Screen size, resolution are not the same thing

By John Borlik Jr./Senior Developer
You're a smart computer user. You update your browser when the latest versions hit the Internet. You keep your anti-virus program up to date. You've increased your computer's memory and hard drive capacity. Maybe you've even gotten a brand new CPU recently with all the bells and whistles. The thing is, everything still looks the same. That could be because you've had the same monitor since you installed Windows 3.1.

So you decide to buy a 19-inch monitor and a video card. You install everything correctly, turn your computer on and you see the same thing! Of course everything is a bit bigger now, but you want to fit more in your screen. Thought the 19-inch monitor would solve that problem? Well, not exactly.

Screen Size vs. Screen Resolution

Although bigger monitors will produce a bigger screen image, manipulating the display area of you monitor is done by adjusting your screen resolution. As far as display area goes, actual screen size doesn't matter.

Most computer systems will allow at least three different screen resolutions: 640x480; 800x600; and 1024x768. The greater the screen resolution, the greater your display area.

It's like this. Take a newspaper and hold it up to your nose. We'll call this 640x480. The text and images appear quite large, but you must "scroll" up, down, and side-to-side to view the entire page.

Move that same newspaper several inches from your face. This is 800x600. The text and images are smaller, but you can see more in your field of vision. There's less "scrolling" to view the entire page.

Now hold the newspaper at arms length. This we'll call 1024x768. Of course the text and images are the smallest yet, but you can see the entire page without have to move the paper around.

Which screen resolution is best for you?

Determining which screen resolution works best for you is a personal decision. Those with poor eyesight may choose the smallest screen resolution. At 640x480, objects on the screen will appear larger, but you may have to do some scrolling to see the entire picture.

The majority of users, however, use a screen resolution of 800x600 or 1024x768. The difference between these two choices is also a personal decision. If you use your system for word processing and other production programs and for surfing the web, 800x600 may work the best. This allows a relatively large image size while allowing for a relatively big viewing area. It's a good medium.

For those users who use computer graphics programs, design and layout packages and other programs that display option pallets, 1024x768 may be the way to go. Although this produces the smallest actual image size, it allows for the greatest screen viewing area. This allows users (like us on the web team) the ability to move the option pallets out of our way. This allows the user a larger "pallet" from which to work.

How do I change the settings?

Changing your computer's screen resolution is relatively easy. Simply go to your Windows desktop, right click and choose the "Properties" option.

Once the "Display Properties" dialog box opens, choose the "Settings" tab. Within the Settings box, manipulate your screen area. You must then "apply" the change. Windows should give you the option of previewing the settings change before saving it.

Experiment

Experiment with the different screen resolutions to find what's best for your needs. It may open a whole new world of computer functionality!