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To make text larger or smaller in Microsoft Notepad, open View > Zoom and choose Zoom in or Zoom out. Press Ctrl + 0, or choose View > Zoom > Reset, to return to the normal view. These controls change how text appears on screen; they do not alter the characters saved in your plain-text file.

Increase or decrease text size with Notepad’s controls

  1. Open Microsoft Notepad and open or create a text document.
  2. Select View on the menu bar.
  3. Choose Zoom.
  4. Select Zoom in to enlarge the displayed text, or Zoom out to make it smaller. Repeat the command until the text is comfortable.

Choose View > Zoom > Reset whenever you want to restore the default view. Microsoft’s current Notepad guidance also documents this reset command and its keyboard equivalent, Ctrl + 0.

Keyboard and mouse shortcuts

Action Shortcut
Increase displayed text size Ctrl + Plus (+)
Decrease displayed text size Ctrl + Minus (-)
Reset Notepad zoom Ctrl + 0
Zoom with a mouse Hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel

On some keyboards, entering the plus sign means pressing Ctrl + Shift + =. Laptop layouts and non-US keyboard settings can vary, so the menu command may be easier. Click inside the document first if a shortcut appears to do nothing.

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Change Notepad’s font and default size

Zoom is best for a quick reading adjustment. If you want to change the typeface or the font size Notepad uses, use the interface available in your Windows and Notepad release.

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Newer Windows 11 Notepad

  1. Open Notepad.
  2. Select the Settings gear.
  3. Open Appearance (or a similarly named Font section).
  4. Choose the font family, style and size.

Microsoft has updated Notepad as a Windows app, so the section name and arrangement can differ between releases. Persistence of font or zoom preferences can also vary; do not assume every build remembers them identically.

Classic Notepad

  1. Open Notepad.
  2. Select Format > Font.
  3. Choose a font, style and size.
  4. Select OK.

This legacy route remains relevant on older Windows 10 installations and classic interfaces. Microsoft’s general Notepad help covers Windows 10 and Windows 11, but menu labels depend on the installed app version.

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Font size, zoom and Windows text scaling: what is different?

Notepad zoom

Zoom magnifies the open document view. It is local to Notepad, quick to change, and does not insert formatting into the file.

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Notepad font settings

Font settings change the typeface and size Notepad uses to display text. They still do not create Word-style formatting, and Notepad does not normally let you make only one sentence larger in a plain-text document.

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Windows text size and display scale

Use Windows accessibility settings when text is too small across multiple applications. In Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Accessibility > Text size, move the slider and select Apply. Windows 10 uses Settings > Ease of Access > Display > Make text bigger (and Make everything bigger for a broader change). Microsoft describes these controls for Windows 10 and Windows 11 at its text-size support page.

Display scale, found under Settings > System > Display > Scale in Windows 11, enlarges interface elements, images and supported applications—not just Notepad text. Larger scaling can change layouts or make controls wrap.

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Use Magnifier for temporary screen enlargement

Windows Magnifier is useful when you need a close-up of part of the screen or Notepad’s own zoom is insufficient. It magnifies the screen rather than changing Notepad’s document view.

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  • Windows key + Plus (+): turn Magnifier on or zoom in.
  • Windows key + Minus (-): zoom out.
  • Windows key + Esc: turn Magnifier off.

See Microsoft’s Windows accessibility keyboard shortcuts for these commands.

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Fix text that suddenly looks too large or too small

  1. In Notepad, select View > Zoom > Reset, or press Ctrl + 0.
  2. If the whole screen is enlarged, press Windows key + Esc to check whether Magnifier is active.
  3. Check Settings > Accessibility > Text size (Windows 11) or Ease of Access > Display (Windows 10).
  4. Check Settings > System > Display > Scale if icons, images and other applications are also affected.
  5. Close and reopen Notepad if the interface does not refresh.

When the window—not the text—is small

A narrow or unmaximized Notepad window can make reading feel difficult even when the font is normal. Maximize the window or drag its edges before changing zoom.

Make sure you are using Microsoft Notepad

Microsoft Notepad is the built-in Windows plain-text editor. Notepad++ is a separate third-party application with different preferences, menus and shortcuts. Instructions such as Settings > Style Configurator belong to Notepad++, whose documentation is available in its preferences manual, not to Microsoft Notepad.

What these changes do to a .txt file

Changing zoom or Notepad’s font preference changes the display only. The saved file remains plain text: it does not gain bold, italics, colors, headings or per-paragraph font sizes. Use a word processor or rich-text editor when formatting must be stored in the document.

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