Change your screen resolution

Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

We recommend you move to a Windows 10 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images displayed on your screen. At higher resolutions, such as 1600 x 1200 pixels, items appear sharper. They also appear smaller so more items can fit on the screen. At lower resolutions, such as 800 x 600 pixels, fewer items fit on the screen, but they appear larger.

The resolution you can use depends on the resolutions your monitor supports. CRT monitors generally display a resolution of 800 × 600 or 1024 × 768 pixels and can work well at different resolutions. LCD monitors, also called flat-panel displays, and laptop screens often support higher resolutions and work best at a specific resolution.

The larger the monitor, usually the higher the resolution it supports. Whether you can increase your screen resolution depends on the size and capability of your monitor and the type of video card you have.

To change your screen resolution

Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

Click the drop-down list next to Resolution, move the slider to the resolution you want, and then click Apply.

Click Keep to use the new resolution, or click Revert to go back to the previous resolution.

Native resolution

LCD monitors, including laptop screens, typically run best at their native resolution. You don’t have to set your monitor to run at this resolution, but it’s usually recommended in order to ensure you see the sharpest text and images possible. LCD monitors generally come in two shapes: a standard proportion of width to height of 4:3, or a widescreen ratio of 16:9 or 16:10. A widescreen monitor has both a wider shape and resolution than a standard ratio monitor.

If you’re unsure of your monitor’s native resolution, check the product manual or go to the manufacturer’s website. Here are typical resolutions for some popular screen sizes:

19-inch screen (standard ratio): 1280 x 1024 pixels

20-inch screen (standard ratio): 1600 x 1200 pixels

22-inch screen (widescreen): 1680 x 1050 pixels

24-inch screen (widescreen): 1900 x 1200 pixels

When you change the screen resolution, it affects all users who log on to the computer.

When you set your monitor to a screen resolution that it can’t support, the screen will go black for a few seconds while the monitor reverts back to the original resolution.

Screen sizes and breakpoints

Windows apps can run on any device running Windows, which includes phones, tablets, desktops, TVs, and more. With a huge number of device targets and screen sizes across the WindowsВ 10 ecosystem, rather than optimizing your UI for each device, we recommended designing for a few key width categories (also called «breakpoints»):

• Small (smaller than 640px)
• Medium (641px to 1007px)
• Large (1008px and larger)

When designing for specific breakpoints, design for the amount of screen space available to your app (the app’s window), not the screen size. When the app is running full-screen, the app window is the same size as the screen, but when the app is not full-screen, the window is smaller than the screen.

Breakpoints

This table describes the different size classes and breakpoints.

Size class	Breakpoints	Typical screen size (diagonal)	Devices	Window sizes
Small	640px or less	4″ to 6″; 20″ to 65″	Phones, TVs	320×569, 360×640, 480×854
Medium	641px to 1007px	7″ to 12″	Phablets, tablets	960×540
Large	1008px or greater	13″ and larger	PCs, laptops, Surface Hubs	1024×640, 1366×768, 1920×1080

Why are TVs considered «small»?

While most TVs are physically quite large (40 to 65 inches is common) and have high resolutions (HD or 4k), designing for a 1080P TV that you view from 10 feet away is different from designing for a 1080p monitor sitting a foot away on your desk. When you account for distance, the TV’s 1080 pixels are more like a 540-pixel monitor that’s much closer.

UWP’s effective pixel system automatically takes viewing distance in account for you. When you specify a size for a control or a breakpoint range, you’re actually using «effective» pixels. For example, if you create responsive code for 1080 pixels and higher, a 1080 monitor will use that code, but a 1080p TV will not—because although a 1080p TV has 1080 physical pixels, it only has 540 effective pixels. Which makes designing for a TV similar to designing for a phone.

Effective pixels and scale factor

UWP apps automatically scale your UI to guarantee that your app will be legible on all Windows 10 devices. Windows automatically scales for each display based on its DPI (dots-per-inch) and the viewing distance of the device. Users can override the default value and by going to Settings > Display > Scale and layout settings page.

Getting the best display on your monitor

Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

Click the drop-down list next to Resolution. Check for the resolution marked ( recommended). This is your LCD monitor’s native resolution—usually the highest resolution your monitor can support.

Resolution based on LCD monitor size

Recommended resolution (in pixels)

19-inch standard ratio LCD monitor

20-inch standard ratio LCD monitor

20- and 22-inch widescreen LCD monitors

24-inch widescreen LCD monitor

Laptop screen size

Recommended resolution (in pixels)

13- to 15-inch standard ratio laptop screen

13- to 15-inch widescreen laptop screen

17-inch widescreen laptop screen

To get the best color displayed on your LCD monitor, make sure to set it to 32-bit color. This measurement refers to color depth, which is the number of color values that can be assigned to a single pixel in an image. Color depth can range from 1 bit (black-and-white) to 32 bits (over 16.7 million colors).

Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

Click Advanced settings, and then click the Monitor tab.

Under Colors, select True Color (32 bit), and then click OK.

Windows also contains advanced color management controls. Color management systems ensure that color content is rendered everywhere as accurately as possible—especially for devices such as your monitor and your printer.

Display calibration software helps to make sure that colors are displayed accurately on your screen. If you already have display calibration software from another software provider installed on your computer, you can use that software to calibrate your display. Display calibration devices are often packaged with calibration software. Using a calibration device with the calibration software it came with can help you get the best color on your screen.

Windows also includes a feature for calibrating your display.

For external displays, brightness and contrast are set on the monitor controls, not from within Windows. Most CRT and LCD monitors have buttons or other controls on the front where you can control brightness and contrast. Some open an on-screen menu where you can make these adjustments. If you’re unsure of how to adjust these controls, check the manual for your monitor or the manufacturer’s website.

