Per-application window scaling in Xorg for high dpi display
I finally managed to find a solution that scales old applications without any noticeable visual or performance degradation.
Thanks to kaueraal, you can now scale old applications using run_scaled
. You can obtain the script from either his GitHub page or through AUR run_scaled-git
if you are running Arch Linux.
Here is an example of two applications running side by side:
- Firefox with HiDPI support on the left
- LMMS running with
run_scaled
on the right
I discovered this script through the Arch Linux Wiki.
Without seeing the exact problem that you are running into I would suggest using
GDK_SCALE=x
or
GDK_DPI_SCALE=x
Before starting each application. You will likely have to manually change .desktop
files or run from your shell prefixing the commands with GDK_SCALE=x
GDK_SCALE
only allow interger values however
GDK_DPI_SCALE=x
allow for decimal values like i.e.GDK_DPI_SCALE=0.66
For other SDK based applications there are likely similar settings for respective kits. However since your problem is with gnome desktop I will provide this solution.
I haven't tried with a 4k monitor, but running GDK_DPI_SCALE=1.66 gnome-calculator
will demo the solution.
Source: https://developer.gnome.org/gtk3/stable/gtk-x11.html
Vncdesk gives you a solution based on a local VNC client-server (see here)
It is not a complete solution for me because it gives some problems if the app need a window manager.