Readability: tips for tired eyes

02-08-2008

The following rather lengthy text was lifted from an Adobe forums post by
John Rolfe Ellis - thanks! It may help those who have complained about not
being able to alter the size of the text in the UI.

Quote:

	Quote:
	>>

When applications choose to display text, they typically do so by specifying
the actual height of the desired font, e.g. 12 points (0.17"), not the
number of pixels. Application designers know that typical reading fonts are
10 to 12 points high, and if their program's text is at least that high, it
will be readable at a normal viewing distance.

The DPI (dots per inch) setting tells Windows and applications how many
pixels are in each inch on the monitor's screen. For example, a 96 DPI
monitor has 96 pixels per inch. When the application requests a 12-point
font, Windows multiplies the height of the font (0.17") by the monitor's DPI
to get the actual number of pixels (16) that should be used to get a letter
that is 12 points high on that monitor.
By default, Windows assumes monitors have a DPI of 96. But the actual DPI of
monitors can vary a fair bit. A quick perusal of Dell's new flat panels
shows DPIs that vary from 86 to 100.

Windows allows the user to change the setting that tells Windows the nominal
DPI of the monitor. Setting a larger DPI will cause Windows to use more
pixels to display a 12-point font, making the font show larger than 12
points on the screen. For example, changing the DPI from 96 to 120 will
increase the pixel height of the font from 16 pixels to 20 pixels, a 25%
increase. In other words, increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify
the fonts on the screen.

Users often want to magnify fonts for readability. A typical use case is a
user who upgrades from an old, small 17" CRT to a brand new 22" widescreen
flat panel running. The first thing they do is move the widescreen back on
their desk, compared to where the CRT was, so that they can see the whole
screen in their field of view. But then the fonts look tiny and unreadable.
So increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify the fonts on the
widescreen, making them more readable.

Another common use case is the user who buys a widescreen laptop with a 14"
screen and resolution of 1440 x 900, with a DPI of 120. The default Windows
DPI setting of 96 will make fonts look incredibly tiny, so increasing the
setting to 120 will make it readable.
Facing such situations, many (most?) users will, instead of increasing the
DPI, lower the resolution output by the graphics card. For example, lowering
the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768 will increase the physical size of
fonts on the screen by 25%. But this is not at all the same thing as
changing the DPI setting -- fewer total pixels are being output to the
display, and photos will look fuzzier or grainier at the lower resolution.
It's much better to adjust the DPI setting, which will increase font size
while still using all the actual pixels on the monitor to show photos and
drawings.

So the basic rule is: Set your graphics card to output at the native
resolution of the monitor. To magnify the size of fonts on the screen,
increase the Windows DPI. Unfortunately, some applications don't support
DPI's other than 96...
<<
.... but WLMail clearly does, and now I can see the whole UI without
difficulty.
--
Noel

02-08-2008

Thanks Noel.

120 DPI makes a big difference on my widescreen laptop with a 17" WUXGA screen and resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels at 133.2 DPI.

I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor, so I did some research. I found this neat article on DPI in Vista at
http://www.istartedsomething.com/200...a-dpi-scaling/ which had a link to a very helpful monitor DPI calculator at http://www.raydreams.com/Prog/DPI.aspx

--
Cheers,
Peter
(Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Shakespeare
---------------

"Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:70DB1923-D98D-49E6-A39D-DA08B988CE4A@xxxxxx

Quote:

> The following rather lengthy text was lifted from an Adobe forums post by
> John Rolfe Ellis - thanks! It may help those who have complained about not
> being able to alter the size of the text in the UI.
>

Quote:

