shrunken dialog boxes & windows

[Guest]

Six weeks into XP, suddenly the dialog boxes and windows for various
applications & websites have shrunk--McAfee, Amazon, my home web page, my
bank page, news alerts from a couple of magazines, and many Windows boxes,
including (maddeningly) the Display box where I've been trying to fix the
problem! Now, today, it's happened in Word--the font size cited for documents
is 12 point, but the type on-screen is tiny. I've done so much fiddling
trying to save it that I'm dizzy, perhaps made it worse.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

First, check that you are using the correct resolution for your monitor:
Right-click on the desktop and select Properties > Settings tab > Screen
resolution slider.

Second, scan for viruses and other malware.

 

[Guest]

screen resolution's set at the maximum, ran spyware & viruscan, no
infections. My Address Book even looks like it's in agate type. Ouch!

 

[Ted Zieglar]

I didn't say 'maximum resolution', I said 'correct resolution'.

As for spyware, it often requires scans with several different spyware
detectors to identify a particular pest.

Do you have the same problem when you use a different monitor on your
computer?

 

[Sharon F]

screen resolution's set at the maximum, ran spyware & viruscan, no
infections. My Address Book even looks like it's in agate type. Ouch!

Maximum = small objects/fonts. Try nudging the size down a bit. Objects and
text are displayed larger on smaller desktops. This may sound backwards but
that's how it works.

 

[Guest]

thanks, sharon--I took the size down a couple of notches, and the
box became a bit bigger, but it was slightly blurred. Also, the type
within the little windows (names in Address Book, sizes in Fonts--
don't know what they're properly called) remained quite small. So
it was almost the solution, but I think somewhere I've messed up
a setting. This all started when I booted up and my desktop showed
my wallpaper (Sedona, from the standard choices) as a picture
in the middle of the frame, surrounded by a big blue border. I hit
the "stretch" button to restore the wallpaper to a full frame, but
then lots else went haywire. Been a hellish day trying to fix it.

 

[Sharon F]

thanks, sharon--I took the size down a couple of notches, and the
box became a bit bigger, but it was slightly blurred. Also, the type
within the little windows (names in Address Book, sizes in Fonts--
don't know what they're properly called) remained quite small. So
it was almost the solution, but I think somewhere I've messed up
a setting. This all started when I booted up and my desktop showed
my wallpaper (Sedona, from the standard choices) as a picture
in the middle of the frame, surrounded by a big blue border. I hit
the "stretch" button to restore the wallpaper to a full frame, but
then lots else went haywire. Been a hellish day trying to fix it.

Try another tactic then. Set the desktop to the size that you want for
clarity with the icons. Then use Display> Settings> Advanced> General>
Display and change the DPI to Large Size.

I don't know what address book you're using. If Outlook Express or Internet
Explorer are involved at all, also take a look at another setting. Open
Internet Explorer and click on View> Text Size and bump it up to a larger
setting.

If still not happy, put everything back to default settings and reset to a
standard theme (XP look or classic) in display properties. Then review your
adjustment settings in regards to font size.

 

[Guest]

Thank you very much, Sharon--I did System Restore, and it's mostly back to
normal, just a little blurring on the letters, which I'll try to fix as I
restore a few settings. Whew!

 

[Sharon F]

Thank you very much, Sharon--I did System Restore, and it's mostly back to
normal, just a little blurring on the letters, which I'll try to fix as I
restore a few settings. Whew!

That's one approach I often skip when working out display problems - system
restore - but am glad to hear that it worked for you!

 

[Guest]

Sharon,

We, too, have come cross the problem of not being able to see the entire
dialogue box. The text, radio boxes, and text fields are cut off either below
or to the right.
We have already changed our Windows settings font to normal, in both areas.
That we know of there are no Accessability Options on. Also a system restore
was attempted to no avail.
We can view the entire dialogue box when we change the font size to "custom"
at 200%, but then of course everything else is bloated. Any ideas extra
ideas? Thank you! ahead of time...