Does the green circle look perfectly round?
If the answer is yes, all is well but you may be able to improve the resolution of the picture. So read on ...
If the answer is no, definitely read on!!
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Does the green circle look perfectly round? If the answer is yes, all is well but you may be able to improve the resolution of the picture. So read on ... If the answer is no, definitely read on!! |
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The simplest way is to shut all applications but not your browser. Minimise your browser and right click anywhere on the desktop.
Choose Properties/Settings and check the Screen resolution setting. Increasing the resolution displays more information on the screen but in a smaller size. Choose the Advanced option at the bottom right of the box and then choose Adapter/List All Modes. A list of possible modes will appear, the current mode being highlighted.
A typical line in the list is 1024 by 768, True Color (32 bit), 60 Hertz.
1024
refers to the number of dots displayed across the screen and 768 the vertical
dots
Choose True Color for best color rendition
60 Hertz is the refresh rate; 60 Hz for LCD screens, higher rates for glass
screens.
Note particularly that the text size reduces with increasing resolution but this can be fixed.
The type of screen/monitor you have will determine the limits of the resolution and scan rate settings. There are three basic types of display; glass screen, LCD standard aspect and LCD wide screen. The glass and standard LCD display a 4:3 aspect ratio and the wide screen displays 16:10. 1024x768 is 4:3 whereas 1650x1050 is 16:10. Some earlier LCDs display with an aspect ratio of 5:4. Choosing the wrong aspect ratio results in circles which are not circular on the screen. Aspect ratio is the width of the screen divided by the height of the screen. For example, a wide LCD, defined as a 22" screen has a diagonal of about 22 inches and is 475mm wide by 295mm high or 475:295 which is approximately 16:10.
Determined by the age and quality of your glass screen, if you have one, you should choose a display with the greatest resolution possible given the 4:3 aspect ratio. You will notice an increase in screen jitter as you try each setting. This is caused by the inability of the image to persist on the screen at low refresh rates. You should therefore choose a refresh rate as high as possible; 60Hz is not high enough to stop the jitter.
The LCD screens have a native mode which is the setting that the screen is designed to work with best. Typically, with 4:3 LCDs try 1280x960 True Color 60Hz, with 5:4 LCDs try 1280x1024 True Color 60Hz, with 16:10 LCDs try 1680x1050 True Color 60Hz. Experiment with other settings.
The glass screens are 4:3, so start with 1024x768 True Color 72Hz if it’s offered. Experiment with higher settings. Some settings may not display in the centre of the screen; some may be able to be adjusted to the centre; experiment. Too high scan rates may produce a very high pitched squeal from the monitor; if so, reset to a lower scan rate immediately as this can destroy the monitor!
Choose a display mode, maximise the browser screen and check that the green circle below is circular and not an oval. If it is oval you have the wrong aspect ratio so minimise the browser screen and try again.
Once the display mode is chosen, close your browser and open Windows Explorer. Look carefully at the text size. Two problems should be addressed; is it sharp and is it big enough. If it is not sharp try another setting. If sharpness is OK but it is too small, use the Display Properties dialog screen, choose Advanced/General and change the DPI (dots per inch) setting; Normal is 96DPI, Large is 120DPI, Custom is whatever you like but some custom settings work well and others don’t. I choose 106DPI for my wide screen. Experiment with other settings. This is a slow process since it requires restarts after each change to the settings.
Settings to try:
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Glass and Normal LCD 1024 x 768 4:3 1280 x 960 4:3 1400 x 1050 4:3 Other LCD 1280 x 1024 5:4 Wide screen LCD 1440 x 900 16:10 1680 x 1050 16:10
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Notice that the settings around 1050 dots high give a very good browser/Internet Explorer screen size. So adjust the text size if the text is too small.