How Can I Fix Blurry Text in My WinForms App on High-DPI Displays?

High-DPI Scaling and Blurry Text in WinForms Applications

WinForms applications often encounter blurry text when running on high-DPI displays (150% or greater). This occurs because Windows defaults to bitmap scaling, resulting in poor text rendering.

Understanding Windows DPI Handling

Windows automatically scales applications exceeding 100% DPI (or 125% with "XP-style DPI scaling"). This bitmap scaling process leads to the fuzzy text problem.

The Solution: DPI Awareness

The key to resolving this is to make your application DPI-aware. This allows it to handle scaling appropriately, rendering sharp text at higher resolutions. This can be achieved through manifest modification or P/Invoke, depending on your deployment method.

Method 1: Manifest File Modification

Modify your application's manifest file to declare DPI awareness. Add or uncomment the following within the <application> tag:

<windowsSettings>
  <dpiAware>true</dpiAware>
</windowsSettings>

Method 2: P/Invoke for ClickOnce Deployments

If you're using ClickOnce deployment, use P/Invoke to call SetProcessDPIAware() in your Main() method:

[STAThread]
static void Main() {
    if (Environment.OSVersion.Version.Major >= 6) SetProcessDPIAware();
    Application.EnableVisualStyles();
    Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
    Application.Run(new Form1()); // Adjust as needed
}

[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("user32.dll")]
private static extern bool SetProcessDPIAware();

Method 3: Visual Studio 2015 and Later

Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 and later versions usually include the necessary DPI awareness directives in the manifest, but they might be commented out. Simply remove the comments to enable this functionality.

By implementing one of these methods, your WinForms application will correctly handle high-DPI settings, resulting in crisp and clear text rendering.

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