How to Create Custom Resolutions on Windows 7, 8 or 10

Windows provides you with a preset list of standard screen resolutions for your display based on your graphics card or GPU and monitor hardware. You can easily change the screen resolution of of your display by switching to any of the presets provided by Windows. But what if you want to you a screen resolution that isn’t included in what has been given you?

Custom resolutions give you the flexibility to add virtually any screen resolution and refresh rate for your display. If you want to use a unique resolution that isn’t available in Windows preset list of resolutions, this guide will show you ways you can add any mode.

Note that not all computer manufacturers have custom modes enabled for their drivers, and older graphic drivers may not enable this feature. In this article, I’ll show you how to modify your screen resolution on Intel, AMD or NVIDIA graphics card using their native control software or a 3rd party software for those who don’t still don’t have the ability to customize their screen resolutions.

Method 1: Setting a Custom Resolution on an Intel Based Graphics Card

Before you continue, you need to check if your computer supports the custom graphics feature. This is described in the first three steps of this method. If you don’t meet this criteria, proceed to the 3rd method. The views might also be different on your computer, just follow closely and you’ll get it.

1. Verify from here if you have the latest Intel Graphics Driver
2. Open the Intel Graphics Driver properties windows by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F12 or right-clicking on the Windows desktop and selecting Graphics If prompted to select an application mode, select Advanced Mode and click OK.
3. Under the Display tab, check if there is Custom Resolutions/Custom Modes and select it. If you’re prompted with a warning, click yes to continue.

The Custom Resolution/Modes feature was removed from the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel. You can still access it from C:\Windows\System32\CustomModeApp.exe

1. Under “Basic Settings”, specify your preferred width, height and refresh rate in the boxes provided (e.g. 2400 x 1024).
2. Click on Add and then Yes when prompted with a confirmation dialog.
3. Click OK if you’re satisfied with the current resolution. To remove the custom resolution, click on Remove next to the custom resolution under “Remove Custom Resolution”.

Method 2: Setting a Custom Resolution on a NVIDIA Based Graphics Card

This method may vary with the version of graphics driver and graphics card but the concept remains the same. Also, make sure you have the latest NVIDIA Graphics Drivers.

1. Go to the NVIDIA Display Properties by right-clicking on the Windows desktop on selecting NVIDIA Display.
2. Under the Display category, select Change Resolution. Select the icon which represents the display you wish to affect and then click Customize. On the next window, click Create Custom Resolution. If this is the first time, accessing this feature, you will have to accept the End User Licence Agreement.
3. Fill in the fields with your preferred values for the display. Here, you can change the Horizontal pixels (width), Vertical lines (height), Refresh rate, Color depth, and Scan type. Click the Test button for the display to check of the custom mode is supported. If it doesn’t test will fail and you cannot set a new custom resolution.
4. You can go back to the Change Resolution page to select from your custom resolutions.

Method 3: Setting a Custom Resolution on an AMD Based Graphics Card

1. Right-click on your Windows desktop and select AMD Catalyst Control Center. Go to Information > Software. Copy the 2D driver file path, you will need it later.
2. Press Ctrl + R, type “regedit” and click OK.
3. Go to the registry path as specified in the 2D driver file path
4. In the “0000” folder, find a registry entry called DALNonStandardModesBCD1. Right-click and select edit and then enter the following values in order:
   • The width of the resolution. E.g 1440 or 0780
   • The height of the resolution. Eg. 1880 or 0240
   • Type four zeros
   • The refresh rate of your monitor. E.g. 0120 for 120Hz or 0060 for 60Hz.

If any of your values does not have up four digits, you have to proceed the values with 0.

1. Click on OK and restart your computer. After this, you should be able to choose your custom resolution from the AMD Catalyst Control Center.

How to Create Custom Resolutions on Windows 7, 8 or 10

Windows provides you with a preset list of standard screen resolutions for your display based on your graphics card or GPU and monitor hardware. You can easily change the screen resolution of of your display by switching to any of the presets provided by Windows. But what if you want to you a screen resolution that isn’t included in what has been given you?

Custom resolutions give you the flexibility to add virtually any screen resolution and refresh rate for your display. If you want to use a unique resolution that isn’t available in Windows preset list of resolutions, this guide will show you ways you can add any mode.

Note that not all computer manufacturers have custom modes enabled for their drivers, and older graphic drivers may not enable this feature. In this article, I’ll show you how to modify your screen resolution on Intel, AMD or NVIDIA graphics card using their native control software or a 3rd party software for those who don’t still don’t have the ability to customize their screen resolutions.

Method 1: Setting a Custom Resolution on an Intel Based Graphics Card

Before you continue, you need to check if your computer supports the custom graphics feature. This is described in the first three steps of this method. If you don’t meet this criteria, proceed to the 3rd method. The views might also be different on your computer, just follow closely and you’ll get it.

