Windows 10: Change Compatibility Mode Settings for Apps in Windows 10

How to: Change Compatibility Mode Settings for Apps in Windows 10

How to Change Compatibility Mode Settings for Apps in Windows 10


Most apps created for earlier versions of Windows will work in this version of Windows, but some older apps might run poorly or not at all. You can try using compatibility mode or run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter on most programs to detect and fix common compatibility problems.

Starting with Windows 10 build 15002, Microsoft enabled high-DPI support improvements by default for some Windows desktop apps, you can now enable them yourself for other GDI-based applications, too! To do this, youll need to find the applications .exe file, right-click on it, and select Properties. Go to the Compatibility tab, and turn on System (Enhanced) DPI scaling, and click OK. This setting overrides the way that applications handle DPI scaling (which sometimes uses bitmap stretching and can result in applications rendering blurry) and forces them to be scaled by Windows. The setting that was previously labeled "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" is now referred to as Application scaling. This works only for apps that use GDI.

See also:

• Make older apps or programs compatible with Windows 10 | Windows Support
• High-DPI Scaling Improvements for Desktop Applications in the Windows 10 Creators Update - Building Apps for Windows
• High DPI Desktop Application Development on Windows | Microsoft Docs

If changing compatibility settings doesn't fix the problem, try the following.

• Go to the support website for the app developer, and check if a new or updated version of this app is available for Windows 10.
• Windows 10 application compatibility - downloads, tips, support | Windows 10

This tutorial will show you how to change compatibility mode settings on older desktop apps for your account or all users in Windows 10.

*Warning Dont use compatibility mode on antivirus programs, firewall software, backup software, disk utilities, or on system programs that came with Windows. This might cause data loss or create a security risk.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Manually Change Compatibility Mode Settings for an App in Properties
• Option Two: Automatically Change Compatibility Mode Settings for App in Program Compatibility Troubleshooter
• Option Three: To Manually Change Compatibility Mode Settings for an App in Registry Editor

OPTION ONE [/i] To Manually Change Compatibility Mode Settings for an App in Properties
1. Right click or press and hold on the .exe file or shortcut of a classic app (desktop) that you want to change compatibility mode settings for, and click/tap on Properties.

2. Do step 3 (current account) or step 4 (all users) below for how you want to apply the compatibility settings.


3. To Change Compatibility Mode Settings for Only Your Account (current)
A) Click/tap on the Compatibility tab, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot above)

4. To Change Compatibility Mode Settings for All Users
*note You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this step.
A) Click/tap on the Compatibility tab, click/tap on the Change settings for all users button, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)





5. Do step 6 (on) or step 7 (off) below for what compatibility mode you would like to use.


6. To Turn On Running App in Compatibility Mode
*note Runs the app using settings from a previous version of Windows. Try this setting if you know the app is designed for (or worked in) a specific version of Windows.
A) Check the Run this program in compatibility mode for box, select the latest version of Windows that you know the app is designed for or worked in, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below)





7. To Turn Off Running App in Compatibility Mode
*note This is the default setting.
A Uncheck the Run this program in compatibility mode for box, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshots below step 6)

8. Under Settings, check or uncheck the ones you want, and click/tap on OK when finished. (see screenshots and table below)

[table][tr][td]Settings[/td] [td]Description[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Reduced color mode[/td] [td]Uses a limited set of colors in the program. Some older programs are designed to use fewer colors.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Run in 640 × 480 screen resolution[/td] [td]Try this setting if the graphics for the program appear jagged or are rendered improperly.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Override high DPI scaling behavior (build 15002)[/td] [td]You can select to override high DPI scaling behavior if scaling to have scaling performed by either Application, System, or System (Enhanced).[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Override system DPI (Run this program as an administrator[/td] [td]To always run the program elevated as administrator. If you aren't signed in to your PC as an administrator, this option is unavailable.[/td] [/tr] [/table]



















OPTION TWO [/i] Automatically Change Compatibility Mode Settings for App in Program Compatibility Troubleshooter
1. Do step 2 (context menu), step 3 (properties), or step 4 (Control Panel) below for how you would like to open the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter.

2. Right click or press and hold on a desktop app or it's shortcut that you want to change compatibility mode settings for, click/tap on step 5 below. (see screenshot below)



3. Right click or press and hold on a desktop app or it's shortcut that you want to change compatibility mode settings for, and click/tap on Properties.
A) Click/tap on the Compatibility tab, click/tap on the Run compatibility troubleshooter button, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)




4. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Troubleshooting icon.
A) Click/tap on the Run programs made for previous versions of Windows link. (see screenshot below)



B) Click/tap on Advanced, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



C) Uncheck Apply repairs automatically, and click/tap on Next. You will need to be signed in as an administrator to be able to use the Run as administrator option if you like. (see screenshot below)



D) Select the app (ex: CCleaner) you are having compatibility issues with, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)



E) Check Fix program box, click/tap on Next, go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)




5. Click/tap on the troubleshooting option you want to use. (see screenshot below)



6. Follow the rest of the onscreen instructions in the troubleshooter until you are finished troubleshooting the compatibility issue with the selected app.. (see screenshots below)








OPTION THREE [/i] To Manually Change Compatibility Mode Settings for an App in Registry Editor
1. Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type regedit, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2. If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

3. In regedit, navigate the location below that you want to use. (see screenshot below)

*note If the Layers key is not there, then right click or press and hold on the AppCompatFlags key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type Layers, and press Enter.

