Desktop Icon Font Color - How do I change the font color of the text that describes desktop icons?

Anonymous
2010-02-18T11:16:49+00:00

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit. How do I change the font color that describes the desktop icons?

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Anonymous
2010-02-18T11:56:09+00:00

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit. How do I change the font color that describes the desktop icons?

Hi

You cannot change the Desktop font color.

Because Desktop wallpaper images have varying colors, it is easy for the font colors to be unreadable if they are on top of the same color as a wallpaper image. For instance a black font on top of a dark part of the background image or a white font on a white part of a background image.

The Desktop icon fonts are dynamic and will show white on dark backgrounds and change to white with a black shadow effect on a light background.

Hope this helps.

Thank You for using Windows 7


Ronnie Vernon MVP

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-04-17T07:43:40+00:00

    Why can't we change the desktop font color? My desktop is currently white, with a 99% white image, and my fonts are also still white. Is it intended behavior for me to not be able to read my desktop icons? Am I expected to only use taskbar buttons now that they are available?

    Why was icon font color setting capability REMOVED from Windows 7? I can't imagine it was easier to remove functionality that was already present, than to simply leave it the way it is, and judging by the responses here, the way people prefer it to be.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-01-10T16:42:01+00:00

    This may be more info than people want to know, but I changed my solid medium blue desktop in Windows 7 to a yellowish weave design that I used on my Mac.  I changed because the blue color, as I recently learned at a medical conference, is used by NASA (and others) to change astronauts' sleep/wake cycles, and I thought it might be affecting my sleep (which is poor).

    So when I changed to this weave pattern, the default white font with black shadow was very hard for my 47 y/o eyes to read.  I do not have to use glasses yet so it is not a visual precision issue.  I changed to windows 7 basic, and under control panel, searched "change windows color" and then clicked "Change windows colors and metrics", and from there changed the desktop color to white and font color to black.  Shadow is gone, the font is black and I can read the icon fonts much easier.

    For the person from Microsoft to state that this is what is best for all, has not walked a mile in our shoes.  Defense of something that is wrong really shows the stupidity of how corporations and our government tell us everything is fine, don't worry.  Their idea is to tell us this is what you got, don't complain.  Mac OS X Snow Leopard does a lot , but not all things, better!

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-01-09T09:30:31+00:00

    I tried her solution and it didn't make any difference.  I must have the theme set to something that isn't compatible with this solution.  I chose Windows 7 Basic because it said something about the settings not working unless you had picked that one.  For the background, I right clicked on a picture file and chose "Set as desktop background."  Now I'm wondering why I'm not getting black icon text like everyone else seems to be.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-11-29T14:11:20+00:00

    Hi

    It doesn't matter what the background color is, mixed or solid, the font will always be visible.

    What about this?

    http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8049/winq0.jpg

    Sometimes win 7 drive me really crazy. (those libraries and stuff...)

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