	Quote:
	>>>

> When applications choose to display text, they typically do so by specifying
> the actual height of the desired font, e.g. 12 points (0.17"), not the
> number of pixels. Application designers know that typical reading fonts are
> 10 to 12 points high, and if their program's text is at least that high, it
> will be readable at a normal viewing distance.
>
> The DPI (dots per inch) setting tells Windows and applications how many
> pixels are in each inch on the monitor's screen. For example, a 96 DPI
> monitor has 96 pixels per inch. When the application requests a 12-point
> font, Windows multiplies the height of the font (0.17") by the monitor's DPI
> to get the actual number of pixels (16) that should be used to get a letter
> that is 12 points high on that monitor.
> By default, Windows assumes monitors have a DPI of 96. But the actual DPI of
> monitors can vary a fair bit. A quick perusal of Dell's new flat panels
> shows DPIs that vary from 86 to 100.
>
> Windows allows the user to change the setting that tells Windows the nominal
> DPI of the monitor. Setting a larger DPI will cause Windows to use more
> pixels to display a 12-point font, making the font show larger than 12
> points on the screen. For example, changing the DPI from 96 to 120 will
> increase the pixel height of the font from 16 pixels to 20 pixels, a 25%
> increase. In other words, increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify
> the fonts on the screen.
>
> Users often want to magnify fonts for readability. A typical use case is a
> user who upgrades from an old, small 17" CRT to a brand new 22" widescreen
> flat panel running. The first thing they do is move the widescreen back on
> their desk, compared to where the CRT was, so that they can see the whole
> screen in their field of view. But then the fonts look tiny and unreadable.
> So increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify the fonts on the
> widescreen, making them more readable.
>
> Another common use case is the user who buys a widescreen laptop with a 14"
> screen and resolution of 1440 x 900, with a DPI of 120. The default Windows
> DPI setting of 96 will make fonts look incredibly tiny, so increasing the
> setting to 120 will make it readable.
> Facing such situations, many (most?) users will, instead of increasing the
> DPI, lower the resolution output by the graphics card. For example, lowering
> the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768 will increase the physical size of
> fonts on the screen by 25%. But this is not at all the same thing as
> changing the DPI setting -- fewer total pixels are being output to the
> display, and photos will look fuzzier or grainier at the lower resolution.
> It's much better to adjust the DPI setting, which will increase font size
> while still using all the actual pixels on the monitor to show photos and
> drawings.
>
> So the basic rule is: Set your graphics card to output at the native
> resolution of the monitor. To magnify the size of fonts on the screen,
> increase the Windows DPI. Unfortunately, some applications don't support
> DPI's other than 96...
> <<
> ... but WLMail clearly does, and now I can see the whole UI without
> difficulty.
> --
> Noel
>
>

02-08-2008

Hi, Peter.

	Quote:
	> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor,

Right-click the Desktop | Personalize | Adjust font size (DPI)

It's on the left of the Personalize menu, and you'll need Administrator
credentials.

Be aware that this will probably rearrange all the icons on your Desktop!
If you have them organized just so, you might not want to test this because
switching back to 96 DPI doesn’t always put them back the way they were.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@xxxxxx
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

"Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2CE0F3D8-390B-4F80-89E9-FB8F43736ED2@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Thanks Noel.
>
> 120 DPI makes a big difference on my widescreen laptop with a 17" WUXGA
> screen and resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels at 133.2 DPI.
>
> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor, so I did some research. I found
> this neat article on DPI in Vista at
> http://www.istartedsomething.com/200...a-dpi-scaling/ which had a
> link to a very helpful monitor DPI calculator at
> http://www.raydreams.com/Prog/DPI.aspx
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Peter
> (Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
> "There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in
> your philosophy." - Shakespeare
> ---------------
>
> "Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:70DB1923-D98D-49E6-A39D-DA08B988CE4A@xxxxxx
>

Quote:

>> The following rather lengthy text was lifted from an Adobe forums post by
>> John Rolfe Ellis - thanks! It may help those who have complained about
>> not
>> being able to alter the size of the text in the UI.
>>