The brightness of most laptop screens can be adjusted within Windows. If you’re using a laptop, you can adjust brightness in Power Options.

Windows includes a technology called ClearType that is turned on by default. ClearType allows your monitor to display computer fonts as clear and smooth as possible. This can help make text easier to read over long periods of time without causing eyestrain. It works especially well with LCD devices, including flat-panel displays, laptops, and smaller handheld devices.

It’s a good idea to make sure ClearType was not turned off for some reason, especially if the text on your monitor looks fuzzy. You can also set up ClearType to work best with your particular monitor.

Размеры экрана и точки останова Screen sizes and breakpoints

Приложения для Windows могут работать на любом устройстве под управлением Windows, в том числе на телефонах, планшетах, настольных компьютерах, телевизорах и т. п. Windows apps can run on any device running Windows, which includes phones, tablets, desktops, TVs, and more. Из-за большого количества целевых устройств и экранов разного размера в экосистеме Windows 10, мы рекомендуем не оптимизировать пользовательский интерфейс для каждого устройства, проектировать для нескольких ключевых категорий ширины экрана (также называемых «точки прерывания»): With a huge number of device targets and screen sizes across the Windows 10 ecosystem, rather than optimizing your UI for each device, we recommended designing for a few key width categories (also called «breakpoints»):

• небольшая (менее 640 пикселей); Small (smaller than 640px)
• средняя (641–1007 пикселей); Medium (641px to 1007px)
• большая (1008 пикселей и более). Large (1008px and larger)

При разработке под определенные точки прерывания учитывайте количество экранного пространства, доступного для приложения (окно приложения), а не размер экрана. When designing for specific breakpoints, design for the amount of screen space available to your app (the app’s window), not the screen size. Когда приложение работает в полноэкранном режиме, окно приложения соответствует размеру экрана, но если приложение работает не в полноэкранном режиме, окно меньше экрана. When the app is running full-screen, the app window is the same size as the screen, but when the app is not full-screen, the window is smaller than the screen.

Точки прерывания Breakpoints

В таблице ниже описаны различные классы размера и точки прерывания. This table describes the different size classes and breakpoints.

Класс размера: Size class	Точки прерывания Breakpoints	Обычный размер экрана (по диагонали) Typical screen size (diagonal)	Устройства Devices	Размеры окна Window sizes
Небольшой Small	640 пикселей и меньше 640px or less	От 4″ до 6″; от 20″ до 65″ 4″ to 6″; 20″ to 65″	Телефоны, телевизоры Phones, TVs	320×569, 360×640, 480×854 320×569, 360×640, 480×854
Средний Medium	641–1007 пикселей 641px to 1007px	От 7″ до 12″ 7″ to 12″	Фаблеты, планшеты Phablets, tablets	960×540 960×540
Крупный Large	1008 пикселей и больше 1008px or greater	13″ дюймов и выше 13″ and larger	Компьютеры, ноутбуки, устройства Surface Hub PCs, laptops, Surface Hubs	1024×640, 1366×768, 1920×1080 1024×640, 1366×768, 1920×1080

Почему телевизоры считаются «небольшими»? Why are TVs considered «small»?

Несмотря на то что большинство экранов телевизоров физически являются достаточно большими (обычно 40–65 дюймов) и поддерживают высокие разрешения (HD или 4K), проектирование для телевизора с разрешением 1080p, просмотр содержимого экрана которого осуществляется на расстоянии 10 метров, отличается от проектирования для монитора с разрешением 1080p, просмотр содержимого которого осуществляется на расстоянии 40 см. While most TVs are physically quite large (40 to 65 inches is common) and have high resolutions (HD or 4k), designing for a 1080P TV that you view from 10 feet away is different from designing for a 1080p monitor sitting a foot away on your desk. При учете расстояния 1080 пикселей телевизора, скорее, сравнимы с 540 пикселями монитора, что гораздо ближе. When you account for distance, the TV’s 1080 pixels are more like a 540-pixel monitor that’s much closer.

Система эффективных пикселей UWP автоматически учитывает расстояние от экрана за вас. UWP’s effective pixel system automatically takes viewing distance in account for you. При указании размера для элемента управления или диапазона точки прерывания вы фактически используете эффективные пиксели. When you specify a size for a control or a breakpoint range, you’re actually using «effective» pixels. Например, при создании гибкого кода для 1080 пикселей и больше монитор с 1080 пикселями будет использовать этот код, но телевизор с разрешением 1080p не будет, так как несмотря на то, что телевизор с разрешением 1080p имеет 1080 физических пикселей, эффективными из них являются только 540. For example, if you create responsive code for 1080 pixels and higher, a 1080 monitor will use that code, but a 1080p TV will not—because although a 1080p TV has 1080 physical pixels, it only has 540 effective pixels. Поэтому проектирование для телевизора похоже на проектирование для телефона. Which makes designing for a TV similar to designing for a phone.

Эффективные пиксели и коэффициент масштабирования Effective pixels and scale factor

Приложения UWP автоматически масштабируют пользовательский интерфейс, чтобы гарантировать, что ваше приложение будет отображаться разборчиво на всех устройствах с Windows 10. UWP apps automatically scale your UI to guarantee that your app will be legible on all Windows 10 devices. Windows автоматически выбирает масштаб для каждого дисплея на основе его показателя DPI (количества точек на дюйм) и расстояния от экрана устройства. Windows automatically scales for each display based on its DPI (dots-per-inch) and the viewing distance of the device. Пользователи могут переопределить значение по умолчанию, перейдя на страницу Параметры > Экран > Масштабирование и макет. Users can override the default value and by going to Settings > Display > Scale and layout settings page.