Per-App DPI Scaling Settings Registry Location

This guide explains where the Windows Registry stores per-application high-DPI scaling override settings. Windows records these compatibility configurations under the Application Compatibility (AppCompatFlags) registry branches for both individual users and system-wide setups. By navigating to these keys, you can view, modify, or delete custom DPI scaling overrides applied to specific executables.

Registry Paths

Windows stores per-application DPI scaling settings in two primary locations within the Registry Editor (regedit):

1. Current User (Standard / Per-User Overrides):

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers

2. All Users (System-Wide Overrides):

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers

Value Structure and Flags

Inside the Layers key, each configured application is represented as a String value (REG_SZ):

• Value Name: The absolute path to the executable file (for example, C:\Program Files\ExampleApp\app.exe).
• Value Data: A string containing the compatibility flags.

The most common data values used for DPI scaling overrides include:

• Application Controlled: ~ HIGHDPIAWARE
• System Scaling: ~ DPIUNAWARE
• System (Enhanced) / GDI Scaling: ~ GDIDPISCALING DPIUNAWARE

(Note: The tilde ~ symbol precedes compatibility flags added via the modern Windows Properties interface.)

How to Modify or Remove Overrides

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers.
3. Locate the value name matching your application’s .exe path.
4. Double-click the entry to change the flag string, or right-click and select Delete to restore default DPI behavior.