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How to Change the Icon Size in Default File Browser in Ubuntu

Last updated: March 6, 2021

The default size of files and folders in Nautilus file browser does not meet you need? It’s easy to change it in all current Ubuntu releases with Gnome.

Though you can’t find how to configure it either in the System Settings or Gnome Tweaks, Ubuntu do provide an option to set an even larger or smaller icon size, and here’s the quick tip shows you how.

Change File & Folder Size via Single Command:

If you’re familiar with Linux command, you can run a single command to change the size.

Since Nautilus displays files and folders in either icon view or list view, the command can be either:

1.) Change icon size in icon view:

gsettings set org.gnome.nautilus.icon-view default-zoom-level 'large'

Here value ‘large’ can be changed to: ‘small’, ‘standard’, ‘larger’, or ‘largest’.

2.) Change icon size in list view:

gsettings set org.gnome.nautilus.list-view default-zoom-level 'large'

Here value ‘large’ can be changed to: ‘small’, ‘standard’, or ‘larger’.

To reset the change, either run command:

gsettings reset org.gnome.nautilus.icon-view default-zoom-level

or run:

gsettings reset org.gnome.nautilus.list-view default-zoom-level

Change file folder icon size via graphical tool:

Firstly open Ubuntu Software, search for and install dconf editor (or install dconf-editor via apt):

Then launch the tool and navigate to “org/gnome/nautilus/icon-view/default-zoom-level” for the icon size in icon view:

  • Turn off ‘Use default value’
  • Then select a size from ‘Custom value’

For the list view mode, go to “org/gnome/nautilus/list-view/default-zoom-level”.

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    6 responses to How to Change the Icon Size in Default File Browser in Ubuntu

    1. JS July 30, 2022 at 1:13 pm

      Hi, thanks I tried that, but in a file selection dialog, that does not apply and thumbnails are ridiculously small and it’s almost impossible to choose a photo ! Is there something to do ?

    2. Mevan11 September 28, 2022 at 10:28 am

      Why the standard icon size (67%) no longer appears in Gnome 43, Either it’s too small or it’s too big. It’s like strange to have it deleted

      • Ji m September 29, 2022 at 1:29 pm

        The default size seems to be small (50%) in my case in Ubuntu 22.10 dev. Though, there now has option in the ‘☰’ menu to adjust it.

    3. Antony December 16, 2022 at 8:23 am

      dbconf-editor solved the problem. Many thanks!!

    4. Dennis May 25, 2023 at 1:53 pm

      Worked great.How do people find stuff like that?