	Quote:
	>>>>

>> When applications choose to display text, they typically do so by
>> specifying
>> the actual height of the desired font, e.g. 12 points (0.17"), not the
>> number of pixels. Application designers know that typical reading fonts
>> are
>> 10 to 12 points high, and if their program's text is at least that high,
>> it
>> will be readable at a normal viewing distance.
>>
>> The DPI (dots per inch) setting tells Windows and applications how many
>> pixels are in each inch on the monitor's screen. For example, a 96 DPI
>> monitor has 96 pixels per inch. When the application requests a 12-point
>> font, Windows multiplies the height of the font (0.17") by the monitor's
>> DPI
>> to get the actual number of pixels (16) that should be used to get a
>> letter
>> that is 12 points high on that monitor.
>> By default, Windows assumes monitors have a DPI of 96. But the actual DPI
>> of
>> monitors can vary a fair bit. A quick perusal of Dell's new flat panels
>> shows DPIs that vary from 86 to 100.
>>
>> Windows allows the user to change the setting that tells Windows the
>> nominal
>> DPI of the monitor. Setting a larger DPI will cause Windows to use more
>> pixels to display a 12-point font, making the font show larger than 12
>> points on the screen. For example, changing the DPI from 96 to 120 will
>> increase the pixel height of the font from 16 pixels to 20 pixels, a 25%
>> increase. In other words, increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify
>> the fonts on the screen.
>>
>> Users often want to magnify fonts for readability. A typical use case is
>> a
>> user who upgrades from an old, small 17" CRT to a brand new 22"
>> widescreen
>> flat panel running. The first thing they do is move the widescreen back
>> on
>> their desk, compared to where the CRT was, so that they can see the whole
>> screen in their field of view. But then the fonts look tiny and
>> unreadable.
>> So increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify the fonts on the
>> widescreen, making them more readable.
>>
>> Another common use case is the user who buys a widescreen laptop with a
>> 14"
>> screen and resolution of 1440 x 900, with a DPI of 120. The default
>> Windows
>> DPI setting of 96 will make fonts look incredibly tiny, so increasing the
>> setting to 120 will make it readable.
>> Facing such situations, many (most?) users will, instead of increasing
>> the
>> DPI, lower the resolution output by the graphics card. For example,
>> lowering
>> the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768 will increase the physical size
>> of
>> fonts on the screen by 25%. But this is not at all the same thing as
>> changing the DPI setting -- fewer total pixels are being output to the
>> display, and photos will look fuzzier or grainier at the lower
>> resolution.
>> It's much better to adjust the DPI setting, which will increase font size
>> while still using all the actual pixels on the monitor to show photos and
>> drawings.
>>
>> So the basic rule is: Set your graphics card to output at the native
>> resolution of the monitor. To magnify the size of fonts on the screen,
>> increase the Windows DPI. Unfortunately, some applications don't support
>> DPI's other than 96...
>> <<
>> ... but WLMail clearly does, and now I can see the whole UI without
>> difficulty.
>> --
>> Noel
>>
>>

02-08-2008

Hi R.C.

Ah, you misunderstood me. What I meant to say was that I could not find the DPI *specification* of my monitor. Even the manual ignored it, but the monitor DPI calculator worked it out for me (133.2 DPI), saving me the trouble of measuring or calculating (from the 17" diagonal) my monitor height and width, and calculating the DPI for myself from the native resolution specs (1920 by 1200 pixels).

Monitor DPI = Square root of: [(pixel height x pixel width) / (monitor height" x monitor width")]

--
Cheers,
Peter
(Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Shakespeare
---------------

"R. C. White" <rc@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:81E3BE8C-B2F8-405D-ABA1-D04D95EF0068@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Hi, Peter.
>

	Quote:
	>> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor,

>
> Right-click the Desktop | Personalize | Adjust font size (DPI)
>
> It's on the left of the Personalize menu, and you'll need Administrator
> credentials.
>
> Be aware that this will probably rearrange all the icons on your Desktop!
> If you have them organized just so, you might not want to test this because
> switching back to 96 DPI doesn’t always put them back the way they were.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@xxxxxx
> Microsoft Windows MVP
> (Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
>
> "Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:2CE0F3D8-390B-4F80-89E9-FB8F43736ED2@xxxxxx

Quote:

>> Thanks Noel.
>>
>> 120 DPI makes a big difference on my widescreen laptop with a 17" WUXGA
>> screen and resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels at 133.2 DPI.
>>
>> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor, so I did some research. I found
>> this neat article on DPI in Vista at
>> http://www.istartedsomething.com/200...a-dpi-scaling/ which had a
>> link to a very helpful monitor DPI calculator at
>> http://www.raydreams.com/Prog/DPI.aspx
>>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>> Peter
>> (Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
>> "There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in
>> your philosophy." - Shakespeare
>> ---------------
>>
>> "Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:70DB1923-D98D-49E6-A39D-DA08B988CE4A@xxxxxx
>>

