Wordpad Font Size

David E. Ross

unread,

Dec 4, 2012, 11:13:36 PM12/4/12

to

Does anyone know how to change the DEFAULT font size for text document
in Wordpad? I recently bought a new, larger monitor and changed the
resolution from 800x600 to 1280x720. I have been able to change most
font sizes, including in Notepad. But the default for Wordpad is just
too small for my old eyes.

--

David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Anyone who thinks government owns a monopoly on inefficient, obstructive
bureaucracy has obviously never worked for a large corporation.
© 1997 by David E. Ross

Char Jackson

unread,

Dec 4, 2012, 11:24:07 PM12/4/12

to

On Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:13:36 -0800, "David E. Ross"
<nob...@nowhere.invalid> wrote:

>Does anyone know how to change the DEFAULT font size for text document
>in Wordpad? I recently bought a new, larger monitor and changed the
>resolution from 800x600 to 1280x720. I have been able to change most
>font sizes, including in Notepad. But the default for Wordpad is just
>too small for my old eyes.

This looks like it should work.
<http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/24573-45-wordpad-default-font-font-size>

Open a new document, set the default font and size, and save the
file as "wordpad.wri". Close wordpad. Right click on the saved file
and select Properties. On the general tab check read-only, apply
your changes and click OK.

Whenever you want to launch wordpad, do so by double clicking the
saved wordpad.wri.

Tom Porterfield
MS-MVP Windows
http://support.telop.org

David E. Ross

unread,

Dec 5, 2012, 10:31:50 AM12/5/12

to

That would be okay if I wanted to open Wordpad for a new file. However,
I have existing text files for which I have set Wordpad as the default
application. I want to double-click on one of those files and have it
open in Wordpad in a larger font.

Richard

unread,

Dec 5, 2012, 1:12:53 PM12/5/12

to

On 12/5/2012 9:31 AM, David E. Ross wrote:
> On 12/4/12 8:24 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
>> On Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:13:36 -0800, "David E. Ross"
>> <nob...@nowhere.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Does anyone know how to change the DEFAULT font size for text document
>>> in Wordpad? I recently bought a new, larger monitor and changed the
>>> resolution from 800x600 to 1280x720. I have been able to change most
>>> font sizes, including in Notepad. But the default for Wordpad is just
>>> too small for my old eyes.
>>
>> This looks like it should work.
>> <http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/24573-45-wordpad-default-font-font-size>
>>
>> Open a new document, set the default font and size, and save the
>> file as "wordpad.wri". Close wordpad. Right click on the saved file
>> and select Properties. On the general tab check read-only, apply
>> your changes and click OK.
>>
>> Whenever you want to launch wordpad, do so by double clicking the
>> saved wordpad.wri.
>>
>> Tom Porterfield
>> MS-MVP Windows
>> http://support.telop.org
>>
>
> That would be okay if I wanted to open Wordpad for a new file. However,
> I have existing text files for which I have set Wordpad as the default
> application. I want to double-click on one of those files and have it
> open in Wordpad in a larger font.
>

For screen only or for print

David E. Ross

unread,

Dec 5, 2012, 4:50:24 PM12/5/12

to

screen

Char Jackson

unread,

Dec 5, 2012, 7:24:06 PM12/5/12

to

On Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:50:24 -0800, "David E. Ross"

I don't think you can change Wordpad's defaults without some serious
hacking, so it might be a lot easier to replace Wordpad with something
else. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of possible replacements
available, and some are free.

Richard

unread,

Dec 5, 2012, 10:03:20 PM12/5/12

to

Ah.

You don't want to change the font size - just the display size.
No can do (as far as I know).

But if you have a wheel mouse - press CTRL and scroll "up".

David E. Ross

unread,

Dec 6, 2012, 12:28:31 AM12/6/12

to

That is definitely good enough for my use. Thanks.

robertva

unread,

Dec 6, 2012, 1:47:42 AM12/6/12

to

On 12/4/2012 11:13 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
> Does anyone know how to change the DEFAULT font size for text document
> in Wordpad? I recently bought a new, larger monitor and changed the
> resolution from 800x600 to 1280x720. I have been able to change most
> font sizes, including in Notepad. But the default for Wordpad is just
> too small for my old eyes.

Windows XP Control Panel

Display applet

Settings tab

Advanced button

(note that options, including the quantity of tabs, on the advanced
display setting properties pop-up/dialog may vary since they are often
customized as part of the graphic accelerator driver installation)

Change the DPI (Dots Per Inch) setting. Usually allows a choice of
Large, Medium etc and a custom setting that opens a pop-up/dialog
featuring a "ruler" you can stretch with the mouse until the ruler's
"inches" approximate a physical ruler held against the display. This
should also control how big text AND graphic items appear at "100% zoom"
including the height and width of "print preview" pages. Changes may
require restarting Windows to take effect. IF you wish you can use this
setting to make everything oversize to compensate for vision problems.

The advanced properties on the Display Property pop-up/dialog Appearance
tab control font sizes for window elements like menus, title bars and
command button labels ("Apply", "OK" "Cancel" etc) within applications
that don't override the system's font and/or color settings.

Richard

unread,

Dec 6, 2012, 2:06:46 AM12/6/12

to

You are very welcome!

Richard

unread,

Dec 6, 2012, 2:08:22 AM12/6/12

to

If I read this right it won't change print font size?

robertva

unread,

Dec 6, 2012, 2:49:54 PM12/6/12

to

Hard copy should still be dependent on the point size set in whatever
editor was used to create or change the document. A "point" on your hard
copy printout should be 1/72 inch. The intent is to scale the display to
allow more content (a wider & higher section of a document or two
documents side by side) when the system is attached to a larger display.
As a bonus it could aid users with mild to moderate vision problems.
Windows includes the control panel Accessibility options, a magnifier
application and even a narrator function for those with more severe
problems. Better accessibility aides may be available from other sources.

Note that some browsers have a zoom factor added to their print
pop-up/dialog.

A significant percentage of Windows XP systems were designed before wide
aspect ratio displays were popular. As a result some video card drivers
FOR THE XP VERSION OF THE OS might not have been updated to support the
ratio of horizontal pixels to vertical pixels matching the display's
capabilities. If this forces the user to use the older 4:3 ratio setting
objects might appear stretched horizontally (example: circles might
appear to be ellipses with long axis horizontal)