Change font size in Taskbar

[Buzzy05]

Hello,
How can I enlarge the font on the Caption Buttons

 

[matriculated]

In windows XP, Start - Control Panel - Display - Appearance(tab) -Advanced(button) - "Item:" pull down to "Caption Buttons" left-click to select. Then change size with "Size:" field to desired size.

 

[Buzzy05]

In windows XP, Start - Control Panel - Display - Appearance(tab) -Advanced(button) - "Item:" pull down to "Caption Buttons" left-click to select. Then change size with "Size:" field to desired size.

That enlarges the size of the Button, NOT the Font. I'm sorry, but if was that simple I wouldn't be here.

 

[matriculated]

(By Buzzy05) Hello, How can I enlarge the font on the Caption Buttons

(By Buzzy05) That enlarges the size of the Button, NOT the Font. I'm sorry, but if was that simple I wouldn't be here.

In your initial question you state "Caption Button", which is referring to the min, expand, and close button etc. , which is without a font and is strictly a button (i.e. navigation element). By increasing what you call the font (which there are none in the "Caption Button") the button also will increase. If this is not what you where referring to then you are wording your question incorrectly.

So, the "button" you might be referring to (once again I have to assume because of your terse question) is the "Message Box" button. This is a "button" and contains a font (unlike the "Caption Button") this is also in the same menu. If what you meant was, increasing the size of the "Title Bar" Font this is also in the same menu.
Lastly, I noticed in your title description you state, "Change font size in Taskbar" which is different then "Caption Button" and once again is in the same menu. Directions for this:

1. Right click anywhere on your Desktop (not on an icon) the "context menu" will appear.

2. From the context menu, select Properties, and the Display Properties window appears.

3. Select the "Appearance" tab by clicking on it once, then select the "Advance" button.

4. Select the "Active Title Bar" from the "Item:" drop down list.

5. Adjust the font size, color, bold, or italics using the selectors to the right of the font box.

6. Click Apply to see how things will look, then OK to close the Display Properties dialog box.


Here is a reference to help you on reposting your question correctly:

"Caption Buttons"
When it comes to increasing the usability of Windows, few things will be more life changing than enlarging the size of your caption buttons. Okay now, I know that at least a few of you are asking, "What the heck are caption buttons?" They are the little square buttons in the top-right corner of every window on your screen. They let you close, restore and minimize or maximize a window.
To resize those little squares, select Caption Buttons in the Item drop-down list. Click on the up or down arrows next to Size, and watch the Preview pane to see the effect of the change. When you have the size you want, click on Okay to apply your change to your desktop. You will find that just going from the default 18 up to 21 makes a big difference. Call me old and blind, but I prefer a really big target and have set them to 23 on my computer.
These numerical values tell Windows how many pixels wide each navigation element should be. Pixels are the tiny individual colored dots that make up everything that is
displayed on your screen.
Note that increasing the size of your caption buttons will also make the buttons on your taskbar slightly larger."

By Dan Pinnington @ http://www.abanet.org

 

[Buzzy05]

(By Buzzy05) Hello,
How can I enlarge the font on the Caption Buttons

That enlarges the size of the Button, NOT the Font. I'm sorry, but if was that simple I wouldn't be here.

In your initial question you state "Caption Button", which is referring to the min, expand, and close button etc., which is without a font and is strictly a button (i.e. navigation element). By increasing what you call the font (which there is non in the "Caption Button") the button also will increase. If this is not what you where referring to then you are wording your question incorrectly.

So, the "button" you might be referring to (once again I have to assume because of your terse question) is the "Message Box" button. This is a "button" and contains a font (unlike the "Caption Button") this is also in the same menu. If what you meant was, increasing the size of the "Title Bar" Font this is also in the same menu.