	Quote:
	>>> The following rather lengthy text was lifted from an Adobe forums post by >>> John Rolfe Ellis - thanks! It may help those who have complained about >>> not >>> being able to alter the size of the text in the UI. >>> >>>>> >>> When applications choose to display text, they typically do so by >>> specifying >>> the actual height of the desired font, e.g. 12 points (0.17"), not the >>> number of pixels. Application designers know that typical reading fonts >>> are >>> 10 to 12 points high, and if their program's text is at least that high, >>> it >>> will be readable at a normal viewing distance. >>> >>> The DPI (dots per inch) setting tells Windows and applications how many >>> pixels are in each inch on the monitor's screen. For example, a 96 DPI >>> monitor has 96 pixels per inch. When the application requests a 12-point >>> font, Windows multiplies the height of the font (0.17") by the monitor's >>> DPI >>> to get the actual number of pixels (16) that should be used to get a >>> letter >>> that is 12 points high on that monitor. >>> By default, Windows assumes monitors have a DPI of 96. But the actual DPI >>> of >>> monitors can vary a fair bit. A quick perusal of Dell's new flat panels >>> shows DPIs that vary from 86 to 100. >>> >>> Windows allows the user to change the setting that tells Windows the >>> nominal >>> DPI of the monitor. Setting a larger DPI will cause Windows to use more >>> pixels to display a 12-point font, making the font show larger than 12 >>> points on the screen. For example, changing the DPI from 96 to 120 will >>> increase the pixel height of the font from 16 pixels to 20 pixels, a 25% >>> increase. In other words, increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify >>> the fonts on the screen. >>> >>> Users often want to magnify fonts for readability. A typical use case is >>> a >>> user who upgrades from an old, small 17" CRT to a brand new 22" >>> widescreen >>> flat panel running. The first thing they do is move the widescreen back >>> on >>> their desk, compared to where the CRT was, so that they can see the whole >>> screen in their field of view. But then the fonts look tiny and >>> unreadable. >>> So increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify the fonts on the >>> widescreen, making them more readable. >>> >>> Another common use case is the user who buys a widescreen laptop with a >>> 14" >>> screen and resolution of 1440 x 900, with a DPI of 120. The default >>> Windows >>> DPI setting of 96 will make fonts look incredibly tiny, so increasing the >>> setting to 120 will make it readable. >>> Facing such situations, many (most?) users will, instead of increasing >>> the >>> DPI, lower the resolution output by the graphics card. For example, >>> lowering >>> the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768 will increase the physical size >>> of >>> fonts on the screen by 25%. But this is not at all the same thing as >>> changing the DPI setting -- fewer total pixels are being output to the >>> display, and photos will look fuzzier or grainier at the lower >>> resolution. >>> It's much better to adjust the DPI setting, which will increase font size >>> while still using all the actual pixels on the monitor to show photos and >>> drawings. >>> >>> So the basic rule is: Set your graphics card to output at the native >>> resolution of the monitor. To magnify the size of fonts on the screen, >>> increase the Windows DPI. Unfortunately, some applications don't support >>> DPI's other than 96... >>> << >>> ... but WLMail clearly does, and now I can see the whole UI without >>> difficulty. >>> -- >>> Noel >>> >>>

02-08-2008

Hi, Peter.

Oh. I see. ;^}

My monitor also is 17" LCD, but the native resolution is only 1280 x 1024.
But I'm too lazy to work out the DPI for it.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@xxxxxx
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

"Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EB572EFA-67D3-4C8A-BECD-C6B2BBE35508@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Hi R.C.
>
> Ah, you misunderstood me. What I meant to say was that I could not find
> the DPI *specification* of my monitor. Even the manual ignored it, but the
> monitor DPI calculator worked it out for me (133.2 DPI), saving me the
> trouble of measuring or calculating (from the 17" diagonal) my monitor
> height and width, and calculating the DPI for myself from the native
> resolution specs (1920 by 1200 pixels).
>
> Monitor DPI = Square root of: [(pixel height x pixel width) / (monitor
> height" x monitor width")]
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Peter
> (Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
>
> "R. C. White" <rc@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:81E3BE8C-B2F8-405D-ABA1-D04D95EF0068@xxxxxx

