Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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chadburkins
Posts: 1
Joined: 27. Dec 2015, 23:49

Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by chadburkins »

Recently Installed VirtualBox 6.1 on Windows 10 Home Version 1809

Was happily using the VirtualBox GUI for two days, installing/running VM's. Started up VirtualBox GUI this morning, and now the font is HUGE. Like silly huge. Screenshots attached.

Any idea how I might fix this ?

-Chad
Screenshot of huge font on VirtualBox 6.1 running on Win10
Screenshot of huge font on VirtualBox 6.1 running on Win10
VirtualBox GUI Huge Font.jpg (117.08 KiB) Viewed 16071 times
scottgus1
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Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by scottgus1 »

chadburkins wrote:Any idea how I might fix this ?
Roll you chair back about 6 feet. Fixed.

:lol: Sorry, no real idea how to fix this, just had to scratch the funny bone...

I've never seen this, A suggestion, check if you have any custom scaling set up in the Virtualbox exe or shortcut icon, Properties, Compatibility, Change High DPI settings.
mpack
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Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by mpack »

I suspect a non-standard host theme has been installed. The host desktop looks weird too.
_finack
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Joined: 30. Apr 2020, 02:16

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by _finack »

I have the same problem on my WIndows PC. I am using the default Windows theme, except I have Windows' dark mode enabled. It's been an issue since I installed VirtualBox several versions ago.

VirtualBox 6.1.6
Windows 10 Pro 1909
Attachments
Screenshot (shrunk 75%)
Screenshot (shrunk 75%)
2020-04-29 20_18_47-Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager.png (110.21 KiB) Viewed 15860 times
mpack
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Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by mpack »

Do you have a 4K monitor? If so, what do you have for app scaling? Right click the VirtualBox icon, Properties | Compatibility | Click the "Change high DPI settings" button and examine the contents. I can't give you details on what it should be, because I don't currently have a 4K monitor on my home PC where I'm currently stuck for the duration of the COVID-19 lockdown where I am.
_finack
Posts: 2
Joined: 30. Apr 2020, 02:16

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by _finack »

I have two 2K monitors. I fixed it by using the following settings:

Program DPI:
  • Use this setting to fix scaling problems for this program instead of the one in Settings [ Disabled ] -- (Default)
High DPI
  • Override high DPI scaling behavior [ Enabled ] -- (Default is [ Disabled ])
  • Scaling performed by [ System ] or [ System (Enhanced) ] -- (Default is [ Application ])
VirtualBox is the only program I have ever seen do this. I didn't even know the "Change High DPI Settings" section was a thing that existed.
mpack
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Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by mpack »

VirtualBox didn't do anything that I know of. What you describe is a Windows procedure, default actions it takes when it thinks that an application doesn't support HiDPI (*). All Windows 10 shortcuts have that "Change HiDPI" section.

(*) Windows definition of DPI is weird. It has no idea of the physical size of your monitor, so DPI is not pixels per unit area. I wonder if it sees 2x2K monitors as one 4K monitor, and hence HiDPI compatibility fixes should apply. Or, perhaps you just had VirtualBox on a laptop docked to a 4K monitor at the time you installed VirtualBox.
plarkinjr
Posts: 2
Joined: 24. Mar 2016, 23:37

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by plarkinjr »

FYI: After installing 6.1.8, the fonts became microscopic. So I found this thread and:
mpack wrote:Do you have a 4K monitor? If so, what do you have for app scaling? Right click the VirtualBox icon, Properties | Compatibility | Click the "Change high DPI settings" button and examine the contents. I can't give you details on what it should be, because I don't currently have a 4K monitor on my home PC where I'm currently stuck for the duration of the COVID-19 lockdown where I am.
Under "Program DPI", I checked "Use this setting..." and set it to "I signed in to Windows" and its readable again.

Hope that helps. Thanks!
mpack
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Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by mpack »

Signed into Windows... as opposed to what I wonder? VirtualBox never changes host display resolution so the only other option on that menu ("...when I open this program") can never apply.

The only thing I can think of is, are those who see this problem moving a laptop between docking stations, to monitors with significantly different DPIs, without restarting the host?
thanksforfixingmyproblem
Posts: 1
Joined: 7. Nov 2020, 00:00

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by thanksforfixingmyproblem »

mpack wrote:Do you have a 4K monitor? If so, what do you have for app scaling? Right click the VirtualBox icon, Properties | Compatibility | Click the "Change high DPI settings" button and examine the contents. I can't give you details on what it should be, because I don't currently have a 4K monitor on my home PC where I'm currently stuck for the duration of the COVID-19 lockdown where I am.
This fixed the issue for me on Windows. Thank you!
Btfrx
Posts: 1
Joined: 5. Oct 2021, 21:30

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by Btfrx »

I had the exact same behaviour as the OP had, but I also had some issues with pixelated fonts on my windows 10 system. I fixed them both at the same time by doing the following:

Right click on your desktop, click on "Display Settings"
Then click on "Advanced scaling settings"
Turn off the option called "Let Windows try to fix apps so they're not blurry"
Restart your computer

I hope this helped someone
ripacheco
Posts: 2
Joined: 31. Dec 2020, 02:18

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by ripacheco »

Right Click on Virtual box shortcut
Select "Compatibility"
Select "Change settings for all users"
Click on "Change high DPI settings"
uncheck "Program DPI"
check "Override High DPI scaling..."
set the drop box to "System"
RtGuy973
Posts: 1
Joined: 9. Dec 2023, 02:28

Re: Very Large Font on VirtualBox 6.1 GUI

Post by RtGuy973 »

Thank you to ripacheco,

I had the same issue and his solution works for me (Windows 10 Pro)

Cheers !
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