Steam looks sharper on high-resolution monitors thanks to high DPI update

Valve rolled out a new Steam update this week that makes the experience a lot better for anyone running a resolution higher than 1080p.

The Steam update first became available on Wednesday, before itself getting updated again the next day. It brings a few welcome changes to Steam, but the biggest is that it now supports high-DPI monitors.

In short, this makes text, menus and other UI elements much sharper on screens with resolutions higher than 1080p. Anyone with a 1440p or even a 4K monitor will immediately see the difference, but it's sadly only available when running Windows 10 with the 2017 Creators Update.

For those running multi-monitor setups, the update improves the way Steam windows behave in the taskbar. It also brings support for the exFAT file format, meaning it can now detect and work with exFAT-formatted drives.

The other big addition comes in the form of new transition animations that play when opening, minimising, or closing Steam windows. It's a very subtle effect, adding a layer of visual polish.

The rest of the patch notes include a few minor bug fixes for Steam Workshop, offline mode, and improvements to the backup and install feature. Check out the full log below.

General

• Reduced CPU usage of Steam when redrawing the UI, such as when the mouse is moved back and forth over part of the Library view
• Improved behavior when re-installing from retail discs or backup files, preferring to avoid downloads whenever possible
• Fixed an issue where corrupt workshop items could be re-downloaded endlessly
• Fix for new Steam Workshop item requests not being downloaded due to the “Only Allow Auto-Updates During Specific Hours” feature being enabled
• Fixed an issue where the in-game overlay could crash or become unresponsive in some Vulkan-based games
• Improved some cases where chat text was incorrectly treated as a clickable URL when it should not have been
• Fixed an issue where games could no longer be launched in offline mode if Steam had previously started or scheduled an update
• Fixed a crash when packets in a UDP connection were malformed in a particular way. Thanks to Tom Court from Context Information Security for reporting this issue.

Windows

• Added high-DPI monitor support when running under Windows 10 with the 2017 Creators Update
• Added window transition animations when opening, closing, or minimizing Steam windows
• Improved taskbar handling of Steam windows on multi-monitor systems
• Added detection and support for exFAT-formatted drives

MacOS

• Added support for turning off or restarting the system from Big Picture mode
• Improved native OS integration of Steam client windows. For example, Steam windows can now be dragged up past the menu bar to trigger the Spaces UI.
• Improved reliability of the Steam Input and Streaming Audio drivers for macOS
• Added a custom kernel driver for Sony DS4 controllers which allows use with Steam Input when connected over Bluetooth
• Improved checks for case-sensitive APFS file systems. The Steam client only supports case-insensitive file systems on macOS, and will continue to warn users when running with an incompatible file system

Linux

• Added a 2X-scaling mode with high-res text and graphics when running the Steam client in desktop mode on 4k-resolution monitors. You can also force 2X scaling with the "GDK_SCALE=2" environment variable, or disable it with "GDK_SCALE=1".
• Improved window-resizing interactions with the window manager
• Fixed an issue where the Steam client could prevent some desktop sessions from shutting down

Big Picture

• Fixed a browser hang when a web page transitions to or from full-screen mode

Steam Input

• Added "Exit Application" controller action. When this action is used within a game, it will prompt the user if they actually want to quit and if confirmed will immediately close the application.
• Added Chorded Press Activator. The Chorded Press Activator requires another input to be active for it to fire. This can be combined with other activators and either interrupt them or not based on those activators settings. So a regular press can optionally fire or not based on the chorded state, while a long press can optionally interrupt both for example. Chords require the chord button to be pressed first to activate (like shift or control would on a keyboard).
• Added the ability to unique-ify configurations across Xbox and generic controllers. While the actual hardware cannot be differentiated, we treat them as unique controllers based on connection order. So if they elect to use unique configurations, configurations will be applied based on first, second, third, etc. identical controller.
• Added hardware Joystick Calibration section in Controller Settings. This allows customizing the controller joystick deadzone on a per-controller, per joystick basis. There is an auto-calibration system that attempts to determine the ideal deadzone, as well as manual sliders for overriding those values. As Xbox controllers can’t be differentiated beyond type, they will only rely on controller order. Different device types, such as an Xbox One vs and Xbox One S controller, will be differentiated.
• Made previewing state much more obvious when previewing a configuration.
• Opted-In 3rd party controllers will now detect launchers and use a launcher specific configuration that is the same as opted-out controllers.
• Improved compatibility with PS4 controller remapping programs – controllers no longer need to be reconnected when starting/exiting those programs. Also users will get a warning dialog if they are launching a game which is using the Steam Input API to support PS4 controllers while a remapper is running.
• Fixed a bug where non-Steam games would use a desktop configuration when streaming if the controller wasn’t opted into Steam Input support.
• Fixed using non-tracked gamepads in SteamVR’s Big Picture Mode overlay
• Fixed Big Picture Mode’s Disk Management screen to accept gamepad/keyboard input on the disk selection dropdown
• Fixed stuttering in some games due to excessive rumble updates
• Fixed non-Steam games not being able to take screenshots from the controller
• Fixed several layer bugs related to change layer bindings
• Added a mouse movement threshold when determining if the Guide button is being used for a chord or to hold down the button to bring up the Big Picture menu
• Fixed various On-Screen Keyboard issues including Non-Steam Controller dual cursor mode, improved language accent and modifier key support, and input immediately upon invocation
• Made Controller Options always visible in the Big Picture Mode library page, even when no controller is currently active; users will be prompted to connect a controller if none can be found.
• Fixed navigating multiple action sets via the bumper buttons when previewing a controller configuration
• Fixed a case where the Big Picture Mode overlay could receive input when not active

In-Home Streaming

• Fixed AMD hardware capture support on R9 200/300 cards