Quote:

>> Hi, Peter.
>>

	Quote:
	>>> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor,

>>
>> Right-click the Desktop | Personalize | Adjust font size (DPI)
>>
>> It's on the left of the Personalize menu, and you'll need Administrator
>> credentials.
>>
>> Be aware that this will probably rearrange all the icons on your Desktop!
>> If you have them organized just so, you might not want to test this
>> because
>> switching back to 96 DPI doesn’t always put them back the way they were.
>>
>> RC
>>
>> "Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:2CE0F3D8-390B-4F80-89E9-FB8F43736ED2@xxxxxx

	Quote:
	>>> Thanks Noel. >>> >>> 120 DPI makes a big difference on my widescreen laptop with a 17" WUXGA >>> screen and resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels at 133.2 DPI. >>> >>> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor, so I did some research. I found >>> this neat article on DPI in Vista at >>> http://www.istartedsomething.com/200...a-dpi-scaling/ which had >>> a >>> link to a very helpful monitor DPI calculator at >>> http://www.raydreams.com/Prog/DPI.aspx >>> >>> -- >>> Cheers, >>> Peter >>> >>> "Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message >>> news:70DB1923-D98D-49E6-A39D-DA08B988CE4A@xxxxxx >>> >>>> The following rather lengthy text was lifted from an Adobe forums post >>>> by >>>> John Rolfe Ellis - thanks! It may help those who have complained about >>>> not >>>> being able to alter the size of the text in the UI. >>>> >>>>>> >>>> When applications choose to display text, they typically do so by >>>> specifying >>>> the actual height of the desired font, e.g. 12 points (0.17"), not the >>>> number of pixels. Application designers know that typical reading fonts >>>> are >>>> 10 to 12 points high, and if their program's text is at least that >>>> high, >>>> it >>>> will be readable at a normal viewing distance. >>>> >>>> The DPI (dots per inch) setting tells Windows and applications how many >>>> pixels are in each inch on the monitor's screen. For example, a 96 DPI >>>> monitor has 96 pixels per inch. When the application requests a >>>> 12-point >>>> font, Windows multiplies the height of the font (0.17") by the >>>> monitor's >>>> DPI >>>> to get the actual number of pixels (16) that should be used to get a >>>> letter >>>> that is 12 points high on that monitor. >>>> By default, Windows assumes monitors have a DPI of 96. But the actual >>>> DPI >>>> of >>>> monitors can vary a fair bit. A quick perusal of Dell's new flat panels >>>> shows DPIs that vary from 86 to 100. >>>> >>>> Windows allows the user to change the setting that tells Windows the >>>> nominal >>>> DPI of the monitor. Setting a larger DPI will cause Windows to use more >>>> pixels to display a 12-point font, making the font show larger than 12 >>>> points on the screen. For example, changing the DPI from 96 to 120 will >>>> increase the pixel height of the font from 16 pixels to 20 pixels, a >>>> 25% >>>> increase. In other words, increasing the Windows DPI setting will >>>> magnify >>>> the fonts on the screen. >>>> >>>> Users often want to magnify fonts for readability. A typical use case >>>> is >>>> a >>>> user who upgrades from an old, small 17" CRT to a brand new 22" >>>> widescreen >>>> flat panel running. The first thing they do is move the widescreen back >>>> on >>>> their desk, compared to where the CRT was, so that they can see the >>>> whole >>>> screen in their field of view. But then the fonts look tiny and >>>> unreadable. >>>> So increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify the fonts on the >>>> widescreen, making them more readable. >>>> >>>> Another common use case is the user who buys a widescreen laptop with a >>>> 14" >>>> screen and resolution of 1440 x 900, with a DPI of 120. The default >>>> Windows >>>> DPI setting of 96 will make fonts look incredibly tiny, so increasing >>>> the >>>> setting to 120 will make it readable. >>>> Facing such situations, many (most?) users will, instead of increasing >>>> the >>>> DPI, lower the resolution output by the graphics card. For example, >>>> lowering >>>> the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768 will increase the physical >>>> size >>>> of >>>> fonts on the screen by 25%. But this is not at all the same thing as >>>> changing the DPI setting -- fewer total pixels are being output to the >>>> display, and photos will look fuzzier or grainier at the lower >>>> resolution. >>>> It's much better to adjust the DPI setting, which will increase font >>>> size >>>> while still using all the actual pixels on the monitor to show photos >>>> and >>>> drawings. >>>> >>>> So the basic rule is: Set your graphics card to output at the native >>>> resolution of the monitor. To magnify the size of fonts on the screen, >>>> increase the Windows DPI. Unfortunately, some applications don't >>>> support >>>> DPI's other than 96... >>>> << >>>> ... but WLMail clearly does, and now I can see the whole UI without >>>> difficulty. >>>> -- >>>> Noel