(for current account only)
*Arrow HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers


(for all users)
*Arrow HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers




4. Do step 5 (set) or step 6 (remove) below for what you would like to do.


5. To Set Compatibility Mode Settings for an App
A) In the right pane of Layers, right click or press and hold on an empty area, then click/tap on New, and click/tap on String Value. (see screenshot above)

B) Type in the full path of the app's exe file (ex: "C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe") you want to change compatibility settings for, press Enter, then double click/tap on the full path in the right pane to modify it. (see screenshot below step 3)

C) Type in a one or more combinations of data values from the table below for how you want to run the program as, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)



*note If you use more than one compatibility setting, then you must enter them like below in the order they are listed in the table below.

~ [Privilege Level] + [Settings (value(s) with space between)] + [Compatibility Mode (only one)]

EXAMPLE ONE:
To run a program as if it was in Windows Vista SP2 (Compatibility mode), and Reduced color mode 16-bit (Settings), and to run as administrator (Privelege level) you would type this exactly:

~ RUNASADMIN 16BITCOLOR VISTASP2

EXAMPLE TWO:
If say you also wanted to add Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution (Settings) with the above example, you would type this exactly:

~ RUNASADMIN 640x480 16BITCOLOR VISTASP2

[table][tr][td]Settings[/td] [td]Data value[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Disable fullscreen optimizations[/td] [td]DISABLEDXMAXIMIZEDWINDOWEDMODE[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Run this program as an administrator[/td] [td]RUNASADMIN[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution[/td] [td]640X480[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Override system DPI (build 17063) Windows logon Application start[/td] [td]- PERPROCESSSYSTEMDPIFORCEOFF PERPROCESSSYSTEMDPIFORCEON[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Override high DPI scaling behavior. (build 15002) Scaling performed by: Application Scaling performed by: System Scaling performed by: System (Enhanced)[/td] [td]- HIGHDPIWARE DPIUNAWARE GDIDPISCALING DPIUNAWARE[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Reduce color mode (8-bit 256)[/td] [td]256COLOR[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Reduce color mode (16-bit 65536)[/td] [td]16BITCOLOR[/td] [/tr] [/table]

[table][tr][td]Compatibiliy mode[/td] [td]Data value[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 95[/td] [td]WIN95[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 98 / Windows ME[/td] [td]WIN98[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows XP (Service Pack 2)[/td] [td]WINXPSP2[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows XP (Service Pack 3)[/td] [td]WINXPSP3[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows Vista[/td] [td]VISTARTM[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)[/td] [td]VISTASP1[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)[/td] [td]VISTASP2[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 7[/td] [td]WIN7RTM[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows 8[/td] [td]WIN8RTM[/td] [/tr] [/table]


6. To Remove Compatibility Mode Settings for an App
A) In the right pane of Layers, right click or press and hold on the full path of the app (ex: "C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe") you want to remove compatibility settings for, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below step 3)

B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)




7. When finished, you can close Registry Editor.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

• How to Add or Remove Compatibility Tab on Properties Page in Windows
• How to Add or Remove Troubleshoot Compatibility Context Menu in Windows 10
• How to Run an App as Administrator in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Fix Scaling for Apps that are Blurry in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Fullscreen Optimizations for Apps and Games in Windows 10
• How to See DPI Awareness of Running Apps in Task Manager in Windows 10

:)

 

error messages "The program was started in compatibility mode. As this this can lead to undesirable effects, you should disable the compatibility settings"

Hi Harold,

I suggest you to manually change the Compatibility Mode Settings
and check the behavior.

Please follow the steps below:

• Right click on the app/program.
• select Properties.
• Click the Compatibility tab.
• Uncheck the box Run this program in compatibility mode for and also uncheck all the boxes below.
• Click/tap on the Change settings for all users button.
• Again, uncheck the box Run this program in compatibility mode for
  and also uncheck all the boxes below.
• Click on ok, then Apply and then again ok.

Please keep us updated with the status of the pop ups to assist you further.

Regards,

 

Netgear Genie App compatability with Windows 10

These steps got my Net Gear Genie app up and running. I found 2 executables in the Program Files (v86)/NetGear Genie folder: wpdel and wpinst. I had to set them both to run in compatibility mode for Windows 8. Then the app behaved as it did before I upgraded
to Windows 10.

 

Is FS2004 compatible with Windows 10?

Hi, Dennis.

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I understand your concern, and we in Community will try to find the best possible resolution to your problem.



I suggest that you run the program in compatibility mode and check if the issue persist. To change mode follow the steps below:

• Right click on the application it and select
  Properties.
• Click the Compatibility tab and then tick the box labelled
  Run this program in compatibility mode for.
• Select the version of Windows that the app worked in before and Click
  OK.

Additional Link: Windows 10 Compatible Center.

Explore Windows 10 OS, Computers, Apps & More | Microsoft

Hope this information helps and let us know the status of the issue we will be glad to help you further.

 

windows 10 compatibility mode

I am trying to change compatibility mode for itunes but when I right click properties there is no compatibility tab?

 

Windows 10 Compatibility

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community, we appreciate your interest in Windows 10.

I understand your concern about compatibility of the driver on Windows 10.

I suggest you to refer to the below link and check if the driver is compatible.

Refer:
Windows Compatibility Center

If not compatible, I suggest you to install the driver in compatibility mode on Windows 10.

You can install Windows 8/8.1 drivers in compatibility mode if there are no Windows 10 compatible drivers.

Follow the steps to install in Compatibility mode:

• Download the updated driver from the manufacturer’s website.
• Right click the driver installation file and select
  Properties then tap or click the Compatibility tab.
• Place a check in the Run this program in compatibility mode for: box.
  
• Tap the drop down box and select a previous operating system, then tap or click
  OK.
• Try installing the driver and check.

Hope it helps. Kindly let us know if you need further assistance with Windows Operating System. We will be glad to assist you.