Wide screen monitor reolution adjustment

[DonKiddick]

I have just bought a widescreen TFT LCD monitor and while the 1600 x 1024 resolution is great for looking at photos it is not so clever for some other applications. I therefore need to be able to adjust the resolution (and icon size and other settings) quickly. I know how to do it with Settings - Control Panel - Display - Appearance etc etc but this is very tedious. Is there a quick way, for example by programming a function key so that I can do all I need to do with a minimum number of keystrokes?

[vehelpfulguy]

You should NEVER need to adjust the resolution. I have a 22" monitor and never need to adjust the resolution.

Can you explain why you think you need to adjust your resulution?

Could it be that your PC applications are all coming up maximized, so are filling the screen and making them distorted?

Every PC application has the ability to adjust its window size so you can make it any size you like.

In the top right of most application windows are three small boxes.

The red cross will close the window.

more.....

[vehelpfulguy]

continued...

The box to the left of the red cross will maximize the window. and while maximized the window borders cannot be resized.

But the box on the left can also make the window smaller (the hover help calls it "restore down")

If the window is maximized, click the second box so it makes the window smaller.

Now the borders become a thick blue and the window can be resized.

Hold the mouse over the border (top, left, right or bottom) and the cursor now becomes a double headed arrow.

Hold down the left mouse button and drag the border so it becomes the size of window you want.

Most applications will "remember" the window size so next time you go into that window it should be that size and not maximized.

(I had to post this as 2 answers as Answerbank would not accept all the tex in one go)

[vehelpfulguy]

Also note that unlike CRT monitors (which could accept a number of resolutions) TFT monitors have a native resolution (in your case 1600 x 1024) and are not built to work with other resoluitons.

You will find if you change resolutions your picture quality will drop quite a bit.

More here

http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/BC/bcs8p2.html

http://www.trustedreviews.com/forums/showthrea d.php?t=73

[DonKiddick]

Thank you, vehelpfulguy, for your detailed comments. I am quite happy with maximising / minimising / resizing the screen and while this works OK with most of the things I want to do I still have some difficulty with - saddo that I am - the old fashioned but therapeutic MS games (Solitaire, Hearts, FreeCell, Minesweeper) all of which behave slightly differently when I try to expand them. The playing area - with the exception of Minesweeper - can be enlarged but all this does is increase the separation of the cards. What I want to do is to increase the size of the cards (and the Minesweeper grid) so that I can see them more easily.
I also have some difficulty with the size of the text in the Address Bar on my AOL screen. I know how to alter font style and size in emails and on web pages but I can't see how to make the address bar bigger.
I can get around the problem by changing resolution but I do take your point that the Native Resolution shouldn't really be tampered with.
Any other ideas?
Thanks again for your comments

[DonKiddick]

Just to finalise all this, I have found a way of doing exactly what I want.
Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel - Display - Settings. Click on Advanced and check the box marked "Show settings icon on task bar". Click Apply and OK. Now go to Start - Settings - Taskbar and Start Menu - Taskbar Options. Ensure the box next to "Always on Top" is checked and the box next to "Auto hide" is unchecked.
There will now be a new icon on the task bar.
Clicking on this icon will give a menu showing all the available screen resolutions with the current resolution ticked.
To change resolution simply click on the new desired resolution. The screen will temporarily go blank and then the new resolution will take effect.
To change back to the original resolution simply click on the new icon and select the appropriate resolution.