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.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: alexleducI 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)
How did you export it and how are you using steam? Exporting via your Desktop Environment should work better than in your .bashrc normal installations. If you use the flatpak, better use the local flatpak config (easiest in flatseal).
Last edited by minfaer on 19 June 2023 at 9:45 am UTC
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CanadianBlueBeer Jun 19, 2023
If I set monitor scaling to 125%, then steam seems to be the right size.
Everything ELSE is too large though.
sigh (and the scaling button in steam does nothing)
Everything ELSE is too large though.
sigh (and the scaling button in steam does nothing)
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fenglengshun Jun 20, 2023
Quoting: alexleducI 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:`export` only sets the variable for the current terminal session, to make it "permanent" you need to put it somewhere else like `~/.profile` or `~/.bashrc` (there's a hierarchy to it, but I can't remember ever since I made home-manager's nix sort it out for me).
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)
As for setting env vars in shortcuts, you're best off using kate/kwrite to edit the .desktop file manually, and prepend `env VAR=value` in the `Exec=` field.
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fenglengshun Jun 20, 2023
Quoting: CanadianBlueBeerIf I set monitor scaling to 125%, then steam seems to be the right size.You can probably fool it for Steam by appending your desired scaling through env vars. AFAIK the env var related to scaling for GTK are either `GDK_SCALE` or `GDK_DPI_SCALE`, and for Qt I think it should be `QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR` (checked with `env | grep -i scale`).
Everything ELSE is too large though.
sigh (and the scaling button in steam does nothing)
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LordDaveTheKind Jun 20, 2023
I've put the variable definition in file /etc/environment (as I am the only user on my machine) and it works as expected.
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TheRiddick Jun 21, 2023
notice that drag/click zones are not functioning correct, seems that should be fixed some time for sanity reasons.
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CanadianBlueBeer Jun 21, 2023
steam -forcedesktopscaling 1.25 and it works.
steam -forcedesktopscaling 1.5 and no change from just steam.
go figure.
steam -forcedesktopscaling 1.5 and no change from just steam.
go figure.
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Can anyone provide a guide on how to add it to the shortcut of steam in Gnome shell? Cant figure it out myself
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The latest Steam Client (not the beta) has doubled the font size on my Linux system. I've been running Steam Client fine for years, and not had a problem like that before. I have a large 4K display and Nvidia graphics, so maybe those things are influencing the problem.
My solution has been this: Create a new script "run_steam" with the following in it:
And I also created a new "steam2.desktop" shortcut inside /usr/share/applications which points to the new script.
Clicking on the "Steam2" desktop icon will now run my script, which launches a reasonably-sized Steam Client. Clicking on the original "steam.desktop" launches Steam Client with ridiculously large fonts.
I hope Valve gets around to fixing this!
My solution has been this: Create a new script "run_steam" with the following in it:
#!/bin/bash
sh -c 'env STEAM_FORCE_DESKTOPUI_SCALING=1.1 steam %U'And I also created a new "steam2.desktop" shortcut inside /usr/share/applications which points to the new script.
Clicking on the "Steam2" desktop icon will now run my script, which launches a reasonably-sized Steam Client. Clicking on the original "steam.desktop" launches Steam Client with ridiculously large fonts.
I hope Valve gets around to fixing this!
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michaldybczak Feb 7
I don't understand. High resolution monitors are available for years and are now becoming a standard. Any new computer or laptop will have high resolution display. I recently switched to a laptop with 1444p monitor and Steam UI is very small. Setting to scale UI doesn't work. The variable given here does work, but why is it so troublesome? Why isn't it working automatically, or at least with a setting in UI? I just can't comprehend it. What is the issue here?
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