If you are having difficulty reading the text on the screen when using an Ubuntu system, there are many ways you can fix this according to your visual requirements.

In this article, we will describe three ways you can change the screen text size in Ubuntu.

We have run the commands and procedures mentioned in this article on an Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system.

Method 1: Through Ubuntu Settings Utility

You can access the Settings either through the system Dash or by opening the utility as follows:

Click on the downward arrow located at the top-right corner of your Ubuntu desktop and then click the settings icon from the following view:

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

The Settings utility opens in the Wi-Fi tab by default. You need to click on the Universal Access tab in order to configure the Text size.

This is how the Universal Access view looks like:

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

Alternatively, you can enter ‘text size’ or “ universal access” in the Dash search to directly open the Universal Access settings.

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

From the left panel of the Universal Access view switch the Large Text slider button On or Off depending on whether you want to see a large text size or the default one. As soon as you do so, your new font settings will take effect.

Method 2: Through Gnome Tweaks Tool

The Gnome Tweaks can be installed through the Ubuntu Software manager and also the command line. Here, we will explain how to install it through the Ubuntu command line, the Terminal. You can access the Terminal either through the system Dash or the Ctrl alt T shortcut.

Then, enter the following command as sudo in order to install the very useful Gnome Tweak Tool:

$ sudo apt install gnome-tweak-tool

Please remember that you need to be an authorized user to add/remove and configure software on Ubuntu.

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

The system might prompt you with a Y/n option to continue installation. When you press y and hit the Enter button, the software will be installed on your system.

You can access the Tweaks tool by searching for it in the system Dash or by accessing it from the applications list.

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

When the tool is open, click on the Fonts tab. You can configure Font settings for Window Title, Interface, Document, and Monospace through this tab. In order to change the general Font size for your Ubuntu Desktop, you can increase or decrease the Scaling Factor according to your requirement.

The Gnome Tweaks Tool is a very useful tool for installing and managing themes and extensions and also change power settings, and enable/disable desktop settings. However, you can remove it by entering the following command as sudo:

$ sudo apt remove gnome-tweak-tool

Or, through the Ubuntu software by locating Gnome Tweaks under the Installed tab.

Method 3: Through the Terminal

Open the Terminal application and use the following command syntax in order to change the text size:

$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface text-scaling-factor [scaling-factor-value]

For example,

$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface text-scaling-factor 1.6

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

To reset the scaling factor back to the default value (1.00), you can use the following command:

$ gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.interface text-scaling-factor

How to change Text Size in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux ubuntu

We are now able to set the font/text size of your Ubuntu screen right according to your needs!