02-09-2008

Your monitor's DPI is 96.4 R.C. For those who don't want to calculate the DPI spec of their monitor here is a link to a very helpful monitor DPI calculator: http://www.raydreams.com/Prog/DPI.aspx

--
Cheers,
Peter
(Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Shakespeare
---------------

"R. C. White" <rc@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:924DB669-4491-4A4C-9052-6D03629B1CE2@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Hi, Peter.
>
> Oh. I see. ;^}
>
> My monitor also is 17" LCD, but the native resolution is only 1280 x 1024.
> But I'm too lazy to work out the DPI for it.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@xxxxxx
> Microsoft Windows MVP
> (Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
>
> "Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:EB572EFA-67D3-4C8A-BECD-C6B2BBE35508@xxxxxx

Quote:

>> Hi R.C.
>>
>> Ah, you misunderstood me. What I meant to say was that I could not find
>> the DPI *specification* of my monitor. Even the manual ignored it, but the
>> monitor DPI calculator worked it out for me (133.2 DPI), saving me the
>> trouble of measuring or calculating (from the 17" diagonal) my monitor
>> height and width, and calculating the DPI for myself from the native
>> resolution specs (1920 by 1200 pixels).
>>
>> Monitor DPI = Square root of: [(pixel height x pixel width) / (monitor
>> height" x monitor width")]
>>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>> Peter
>> (Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Live Mail 12.0.1606)
>>
>> "R. C. White" <rc@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:81E3BE8C-B2F8-405D-ABA1-D04D95EF0068@xxxxxx