1. Verify from here if you have the latest Intel Graphics Driver
2. Open the Intel Graphics Driver properties windows by pressing Ctrl + Alt + F12 or right-clicking on the Windows desktop and selecting Graphics If prompted to select an application mode, select Advanced Mode and click OK.
3. Under the Display tab, check if there is Custom Resolutions/Custom Modes and select it. If you’re prompted with a warning, click yes to continue.

The Custom Resolution/Modes feature was removed from the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel. You can still access it from C:\Windows\System32\CustomModeApp.exe

1. Under “Basic Settings”, specify your preferred width, height and refresh rate in the boxes provided (e.g. 2400 x 1024).
2. Click on Add and then Yes when prompted with a confirmation dialog.
3. Click OK if you’re satisfied with the current resolution. To remove the custom resolution, click on Remove next to the custom resolution under “Remove Custom Resolution”.

Method 2: Setting a Custom Resolution on a NVIDIA Based Graphics Card

This method may vary with the version of graphics driver and graphics card but the concept remains the same. Also, make sure you have the latest NVIDIA Graphics Drivers.

1. Go to the NVIDIA Display Properties by right-clicking on the Windows desktop on selecting NVIDIA Display.
2. Under the Display category, select Change Resolution. Select the icon which represents the display you wish to affect and then click Customize. On the next window, click Create Custom Resolution. If this is the first time, accessing this feature, you will have to accept the End User Licence Agreement.
3. Fill in the fields with your preferred values for the display. Here, you can change the Horizontal pixels (width), Vertical lines (height), Refresh rate, Color depth, and Scan type. Click the Test button for the display to check of the custom mode is supported. If it doesn’t test will fail and you cannot set a new custom resolution.
4. You can go back to the Change Resolution page to select from your custom resolutions.

Method 3: Setting a Custom Resolution on an AMD Based Graphics Card

1. Right-click on your Windows desktop and select AMD Catalyst Control Center. Go to Information > Software. Copy the 2D driver file path, you will need it later.
2. Press Ctrl + R, type “regedit” and click OK.
3. Go to the registry path as specified in the 2D driver file path
4. In the “0000” folder, find a registry entry called DALNonStandardModesBCD1. Right-click and select edit and then enter the following values in order:
   • The width of the resolution. E.g 1440 or 0780
   • The height of the resolution. Eg. 1880 or 0240
   • Type four zeros
   • The refresh rate of your monitor. E.g. 0120 for 120Hz or 0060 for 60Hz.

If any of your values does not have up four digits, you have to proceed the values with 0.

1. Click on OK and restart your computer. After this, you should be able to choose your custom resolution from the AMD Catalyst Control Center.

