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Office 2003 icons appear fuzzy or have poor contrast after you change the DPI setting in Windows to "Large size (120 DPI)"

Article ID:922328
Last Review:September 24, 2007
Revision:2.3
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/) Description of the Microsoft Windows registry
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SYMPTOMS

You change the DPI setting in Microsoft Windows to Large Size (120 DPI). After you restart the computer, you may experience the following symptoms:
The Microsoft Office 2003 icons appear fuzzy.
The Office 2003 icons have poor contrast.

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RESOLUTION

This problem was first fixed in a hotfix that is now contained in a service pack. If you installed the latest Office 2003 service pack, you do not have to install the hotfix.

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Service pack information

This problem is corrected in Office 2003 Service Pack 3. To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Office 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
870924 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/870924/) How to obtain the latest service pack for Office 2003

After you install the service pack, follow the steps that are listed in the "How to enable the hotfix" section of the article to set the DisableScalingUpForHighDPI registry key and to activate the hotfix.

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Hotfix information

To resolve this issue, apply this hotfix. After you enable the hotfix, the scaling range of 97 DPI to 120 DPI is disabled for Office icons. The Office icons will be clear. However, they will be visibly smaller when they are compared to menus.

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How to obtain the hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Microsoft Office 2003 post-Service Pack 2 Hotfix Package that is dated July 3, 2006. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
922326 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922326/) Description of the Office 2003 post-Service Pack 2 hotfix package: July 3, 2006

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How to enable the hotfix

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To enable this hotfix, follow these steps:
1.Exit all Office 2003 programs.
2.Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
3.Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common
4.After you click the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
5.Type DisableScalingUpForHighDPI, and then press ENTER.
6.Right-click DisableScalingUpForHighDPI, and then click Modify.
7.In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8.On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

This problem was first corrected in Office 2003 Service Pack 3.

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MORE INFORMATION

To change the DPI setting in Windows, follow these steps.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.
1.Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Display.
2.Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3.On the General tab, click Large size (120 DPI) in the DPI setting box, and then click OK.
4.Click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box.

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APPLIES TO
Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003
Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
Microsoft Office Access 2003
Microsoft Office Excel 2003
Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Microsoft Office Word 2003

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Keywords: 
kbregistry kboffice2003sp3fix kbsettings kbdisplay kbexpertiseinter kboffice2003presp3fix kbqfe kbbug kbfix kbpubtypekc KB922328

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