on the scale.
In addition, you can enlarge a separate part of the monitor screen using .
Article Conclusions
The user can easily and simply change the size of the icons on the desktop of his computer. Windows desktop icons can be reduced or enlarged using keyboard shortcuts, or using the display settings settings.