Here is a reference to help you on reposting your question correctly:

"Caption Buttons
When it comes to increasing the usability of Windows, few things will be more life changing than enlarging the size of your caption buttons. Okay now, I know that at least a few of you are asking, "What the heck are caption buttons?" They are the little square buttons in the top-right corner of every window on your screen. They let you close, restore and minimize or maximize a window.
To resize those little squares, select Caption Buttons in the Item drop-down list. Click on the up or down arrows next to Size, and watch the Preview pane to see the effect of the change. When you have the size you want, click on Okay to apply your change to your desktop. You will find that just going from the default 18 up to 21 makes a big difference. Call me old and blind, but I prefer a really big target and have set them to 23 on my computer.
These numerical values tell Windows how many pixels wide each navigation element should be. Pixels are the tiny individual colored dots that make up everything that is
displayed on your screen.
Note that increasing the size of your caption buttons will also make the buttons on your taskbar slightly larger."

By Dan Pinnington @ http://www.abanet.org

OK Starting over (if you have the time, lol) The Bar that runs across the bottom of the screen ( from the Start button to the Clock) when you Minimize a page and it gets a little rectangle on this bar . . . and in my case, 6-7 letters as reference to the page/site, . . . Those letters I wish to enlarge.... or even just make Bold . . . I will prob get fewer letters, but thats OK. So what do you call those buttons ? Is THAT the Task Bar ? They can be enlarged but with no great change to the size of the font. The Caption Buttons I have also sized at 23, LOL. I was in error calling them the Caption Buttons. Maybe what I am asking is one of those EMBEDDED things you just can't mess with. THX for your time.

 

[matriculated]

Yes, those are referred to as "Task Bar" items. I think you responded while I was editing my last post because the quote you posted is missing the "Change font size in Taskbar" part (please read if missed). Now this is were it gets weird. Firstly, as you have probably noticed while searching this topic in regards to the "Task Bar", it seems to be a nearly hard coded side of windows making modification difficult to improbable(because of stability issues). The easiest way to get custom themes is with a windows theme modifier like "Stardocks - WindowBlinds" or the like. There are also "Resource Hacker"(.exe editor software) guides on modifying WPF files such as "explorer.exe" for the desired result, but I do not recommend this for the average user (and may not work for the taskbar anyways). The "Change font size in Taskbar" part in my last post only works in "windows classic theme". If you are using and have to use "Windows XP Style" theme, then the steps are not as easy and can lead to odd font changes in other parts of your system.
The way you do this is:

1. You have to take note of all the font sizes currently set in "Item" Drop down menu: Start-Control Panel-Display-Appearance-Advanced-Item

2. Change system-wide font: Start-Control Panel-Display-Appearance-Font Size: then select "Large" or "Very Large" apply then ok

3. You then go back an enter all the previous font sizes that you noted:
Start-Control Panel-Display-Appearence-Advanced-Item

4. This will then restore most if not all system-wide fonts except for the "Task Bar".

Yes I know the second option is a pain and not perfect, so if you can deal with switching to the "windows classic" it will be much easier to get the desired result.

 

[Buzzy05]

You have convinced me to " Let It Be ". Hope your posting helps many others . . . but I'm prob the only nit-picker trying to do this. Been staring at this screen for 9 years and have developed a fetish for its 'cosmetic' look. THX Again.

 

[matriculated]

No problem.

I'm prob the only nit-picker trying to do this

. You are definitely not the only one trying to accomplish this there are many frustrated people riding the same ride. Years back I went over this just as you are now and I amazed that someone has not either created software or found a work around for the taskbar specifically. I have come across software(seemingly hard to find) that modifies the taskbar but there was always some catch or quirk that was not productive. You now have peaked my interest again for looking into this further. If I find anything I'll add to this post. If you're trying to get the right aesthetic look then something like WindowBlinds(only one I've tried) or similar software may work (might effect system performance). Win7 has changed the taskbar(few more options available) but seems to have a similar issue with font resizing. When will M$ learn 😉 .