# Changing to Full Width
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 24, 2026, 10:31am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884 "2026-02-24T10:31:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Steve\_Walmsley](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Steve_Walmsley)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 10:31am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/1 "2026-02-24T10:31:36Z")
I am on the 14-day trial for the Pro version and I really like Discourse so far, with one really frustrating exception. The text width in topics seems far too narrow. For the subject of the forums, large text width is necessary. I am used to older phpBB forums where you get the full width of the web page.
I tried installing the ‘Fully Theme’, but as far as I can tell that is the same width as the built-in Horizon and Foundation themes. I am on an ultrawide too which makes it even worse. There is just a fairly narrow strip of text in the centre of the window.
Am I missing some override setting or some other configuration option?
Any advice appreciated, thanks.
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/2 "2026-02-24T10:43:36Z")
Hi there, have you seen:
> [@Discourse Full-width component](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-full-width-component/292496):
>
> information_sourceSummary Make Discourse occupy the full browser widtheyeglassesPreview [preview](https://discourse.theme-creator.io/theme/chapoi/discourse-full-width)hammer_and_wrenchRepository [Full-width component](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-full-width-component)questionInstall Guide [How to install a theme or theme component](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-i-install-a-theme-or-theme-component/63682)open_bookNew to Discourse Themes? [Beginner’s guide to using Discourse Themes](https://meta.discourse.org/t/beginners-guide-to-using-discourse-themes/91966) Install this theme component warning This is still an experimental component, which overrides widgets, will most likely break with header refactors, and will not play w…
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 10:44am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/3 "2026-02-24T10:44:13Z")
Usually the width of the text area isn’t increased because long lines are harder to read
> [@What's the function/use of hiding the sidebar on large screens if it does not extend the main content area?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/whats-the-function-use-of-hiding-the-sidebar-on-large-screens-if-it-does-not-extend-the-main-content-area/316558/2):
>
> There’s often not much benefit to more horizontal content on the screen, at one point it starts to make reading _less_ efficient… [Readability: The Optimal Line Length – Articles – Baymard Institute](https://baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability)
You can change the width of the topic-body with some custom CSS: [How to increase width of topic - #7 by awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-increase-width-of-topic/81885/7)
And I think this theme component supports that too: [Discourse Custom Width](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-custom-width/256171)
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### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 10:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/4 "2026-02-24T10:46:03Z")
> [@Steve\_Walmsley](#):
>
> The text width in topics seems far too narrow. For the subject of the forums, large text width is necessary.
I politely disagree:
[https://medium.com/@wblekhoa/talk-aboutthe-optimal-length-of-text-in-ux-ui-525e689f0b71](https://medium.com/@wblekhoa/talk-aboutthe-optimal-length-of-text-in-ux-ui-525e689f0b71)
> **[Readability: The Optimal Line Length – Baymard](https://baymard.com/blog/line-length-readability)**
>
> The length of text lines substantially impacts their readability — yet this is often overlooked in e-commerce. See our latest test findings on line length readability.
& many others have addressed this topic in UX design.
Now, best practices aside, you’re of course free to adjust it for yourself. I see Moin already provided the possible options.
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### Author:  [@Steve\_Walmsley](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Steve_Walmsley)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 11:08am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/5 "2026-02-24T11:08:31Z")
It isn’t really a case of optimal width. Part of the forum is after action reports for a game. That includes text summaries of ship designs such as the one below. For someone playing the game, they understand every section. When the lines wrap, it becomes unreadable. Discourse also seems to remove white space, which makes it harder to read. Screenshots of the original text will work, but are more tedious to include.
