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Aptiva - Why does my screen appear smaller as the video resolution increases?
Applicable to: World-Wide
Here is a short overview of the different resolutions and why they appear smaller as the resolution increases.
The maximum amount of picture information that can be displayed on Super VGA monitors is generally 1024 x 768 pixels. Pixels, or picture elements, are the smallest element that your computer can address individually. There is some confusion on just what constitutes Super VGA. VESA, the Video Electronic Standards Association, has decided that Super VGA is 800 x 600 pixels. This resolution will give you roughly 50 percent more work space than standard VGA. Although 1024 x 768 will allow you to display more information on your display, the picture will be smaller.
Why is this? This phenomenon is due to the fact that the software that controls the information on your display does not have the ability to expand itself when you change resolutions. The only way you can fill the screen is with software that utilizes all of the space available. Windows, by default, utilizes 640 x 480 pixels as full screen. When you increase the resolution, the area displayed will shrink. There are ways to improve your resolution without upgrading your monitor, however. These are called virtual screens. Virtual screen software products fake Windows into believing that you have a larger screen. This way, your existing screen becomes a window into the larger virtual screen.
You can create several different sizes of virtual screens, depending on which size you prefer. You can even have screens that are 1280 x 1024 using a standard VGA monitor. By moving your cursor to the edges of your screen, you can smoothly scroll the image around as if you were reading a newspaper with a magnifying glass. There are other products that let you create up to nine virtual desktops with different arrangements of icons and windows. You switch between the windows via an on-screen number pad.
This software is especially useful if your desktop has a tendency to become cluttered with a bunch of overlapping windows. If you do not like the idea of virtual windows, you can use a feature called X-ray View. This allows you to see the frames of all overlapping windows at the same time. You can then click on the title bar of the one you want to switch to. As you can see, the problem of shrinking Windows is not really a problem at all. This is, in reality, an added feature. You have the ability to have more Windows on-screen at one time and they do not have to be overlapped.
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Document Category |
Video | |
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Date Created |
07-04-97 | |
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Last Updated |
02-03-99 | |
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Revision Date |
19-02-2000 | |
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Brand |
IBM Aptiva | |
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Product Family |
Aptiva, PS/1 | |
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Machine Type |
2134, 2136, 2137, 2138, 2139, 2140, 2142, 2144, 2153, 2156, 2158, 2159, 2161, 2162, 2163, 2164, 2168, 2176, 2011, 2121, 2123, 2133, 2155 | |
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