Trading Computers How To Increase Default Font Size

How do I make the text bigger on my trading computer?

In Windows, open Settings, then Accessibility, then Text size, and drag the slider. It applies everywhere in about five seconds. Your trading platform is separate — most have their own font setting that Windows does not control.

Key takeaways

Eye strain is a real cost of a long session and it is one of the cheapest to fix. Five minutes of adjustment removed a daily headache.
Windows text size is one slider. Settings, Accessibility, Text size. It changes menus, dialogs and most applications at once.
Your platform is separate. MetaTrader, Thinkorswim, TradeStation and NinjaTrader each carry their own font and scaling settings, and the Windows slider does not reach them.
Display scaling is the other control — different from text size, and it enlarges everything including icons rather than just words.
Adjust the physical setup at the same time. Monitor height and distance do as much for eye strain as font size does.
Short breaks matter more than any setting. Looking at something distant for a moment resets the focusing muscles that spend all day at one distance.
Not sure where your machine stands? The free benchmark test takes about two minutes.

If you have a hard time viewing small fonts on your computer, you're not alone. Let us show you how to increase default font size. As traders, we spend the majority of our time in front of computer screens. While this might not affect some traders, most of us feel the pain of needing to sit in front of our machines all day. I used to walk away from my computer at the end of the trading day with a massive headache.

Small Adjustments Really Made An Impact

During the market hours when I was concentrating on my trades, I realized I was straining to see what was on my computer screen despite having a nice monitor setup. I made several changes like adjusting the height and distance of my monitors, taking short breaks throughout the day, and adjusting the font size of my computer. Right away I noticed a difference. These few adjustments really made an impact. If you’re like me, you might experience similar issues. The changes I made to my trading computer setup were quick and simple. It took me five minutes to make these changes. I was just ignoring the issue for too long and put off making the necessary changes. Adjusting the font size on your trading computer to make it more readable is a two-minute change – maybe even less.

Increasing The Default Font Size On Your Trading Computer

The first step is to go to your Start Menu.
The next step is to click on the Settings app.
In the menu choices on the left, click Accessibility.
Next, select Text size from the options on the right.
In the following window, drag the slider next to the Text size to change the font size.
Choose the font size that suits you best using the preview section above the slider.
Finally, select the Apply button to the right of the slider to save the changes made.

Once you log back on to your computer’s profile, you’ll see that the desktop icons, the fonts on the desktop icons, and all of the taskbar icons have changed. Everything has increased quite a bit. Now, you can go to one of your active windows and you’ll see that everything is much larger.

Make Additional Adjustments

Maybe the font size you choose was a bit larger or smaller than you expected. Undoing this change or selecting a different size is as simple as walking through these steps again. Walk through it once more in case you need to make additional changes until the size is a little easier on the eyes. This is a simple change that can make all the difference when you spend hours on your trading computer daily.

Get More EZ Trading Computer Tips

There are more trading computer tips like this in our EZ Trading Computer's buyer's guide. Check out our “How To Buy a Trading Computer” e-book. We hope today’s Quick Tip helped you. If you found this helpful, you’ll want to check out the other computer how-to’s I’ve created on this page. You can always call us if you have questions: 800-387-5250

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the font size in MetaTrader 5 on PC?

Yes, and it is set inside MetaTrader rather than in Windows. For chart text, right-click a chart, open Properties, and adjust the font under the Common or Show tab depending on your build. For the terminal panels and the Market Watch, right-click within the panel and look for the font option in the context menu. The Windows text-size slider does not reach these — MetaTrader draws its own interface, which is why enlarging Windows text appears to do nothing to it.

How do I increase the font size in Windows 11?

Open Settings, choose Accessibility, then Text size, and drag the slider until the sample text is comfortable. Click Apply. It changes menus, dialogs and most applications immediately and needs no restart. If you want everything larger rather than just text, use Display scaling under System instead.

What is the difference between text size and display scaling?

Text size changes only the words, leaving icons, buttons and images as they are. Display scaling enlarges everything proportionally, as though the screen were smaller. For most traders text size is the better tool, because scaling shrinks how much of a chart fits on screen — which is usually the opposite of what you want.

Why doesn't the Windows font setting change my trading platform?

Because most trading platforms draw their own interface rather than using Windows controls, so they are unaffected by the system setting. Each has its own font and scaling options — usually under Settings, Preferences, or by right-clicking directly on the panel you want to change. That separation is deliberate on the platform's part, not a fault.

Does changing font size help with eye strain?

It helps, and it is not the largest factor. Monitor height and distance matter more — screens should be at eye level and roughly an arm's length away. Short breaks looking at something far away matter most of all, because the strain comes from holding focus at one distance for hours. Font size is the quickest of the three to fix, which is a good reason to start there.