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Steam UI scaling should work even better in the latest Beta

By - | Views: 34,643

Having Steam UI scaling issues? You may want to have a look at the Steam Client Beta that was released June 15th and see how you get on. Valve are constantly updating the Beta, and they only just launched a major update with the new Steam Overlay but they're right back to it on the Beta with fresh upgrades and fixes.

For the Linux client here's what they've added:

  • Improved scaling for users running gnome.
  • Added an env var based override for scaling settings STEAM_FORCE_DESKTOPUI_SCALING=.
  • Fixed a rare crash when rendering an invalid texture.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented multiple DualShock 4 controllers from being connected at the same time.

So to use the env var, you could just run STEAM_FORCE_DESKTOPUI_SCALING=1.5 steam and have it bigger. Set it to whatever you want. As example here's how it would normally look on my 1440p monitor:

And then with 1.5 scaling forced:

And then with 2.0 forced scaling:

Seems to work really nicely, and you can set it to exactly what you want. Nice to see Valve put some more attention into this, as it can really help at different resolutions and for people with vision issues.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Apps, Beta, Misc, Steam, Valve
20 Likes
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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21 comments
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hardpenguin Jun 16, 2023
Very nice
Xpander Jun 16, 2023
sadly it seems it doesnt work for below 1
i tried 0.5 and it doesnt make any difference.
Too bad, whould have liked things to be smaller on my 27" 1440p screen, but its not a huge problem as the new UI is already a bit smaller with fonts than the old one was, luckily
JSVRamirez Jun 16, 2023
I am so glad for the UI scaling! That's a big win for me.
iskaputt Jun 16, 2023
It is also possible to start steam with

steam -forcedesktopscaling 1.5

for the same effect, in case someone prefers command line arguments over environment variables for whatever reason.
CanadianBlueBeer Jun 17, 2023
Scaling? bwahahahaaha!!!

Farking thing is totally borked.

The scaling option does absolutely nada. turn on/off no change. nuttin.

Fonts/pics are GINORMOUS!! unusable.

I've got 2 HD monitors and a 4k one. 4k in the center, hd on each side.

1) steam always goes to the left monitor. (#1 in settings), open settings/anything in steam, goes to monitor 1.
2) I can't even tell what size the fonts are, but oh 32 or so? Icons are also huge. (same scale)
3) Where are the bloody borders? Oh, right, morons are doing it as if it was a touch screen. Um, where is my clue by 4?

btw, this doesn't happen under windows. (same box, dual boot) ... well, except for no borders, but you have an area to grab to move the thing, and it remember to go on monitor 3. (right hand one)

OH, this is a beta version, right.... um.. HELLO!!! I did not opt in to to it! Oh right, someone messed up and pushed it to everyone. (it's in the forums)

NO, I'm not happy about this version. Bugs are one thing, but dagnabbit, do NOT push a touchscreen interface onto the PC.
aka, console vs PC. (yes, it is a pet bugaboo of mine)

harrumph.

AND GIT OFF MA LAWN!!

;p
sonic2kk Jun 17, 2023
Unfortunately Steam stills runs through XWayland so mixed-scale display setups will still have a blurry Steam client. This change is nice of the default Steam client text is a bit too small for you, though.

If you're on Plasma Wayland and have just 1 display and it's scaled, then this paired with KDE's XWayland scaling option should mitigate any sizing issues.
fabertawe Jun 17, 2023
I've set my scaling to 1.1 (1440p monitor), just enough to make reading "discussions" legible for these old eyes. Desperately needed!


Last edited by fabertawe on 17 June 2023 at 10:45 am UTC
Eike Jun 17, 2023
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Quoting: fabertaweI've set my scaling to 1.1 (1440p monitor), just enough to make reading "discussions" legible for these old eyes. Desperately needed!
Similar here, i couldn't stand the original new scaling, but I'm all fine with 1.2. :-D
TheRiddick Jun 18, 2023
needs to be a slider or dropdown selector.
alexleduc Jun 18, 2023
I have set the environment variable with an export so that it's permanent, but Steam doesn't seem to use it. I does work when ran from the command line with:
steam -forcedesktopscaling 1.5
or
STEAM_FORCE_DESKTOPUI_SCALING=1.5 steam

Launching it from a Plasma shortcut or just having steam start on boot ignores the environment variable (at least on X11)
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