How to Change Text Size of Finder Fonts in Mac OS X

Many Mac users may like to adjust the font size of file names, folders, and other text found in the Finder of OS X. This is particularly helpful if you find the default text size of Finder fonts to be small and challenging to read when navigating in the Mac file system, where increasing the font size makes a notable difference in legibility, but it can also be used the other direction to decrease the text size of Finder items as well, thereby fitting more items on screen in list view. Whether you want to change the text to a larger size or smaller size is up to you.

For reference, the default text size for Finder items is size 12, and user options to change Finder text size range from size 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, or font size 16 as the largest. Changing the text size alone will have no impact on icon size, which can be changed separately.

Adjusting the Font Size of File / Folder Text in Finder of Mac OS X

In the example shown here we are changing the font size of Finder items shown in List view, but it works the same in Icon view, List view, Column view, and Cover Flow.

1. Go to the Finder of OS X and open any folder that contains files within the file system
2. Pull down the “View” menu from the top of the screen and choose “Show View Options”



3. A Preferences hovering window will appear on screen, locate the “Text Size” option dropdown menu and change it to the font size you wish to use (we’re picking Text size “16” here)



4. Optionally, to set the text size as the universal default font size in all other Finder windows, click on “Use as Default” – this is recommended if you want the newly selected font size to be the default with all other Finder windows viewed in this view mode
5. Close the Finder view options Preferences window

Assuming you chose “Use as Default”, any new Finder window opened within the file system in that particular view mode (list, icon, column) will now always appear with that font size.

If you did not choose “Use as Default”, only this specific folder within Finder will show the new font size change.

For reference, here’s what the default font size of 12 looks like in the Mac OS X file system as shown with a preferences Finder window:

And here’s what the largest text size of 16 looks like in the same Finder window, with text being notably larger and more legible:

Alternating between the two in this animated GIF really shows how much of a difference between text size 12 and text size 16 can make for reading files and folder names in the Finder:

Going further, you can also increase the size of Mac icons on the desktop and in Finder windows, as well as change the Finder sidebar text size in Mac OS X to better suit your preferences as well.