Implement 5% display scaling increments and a slider UI

[ariasyqolani]

Right now, display scaling happens in big 25% chunks. On a 4K screen, that's maybe okay. But for the huge number of us using old laptops especially with 1366x768 res on a 14 inch screen, it creates a no-win situation.

Here's the classic example:

• You set your scaling to 100%. Text is a good size, but you open an app with a lot of settings, and the window is too tall for the screen. The "OK" and "Apply" buttons are completely hidden at the bottom. We've all been there, trying to Alt+drag a window just to click a button.
• So, you drop the scaling to 75%. Now the window fits, but everything is tiny. The text is so small you have to squint, which is a real pain for any length of time.

We basically forced to choose between having a usable interface and having readable text.

The Proposal

I think we can solve this by borrowing a great idea from other DEs like KDE Plasma. The solution has two simple parts:

1. Switch to 5% Increments: Instead of jumping from 75% to 100%, let us choose 80%, 85%, 90%, etc. This would let users find that perfect "sweet spot" where windows fit and text is still comfortable to read.
2. Use a Slider: Let's change the scaling option in the settings panel with a simple slider. It's way more intuitive. You can just drag it back and forth to see the changes live and find what works best, instead of clicking through a long list.

KDE Plasma and COSMIC DE do this, and it works beautifully.

Whyy This Matters

This isn't just a minor tweak, it's a huge improvement for:

• Real-World Hardware: It makes Mint a much better experience on the millions of old laptops out there.
• Accessibility: It gives everyone, especially those with vision challenges, the fine-grained control they need to make their screen comfortable.
• User Experience: It removes a long-standing point of frustration and makes Cinnamon feel more polished and responsive to user needs.

This change would make a real, tangible difference for a huge chunk of the user base.

[Secret-chest]

Alternative: set 75% and increase the font.

[ariasyqolani]

I've done that, it does the job, but it doesn't look great

[billyswong]

If one run the display in "experimental" fractional scaling, make sure also disable subpixel antialiasing for text. In "font selection", pick "grayscale" instead of "rgba".

[billyswong]

The current GTK tech doesn't allow such granularity.

The window-too-tall problem should have been solved by better designed dialogs. If items fill up the screen, show up scroll bar. Or it can be solved by a more compact/dense GTK theme. (except libadwaita, which Mint's fork hasn't provided "themeable" UI density to them yet)

A couple years ago I even proposed reducing the screen resolution requirement to 720p https://github.com/orgs/linuxmint/discussions/168

[ariasyqolani]

Thanks for the information. So, are there no other ways?

[billyswong]

Have you tried the more compact Mint-X theme?

[ariasyqolani]

I'm using that at the moment, along with a custom xrandr script

[ariasyqolani]

God i love GTK 🥲