Change Monitor Settings

The monitor's size and display capabilities go a long, long way in defining the overall user experience. Excellent monitors can definitely make your computing a more pleasant experience. After all, you don't spend all day at the computer staring at the CPUyou spend it staring at the monitor.

One of the factors to consider when choosing a monitor is the resolution it will support. Here's the rule you need to remember about resolution: the bigger the numbers, the smaller the screen elements, like icons and text. And most people prefer smaller. What? Why might smaller be better? Because more information fits on the screen at higher resolutions. There's less scrolling to do when reading an Excel spreadsheet or a blog.

There are generally three screen resolutions in play on the vast majority of computer screens today. The least common is the 640x480 resolution. This is generally used by people whose eyesight limits them to higher resolutions. If you have ever used Windows in Safe Mode, you know about this resolution.

A more common resolution is 800x600. This presents the user with larger fonts and icons when compared to 640x480, but is still a lower resolution than what most graphics cards and monitors are optimized for. (It's also an excellent resolution for book authors capturing screenshots for their readers, just so you know.) In other words, if you want to use a resolution of 800x600, on a modern monitor, you usually have to make a configuration change. Additionally, most Web content is still built to display on 800x600 resolution screens.

The most common screen resolution today is 1024x768, which represents roughly 60 percent of computer users. Although most monitors and graphics cards today default to the 1024x768 setting, here's how to change the screen resolution, should the need arise:

1.	Open the Display Properties dialog box and click on the Settings tab, as shown in Figure 5-7. Figure 5-7. Changing screen resolution.
2.	Use the Screen Resolution slider bar to change the screen resolution. Just click and drag, and the slider will jump to the next available screen resolution.
3.	Click Apply. The Screen Resolution will change, and a dialog box asks whether you want to keep the settings. You have 15 seconds to decide whether to keep the settings.
4.	Click Yes to keep the settings and then click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box.