PROCESS_DPI_AWARENESS enumeration (shellscalingapi.h)
Identifies dots per inch (dpi) awareness values. DPI awareness indicates how much scaling work an application performs for DPI versus how much is done by the system.
Users have the ability to set the DPI scale factor on their displays independent of each other. Some legacy applications are not able to adjust their scaling for multiple DPI settings. In order for users to use these applications without content appearing too large or small on displays, Windows can apply DPI virtualization to an application, causing it to be automatically scaled by the system to match the DPI of the current display. The PROCESS_DPI_AWARENESS value indicates what level of scaling your application handles on its own and how much is provided by Windows. Keep in mind that applications scaled by the system may appear blurry and will read virtualized data about the monitor to maintain compatibility.
Syntax
typedef enum PROCESS_DPI_AWARENESS {
PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE = 0,
PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE = 1,
PROCESS_PER_MONITOR_DPI_AWARE = 2
} ;
Constants
PROCESS_DPI_UNAWAREValue: 0 DPI unaware. This app does not scale for DPI changes and is always assumed to have a scale factor of 100% (96 DPI). It will be automatically scaled by the system on any other DPI setting. |
PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWAREValue: 1 System DPI aware. This app does not scale for DPI changes. It will query for the DPI once and use that value for the lifetime of the app. If the DPI changes, the app will not adjust to the new DPI value. It will be automatically scaled up or down by the system when the DPI changes from the system value. |
PROCESS_PER_MONITOR_DPI_AWAREValue: 2 Per monitor DPI aware. This app checks for the DPI when it is created and adjusts the scale factor whenever the DPI changes. These applications are not automatically scaled by the system. |
Remarks
Previous versions of Windows required you to set the DPI awareness for the entire application. Now the DPI awareness is tied to individual threads, processes, or windows. This means that the DPI awareness can change while the app is running and that multiple windows can have their own independent DPI awareness values. See DPI_AWARENESS for more information about how DPI awareness currently works. The recommendations below about setting the DPI awareness in the application manifest are still supported, but the current recommendation is to use the DPI_AWARENESS_CONTEXT.
If your app is PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE, there is no need to set any value in the application manifest. PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE is the default value for apps unless another value is specified.
In previous versions of Windows, there was no setting for PROCESS_PER_MONITOR_DPI_AWARE. Apps were either DPI unaware or DPI aware. Legacy applications that were classified as DPI aware before Windows 8.1 are considered to have a PROCESS_DPI_AWARENESS setting of PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE in current versions of Windows.
An application that is PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE will always use a scaling factor of 100% (96 DPI). In this scenario, a PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE window is created with a size of 500 by 500. On display A, it will render natively with no scaling. On displays B and C, it will be scaled up by the system automatically by a factor of 2 and 3 respectively. This is because a PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE always assumes a DPI of 96, and the system accounts for that. If the app queries for window size, it will always get a value of 500 by 500 regardless of what display it is in. If this app were to ask for the DPI of any of the three monitors, it will receive 96.
Now consider an application that is PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE. Remember that in the sample, the system DPI is 200% or 192 DPI. This means that any windows created by this app will render natively on display B. It the window moves to display A, it will automatically be scaled down by a factor of 2. This is because a PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE app in this scenario assumes that the DPI will always be 192. It queries for the DPI on startup, and then never changes it. The system accommodates this by automatically scaling down when moving to display A. Likewise, if the window moves to display C, the system will automatically scale up by a factor of 1.5. If the app queries for window size, it will always get the same value, similar to PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE. If it asks for the DPI of any of the three monitors, it will receive 192.
Unlike the other awareness values, PROCESS_PER_MONITOR_DPI_AWARE should adapt to the display that it is on. This means that it is always rendered natively and is never scaled by the system. The responsibility is on the app to adjust the scale factor when receiving the WM_DPICHANGED message. Part of this message includes a suggested rect for the window. This suggestion is the current window scaled from the old DPI value to the new DPI value. For example, a window that is 500 by 500 on display A and moved to display B will receive a suggested window rect that is 1000 by 1000. If that same window is moved to display C, the suggested window rect attached to WM_DPICHANGED will be 1500 by 1500. Furthermore, when this app queries for the window size, it will always get the actual native value. Likewise, if it asks for the DPI of any of the three monitors, it will receive 96, 192, and 288 respectively.
Because of DPI virtualization, if one application queries another with a different awareness level for DPI-dependent information, the system will automatically scale values to match the awareness level of the caller. One example of this is if you call GetWindowRect and pass in a window created by another application. Using the situation described above, assume that a PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE app created a 500 by 500 window on display C. If you query for the window rect from a different application, the size of the rect will vary based upon the DPI awareness of your app.
| PROCESS_DPI_UNAWARE | You will get a 500 by 500 rect because the system will assume a DPI of 96 and automatically scale the actual rect down by a factor of 3. |
| PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE | You will get a 1000 by 1000 rect because the system will assume a DPI of 192 and automatically scale the actual rect down by a factor of 3/2. |
| PROCESS_PER_MONITOR_DPI_AWARE | You will get a 1500 by 1500 rect because the system will use the actual DPI of the display and not do any scaling behind the scenes. |
Examples
This snippet demonstrates how to set a value of PROCESS_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE in your application manifest.
<dpiAware>true</dpiAware>
This snippet demonstrates how to set a value of PROCESS_PER_MONITOR_DPI_AWARE in your application manifest.
<dpiAware>true/PM</dpiAware>
Requirements
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum supported client | Windows 8.1 [desktop apps only] |
| Minimum supported server | Windows Server 2012 R2 [desktop apps only] |
| Header | shellscalingapi.h |