Change Compatibility Mode for Apps in Windows 10

With the introduction of Windows 10, many earlier apps are having issues with the latest operating system by Microsoft. Although Windows 10 supports a variety of apps created for an earlier version of Windows, some older apps might have a problem in the running in Windows 10. Few apps might have a problem with scaling especially if you have a high-resolution display while some other apps might not run depending on the system architecture. But don’t worry you can still run your older version of software on Windows 10 with the help of a feature called Compatibility Mode.

Compatibility mode settings in Windows 10 are specially made for this purpose: to detect and fix compatibility problems of older application built for the earlier version of Windows. Anyway without wasting any time let’s see How to Change Compatibility Mode for Apps in Windows 10 with the help of the below-listed tutorial.

Change Compatibility Mode for Apps in Windows 10

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

But before moving forward to this tutorial, let’s see what all the compatibility options Windows 10 offers are:

Run this program in compatibility mode for – With this option you can run your app in compatibility mode for Windows 95, Windows 98/Me, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows Vista SP1, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Reduced colour mode – App uses a limited set of colours that might be useful for some older apps that could only run in 256 colour mode.

Run in 640 × 480 screen resolution – If graphics for the app appears incorrectly rendered or if you want to change the display resolution to VGA mode (Video Graphics Array).

Override high DPI scaling behaviour – Well you could override high DPI scaling mode which can be performed by either the Application, System, or System (Enhanced).

Disable fullscreen optimizations – Improves the compatibility of the full-screen apps.

Run this program as an administrator – This will run the application elevated as the administrator.

Method 1: Change Compatibility Mode Settings

1. Right-click on the application then selects Properties.

Note: You need to right-click on the .exe file of the application.

2. Now in the Properties window switch to Compatibility.

3. Checkmark the box which says “Run this program in compatibility mode for“.

4. From the drop-down below the above box, select the Windows version you want to use for your application.

5. You could also checkmark “Run this program as an administrator“.

Note: For this, you need to be signed in as administrator.

6. Click Apply, followed by OK.

7. See if the application works or not, also remember that all these changes will only be applied to your personal user account.

8. If you want to apply these settings for all the user account, make sure you are signed in as administrator then click the button “Change settings for all users” in the property window of the application.

9. Next, a new property window will open, but all the changes you make here will be applied to all user accounts on your PC.

This is how you Change Compatibility Mode for Apps in Windows 10, but don’t worry if this method didn’t work out for you. Another method with which you can easily change the compatibility mode for apps using the program compatibility troubleshooter.

Method 2: Run Program Compatibility Troubleshooter

1. Type “run programs made” in the Windows Search box then click on the “Run Program made for previous versions of Windows” from the search results.

2. On the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter window click Next.

3. Now wait for a few seconds for the troubleshooter to generate a list of programs.

4. Next, select the particular program from the list, which is having the compatibility issues and then click Next.

5. On the Select troubleshooting options window, click on “Try recommended settings“.

6. Click Test the program and if everything works well, then close the program and click Next.

7. Finally, select “Yes, save these settings for this program” but if the program didn’t run correctly, select “No, try again using different settings“.

8. After you select “No, try again using different settings” you would be taken to “What problem do you notice” window. If you would have chosen “Troubleshoot program” in Select troubleshooting option window, you would see the same window: “What problem do you notice“.

9. Now choose one of the four options that fit your situation and then follow the on-screen instructions to let Window collect enough information to start troubleshooting the compatibility issue.

10. If you have more than one program facing the incompatibility problem, you need to repeat all the above steps for that program.

Recommended:

• Add Open command window here as administrator in Windows 10 Context Menu
• How to Open Command Prompt at Boot in Windows 10
• Prevent Changing Color and Appearance in Windows 10
• 5 Ways to Open Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 10

That’s it, you successfully learned How to Change Compatibility Mode for Apps in Windows 10, but if you still have any questions regarding this tutorial then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.