How to Change Your Display Settings

If you're having trouble seeing things on your computer screen or you just want to customize the way your display looks, changing your display settings can help. Here's how to do it:

Instructional: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open Display Settings

To get started, right-click on your desktop and select "Display settings" from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can open the Settings app and click on "System" and then "Display."

Step 2: Adjust Display Settings

Once you're in the Display settings, you can adjust a variety of settings, including:

Display Resolution: This determines how many pixels are displayed on your screen. Higher resolutions will make things smaller, while lower resolutions will make things larger. Most monitors will have a Recommended option that is the default, or that you can manually select.
Display Orientation: This lets you choose whether your display is in landscape or portrait mode.
Scale and layout: This allows you to adjust the size of text, apps, and other items on your screen. Most monitors will have a recommended setting, but you can pick the scale that works best for you.
Night light: This feature reduces the amount of blue light emitted by your screen, which can help reduce eye strain and improve sleep.
Brightness: Using the slider, you can change how bright the screen is.

If you have multiple monitors, those will show at the top of the Display settings as a picture of rectangles with numbers on them. You can edit each monitor individually with the same steps above by clicking on the rectangle that represents that monitor; additionally you can:

Select Your Main Display: You can select the monitor you want to make your main display in the image at the top of the Display Settings window. Once selected, it will become highlighted. Then, you can scroll down to the "Multiple Displays" section and check off "Make this my main display"
Extend and Duplicate displays: If you scroll down to the "Multiple Displays" section, there is a drop down with several options. You can duplicate the display on one monitor to the rest, or extend the display so every monitor shows something different. This setting will also affect the picture at the top with the rectangles and numbers (Extend will show one number per rectangle, duplicate will usually show something like "1|2")
Orientation: Back at the top, If you are using the Extend Desktop to This Display option, you can drag the rectangles around to put them in the same position as they are on your desk. If you click the Identify button, this will show you which numbered rectangle is assigned to which monitor.

Step 3: Apply Changes

After you've made your changes, click "Apply" to see how they look. If you're happy with the changes, click "Keep changes." If not, you can click "Revert" to go back to your previous settings.

Informational: Understanding Display Settings

Resolution

Resolution refers to the number of pixels that are displayed on your screen. The higher the resolution, the more pixels there are, and the sharper and more detailed the image will be. However, higher resolutions also make things smaller, so if you have trouble seeing small text or icons, you may want to lower your resolution.

Scale and Layout

Scale and layout refers to the size of text, apps, and other items on your screen. If you have a high-resolution display, you may find that everything is too small to read comfortably. In this case, you can adjust the scaling to make everything larger. Conversely, if you have a low-resolution display, you may find that everything is too large and you can't fit as much on the screen. In this case, you can adjust the scaling to make everything smaller.

Night Light

Night light is a feature that reduces the amount of blue light emitted by your screen. Blue light can interfere with your sleep by suppressing the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep. By reducing the amount of blue light emitted by your screen, night light can help reduce eye strain and improve sleep.

Troubleshooting: Common Display Issues

Display is Too Bright or Too Dark

If your display is too bright or too dark, you can adjust the brightness in the Display settings. If that doesn't help, you may need to adjust the contrast or gamma settings on your monitor.

Text is Too Small or Too Large

If text is too small or too large, you can adjust the scaling in the Scale and layout settings. If that doesn't help, you may need to adjust the font size in individual applications.

By following these steps, you can change your display settings to better suit your needs and preferences. Whether you need to make things larger or smaller, adjust the color temperature, or reduce eye strain, the Display settings have you covered.