Extended List-View Styles

Constant	Description
LVS_EX_AUTOAUTOARRANGE	Windows Vista and later. Automatically arrange icons if no icon positions have been set (Similar to LVS_AUTOARRANGE).
LVS_EX_AUTOCHECKSELECT	Windows Vista and later. Automatically select check boxes on single click.
LVS_EX_AUTOSIZECOLUMNS	Windows Vista and later. Automatically size listview columns.
LVS_EX_BORDERSELECT	Version 4.71 and later. Changes border color when an item is selected, instead of highlighting the item.
LVS_EX_CHECKBOXES	Version 4.70. Enables check boxes for items in a list-view control. When set to this style, the control creates and sets a state image list with two images using DrawFrameControl. State image 1 is the unchecked box, and state image 2 is the checked box. Setting the state image to zero removes the check box. Version 6.00 and later Check boxes are visible and functional with all list view modes except the tile view mode introduced in ComCtl32.dll version 6. Clicking a checkbox in tile view mode only selects the item; the state does not change. You can obtain the state of the check box for a given item with ListView_GetCheckState. To set the check state, use ListView_SetCheckState. If this style is set, the list-view control automatically toggles the check state when the user clicks the check box or presses the space bar.
LVS_EX_COLUMNOVERFLOW	Indicates that an overflow button should be displayed in icon/tile view if there is not enough client width to display the complete set of header items. The list-view control sends the LVN_COLUMNOVERFLOWCLICK notification when the overflow button is clicked. This flag is only valid when LVS_EX_HEADERINALLVIEWS is also specified.
LVS_EX_COLUMNSNAPPOINTS	Windows Vista and later. Snap to minimum column width when the user resizes a column.
LVS_EX_DOUBLEBUFFER	Version 6.00 and later. Paints via double-buffering, which reduces flicker. This extended style also enables alpha-blended marquee selection on systems where it is supported.
LVS_EX_FLATSB	Enables flat scroll bars in the list view. If you need more control over the appearance of the list view’s scroll bars, you should manipulate the list view’s scroll bars directly using the Flat Scroll Bar APIs. If the system metrics change, you are responsible for adjusting the scroll bar metrics with FlatSB_SetScrollProp. See Flat Scroll Bars for further details.
LVS_EX_FULLROWSELECT	When an item is selected, the item and all its subitems are highlighted. This style is available only in conjunction with the LVS_REPORT style.
LVS_EX_GRIDLINES	Displays gridlines around items and subitems. This style is available only in conjunction with the LVS_REPORT style.
LVS_EX_HEADERDRAGDROP	Enables drag-and-drop reordering of columns in a list-view control. This style is only available to list-view controls that use the LVS_REPORT style.
LVS_EX_HEADERINALLVIEWS	Windows Vista and later. Show column headers in all view modes.
LVS_EX_HIDELABELS	Version 6.00 and later. Hides the labels in icon and small icon view.
LVS_EX_INFOTIP	When a list-view control uses the LVS_EX_INFOTIP style, the LVN_GETINFOTIP notification code is sent to the parent window before displaying an item’s tooltip.
LVS_EX_JUSTIFYCOLUMNS	Windows Vista and later. Icons are lined up in columns that use up the whole view.
LVS_EX_LABELTIP	If a partially hidden label in any list view mode lacks tooltip text, the list-view control will unfold the label. If this style is not set, the list-view control will unfold partly hidden labels only for the large icon mode.
LVS_EX_MULTIWORKAREAS	If the list-view control has the LVS_AUTOARRANGE style, the control will not autoarrange its icons until one or more work areas are defined (see LVM_SETWORKAREAS). To be effective, this style must be set before any work areas are defined and any items have been added to the control.
LVS_EX_ONECLICKACTIVATE	The list-view control sends an LVN_ITEMACTIVATE notification code to the parent window when the user clicks an item. This style also enables hot tracking in the list-view control. Hot tracking means that when the cursor moves over an item, it is highlighted but not selected. See the Extended List-View Styles Remarks section for a discussion of item activation.
LVS_EX_REGIONAL	Version 4.71 through Version 5.80 only. Not supported on Windows Vista and later. Sets the list view window region to include only the item icons and text using SetWindowRgn. Any area that is not part of an item is excluded from the window region. This style is only available to list-view controls that use the LVS_ICON style.
LVS_EX_SIMPLESELECT	Version 6.00 and later. In icon view, moves the state image of the control to the top right of the large icon rendering. In views other than icon view there is no change. When the user changes the state by using the space bar, all selected items cycle over, not the item with the focus.
LVS_EX_SINGLEROW	Version 6.00 and later. Not used.
LVS_EX_SNAPTOGRID	Version 6.00 and later. In icon view, icons automatically snap into a grid.
LVS_EX_SUBITEMIMAGES	Allows images to be displayed for subitems. This style is available only in conjunction with the LVS_REPORT style.
LVS_EX_TRACKSELECT	Enables hot-track selection in a list-view control. Hot track selection means that an item is automatically selected when the cursor remains over the item for a certain period of time. The delay can be changed from the default system setting with a LVM_SETHOVERTIME message. This style applies to all styles of list-view control. You can check whether hot-track selection is enabled by calling SystemParametersInfo.
LVS_EX_TRANSPARENTBKGND	Windows Vista and later. Background is painted by the parent via WM_PRINTCLIENT.
LVS_EX_TRANSPARENTSHADOWTEXT	Windows Vista and later. Enable shadow text on transparent backgrounds only.
LVS_EX_TWOCLICKACTIVATE	The list-view control sends an LVN_ITEMACTIVATE notification code to the parent window when the user double-clicks an item. This style also enables hot tracking in the list-view control. Hot tracking means that when the cursor moves over an item, it is highlighted but not selected. See the Extended List-View Styles Remarks section for a discussion of item activation.
LVS_EX_UNDERLINECOLD	Causes those non-hot items that may be activated to be displayed with underlined text. This style requires that LVS_EX_TWOCLICKACTIVATE be set also. See the Extended List-View Styles Remarks section for a discussion of item activation.
LVS_EX_UNDERLINEHOT	Causes those hot items that may be activated to be displayed with underlined text. This style requires that LVS_EX_ONECLICKACTIVATE or LVS_EX_TWOCLICKACTIVATE also be set. See the Extended List-View Styles Remarks section for a discussion of item activation.

Remarks

Comctl32.dll version 6 is not redistributable but it is included in Windows. To use Comctl32.dll version 6, specify it in a manifest. For more information on manifests, see Enabling Visual Styles.

An item becomes hot when the mouse hovers over it. If hot-tracking is enabled, hot items will be highlighted, but the user must still click the item at least once to select it. Activating an item causes the list-view control to send an LVN_ITEMACTIVATE notification. An item may be selected when it is in a state in which a single click will select it.

If the LVS_EX_ONECLICKACTIVATE style is set, only one click is required to select any item, so all items may be selected. If the LVS_EX_TWOCLICKACTIVATE style is set, two clicks are required to select an item. With this style, the item may be selected only after it has been clicked once.

Setting the LVS_EX_UNDERLINEHOT style will cause the text of any hot item that may be selected to be underlined. Setting the LVS_EX_UNDERLINECOLD style will cause the text of items that are not hot, but may be selected, to be underlined.