Royal Sovereign class Battleship 60,000 tons 1,690 Crew 8,871.6 BP TCS 1,200 TH 4,800 EM 6,660
4000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 5-136 Shields 222-370 HTK 304 Sensors 15/24/0/0 DCR 41-6 PPV 292.32
Maint Life 1.52 Years MSP 4,788 AFR 702% IFR 9.8% 1YR 2,337 5YR 35,062 Max Repair 600 MSP
Magazine 2,311 / 0
Captain Control Rating 2 BRG AUX
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months CDE 30% Morale Check Required
Tesla TM-600 Jump Drive Max Ship Size 60000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Parsons PN-1200 Triple Expansion Gas-Core Drive (4) Power 4800 Fuel Use 39.91% Signature 1200 Exp 12%
Fuel Capacity 2,297,000 Litres Range 17.3 billion km (49 days at full power)
Krupp KD-37 Shield Generator (6) Recharge 370 seconds (0.6 per second)
Twin 10"/50 Laser Turret (6x2) Range 256,000km TS 8000 km/s Power 32-8 ROF 20
Twin 5"/50 QF Laser Turret (6x2) Range 200,000km TS 8000 km/s Power 8-8 ROF 5
4"/20 QF Railgun (12x4) Range 20,000km TS 5,000 km/s Power 3-3 ROF 5
Barr and Stroud MK I Primary Laser Fire Control (3) Range 256,000 km TS 8,000 km/s ECCM-1
R-44 Gaseous Fission Reactor (3) Total Power Output 132.2 Exp 5%
Armstrong-Whitworth AW-24R Capital Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size: 24 ROF 1960
Maxwell MF-64 Missile Fire Control (1) Range 63.8m km RES 125 ECCM-1
Maxwell MF-24-SC Missile Fire Control (2) Range 24.5m km RES 20 ECCM-1
Theseus Anti-Ship Missile (72) Speed 25,000 km/s Range 4.5m km WH 25 Size 24 TH: 3,125 / 6,250 / 12,500
Perseus Anti-Ship Missile (24) Speed 20,000 km/s Range 49.6m km WH 16 Size 24 TH: 2,500 / 5,000 / 10,000
Maxwell MX-100 Active Search Sensor (1) GPS 20000 Range 100.9m km RES 125 ECCM-1
Maxwell MX-20-SC Small Craft Detection Sensor (1) GPS 480 Range 21.2m km RES 20 ECCM-1
Maxwell MX-6-M Missile Detection Sensor (1) GPS 16 Range 6.4m km MCR 574.5k km RES 1 ECCM-1
Rutherford RT-15 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 15 Detect 1000: 30.6m km
Rutherford RE-24 Passive Sensor (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect 1000: 38.7m km
Electronic Warfare Jammers: Fire Control 1 Missile 1
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### Author:  [@Steve\_Walmsley](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Steve_Walmsley)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 11:11am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/6 "2026-02-24T11:11:17Z")
Thanks - I’ll read up on those options
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 11:12am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/7 "2026-02-24T11:12:28Z")
> [@Steve\_Walmsley](#):
>
> When the lines wrap, it becomes unreadable. Discourse also seems to remove white space, which makes it harder to read.
Then maybe formatted text is what you need. That doesn’t remove spaces.
```plaintext
Something like this
```
````
```
Something like this
```
````
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### Author:  [@Steve\_Walmsley](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Steve_Walmsley)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 11:17am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/8 "2026-02-24T11:17:31Z")
Thanks. I’m not used to CSS or HTML (C++/C# Windows is my background), so its mostly a case of not realising what I don’t know 🙂
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 11:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/9 "2026-02-24T11:18:45Z")
> [@Moin](#):
>
> That doesn’t remove spaces.
And also scrolls sideways instead of wrapping 👍 .
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### Author:  [@Steve\_Walmsley](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Steve_Walmsley)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 11:44am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/10 "2026-02-24T11:44:52Z")
For anyone interested, making the default text size smaller also resolves most of the problem.
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### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/changing-to-full-width/396884/11 "2026-02-24T14:29:33Z")
Gotcha, yeah, that usecase does make sense.
Glad the formatted text sorts you out.