	Quote:
	>>> Hi, Peter. >>> >>>> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor, >>> >>> Right-click the Desktop \| Personalize \| Adjust font size (DPI) >>> >>> It's on the left of the Personalize menu, and you'll need Administrator >>> credentials. >>> >>> Be aware that this will probably rearrange all the icons on your Desktop! >>> If you have them organized just so, you might not want to test this >>> because >>> switching back to 96 DPI doesn’t always put them back the way they were. >>> >>> RC >>> >>> "Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message >>> news:2CE0F3D8-390B-4F80-89E9-FB8F43736ED2@xxxxxx >>>> Thanks Noel. >>>> >>>> 120 DPI makes a big difference on my widescreen laptop with a 17" WUXGA >>>> screen and resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels at 133.2 DPI. >>>> >>>> I couldn't find the DPI for my monitor, so I did some research. I found >>>> this neat article on DPI in Vista at >>>> http://www.istartedsomething.com/200...a-dpi-scaling/ which had >>>> a >>>> link to a very helpful monitor DPI calculator at >>>> http://www.raydreams.com/Prog/DPI.aspx >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Cheers, >>>> Peter >>>> >>>> "Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message >>>> news:70DB1923-D98D-49E6-A39D-DA08B988CE4A@xxxxxx >>>> >>>>> The following rather lengthy text was lifted from an Adobe forums post >>>>> by >>>>> John Rolfe Ellis - thanks! It may help those who have complained about >>>>> not >>>>> being able to alter the size of the text in the UI. >>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>> When applications choose to display text, they typically do so by >>>>> specifying >>>>> the actual height of the desired font, e.g. 12 points (0.17"), not the >>>>> number of pixels. Application designers know that typical reading fonts >>>>> are >>>>> 10 to 12 points high, and if their program's text is at least that >>>>> high, >>>>> it >>>>> will be readable at a normal viewing distance. >>>>> >>>>> The DPI (dots per inch) setting tells Windows and applications how many >>>>> pixels are in each inch on the monitor's screen. For example, a 96 DPI >>>>> monitor has 96 pixels per inch. When the application requests a >>>>> 12-point >>>>> font, Windows multiplies the height of the font (0.17") by the >>>>> monitor's >>>>> DPI >>>>> to get the actual number of pixels (16) that should be used to get a >>>>> letter >>>>> that is 12 points high on that monitor. >>>>> By default, Windows assumes monitors have a DPI of 96. But the actual >>>>> DPI >>>>> of >>>>> monitors can vary a fair bit. A quick perusal of Dell's new flat panels >>>>> shows DPIs that vary from 86 to 100. >>>>> >>>>> Windows allows the user to change the setting that tells Windows the >>>>> nominal >>>>> DPI of the monitor. Setting a larger DPI will cause Windows to use more >>>>> pixels to display a 12-point font, making the font show larger than 12 >>>>> points on the screen. For example, changing the DPI from 96 to 120 will >>>>> increase the pixel height of the font from 16 pixels to 20 pixels, a >>>>> 25% >>>>> increase. In other words, increasing the Windows DPI setting will >>>>> magnify >>>>> the fonts on the screen. >>>>> >>>>> Users often want to magnify fonts for readability. A typical use case >>>>> is >>>>> a >>>>> user who upgrades from an old, small 17" CRT to a brand new 22" >>>>> widescreen >>>>> flat panel running. The first thing they do is move the widescreen back >>>>> on >>>>> their desk, compared to where the CRT was, so that they can see the >>>>> whole >>>>> screen in their field of view. But then the fonts look tiny and >>>>> unreadable. >>>>> So increasing the Windows DPI setting will magnify the fonts on the >>>>> widescreen, making them more readable. >>>>> >>>>> Another common use case is the user who buys a widescreen laptop with a >>>>> 14" >>>>> screen and resolution of 1440 x 900, with a DPI of 120. The default >>>>> Windows >>>>> DPI setting of 96 will make fonts look incredibly tiny, so increasing >>>>> the >>>>> setting to 120 will make it readable. >>>>> Facing such situations, many (most?) users will, instead of increasing >>>>> the >>>>> DPI, lower the resolution output by the graphics card. For example, >>>>> lowering >>>>> the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768 will increase the physical >>>>> size >>>>> of >>>>> fonts on the screen by 25%. But this is not at all the same thing as >>>>> changing the DPI setting -- fewer total pixels are being output to the >>>>> display, and photos will look fuzzier or grainier at the lower >>>>> resolution. >>>>> It's much better to adjust the DPI setting, which will increase font >>>>> size >>>>> while still using all the actual pixels on the monitor to show photos >>>>> and >>>>> drawings. >>>>> >>>>> So the basic rule is: Set your graphics card to output at the native >>>>> resolution of the monitor. To magnify the size of fonts on the screen, >>>>> increase the Windows DPI. Unfortunately, some applications don't >>>>> support >>>>> DPI's other than 96... >>>>> << >>>>> ... but WLMail clearly does, and now I can see the whole UI without >>>>> difficulty. >>>>> -- >>>>> Noel

02-09-2008

I don't see the point in calculating the monitor's DPI. What does
one do with that information? The sharpest display is always at the
monitor's native resolution. Once screen resolution is set, adjust
Windows DPI for suitable font size. Nowhere in that scenario does
monitor DPI come into the equation.

--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (WLMail)

"R. C. White" <rc@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:924DB669-4491-4A4C-9052-6D03629B1CE2@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Hi, Peter.
>
> Oh. I see. ;^}
>
> My monitor also is 17" LCD, but the native resolution is only 1280 x 1024. But I'm too lazy to work out the DPI for it.
>
> RC
> --
> R. C. White, CPA
> San Marcos, TX
> rc@xxxxxx
> Microsoft Windows MVP
> (Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
>
> "Peter.R" <Peter.R@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:EB572EFA-67D3-4C8A-BECD-C6B2BBE35508@xxxxxx