| The typical monitor setting on today's computers is
800 x 600 pixels per inch. This site, and most websites in general, have been formatted
for that size. If this site looks too big or too small, then your setting have not been
set correctly for viewing 800 x 600 pages. If you are not an experienced computer user, you may not know that you have the choice about how you want to set things like desktop size, font size, and the color palette of how many colors you wish to see. These are choices for you to make. Sometimes the computer is set up for you before you buy it, but sometimes it is not and you have to make these setting adjustments yourself. If you follow the directions below, we will help you reset your computer so that you can comfortably see 800 x 600 sized images (which is the typical size for websites and computer programs), and 16 million colors. Yes, we did say “16 million colors!” A photograph may have over a thousand shades of greens, blues, reds, etc., so to see the best possible color, you need to have your color palette set to True Color 24 or 32. (Windows 95 may have True Color 24 and Windows 98 may have True Color 32.) We will demonstrate how to make those changes: If you are an experienced computer user, you can follow the “Shortcut Method” below, otherwise, please skip
down to the “Detailed Method.”
If you are not computer literate, follow the detailed instructions below to determine your settings and to change them if you so desire. Keep in mind that Microsoft created Windows with the idea that you can change the way your desktop looks, so you can change colors, positions of icons, screen (monitor) resolution, and the color palette that your monitor uses to display colors on your screen any time you wish. If you feel uncomfortable about making changes, read the help files in Windows and you will find these instructions listed there, also. (Unless you have a rather old computer or video card, these changes are available for your personal selection at any time.) |
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| 1. If you have Windows 95 or Windows 98, double–click the “My Computer” icon on your desktop. It is often located in the upper left corner of your screen. | 
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| 2. Find the “Control Panel” icon and double–click it. | 
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| 3. Now find the icon which looks like a monitor and is titled “Display” and double–click it. This is the place where all the setting can be made for how your screen looks...and it is there for you to use, not just the technical repair people. | 
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| 4. Click once on the
“Settings” tab to see how your monitor is set. On the lower right side of
the box you will see “Desktop Area.” The numbers you see there are the
resolution or the number of pixels of visual information on the screen from side to side
and up and down. If this number is 800 x 600, you have the best settings to view most web
sites. If you wish to change the settings, there is a little slider which you can
slide to the left or the right to change the numbers. To do that, put your mouse arrow on
the slider, hold the left mouse button down to grab it, and then drag your mouse to the
left or right to change the numbers. Note: Before you change your settings, make sure you have closed all your programs as your computer may need to shut down and restart again for your changes to take effect. You can change these settings any time you with to do so. It is part of how you customize your computer to meet your personal taste and needs. |
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| 5. On the left side of the “Settings” tab
you will see “Color Palette.” This setting determines how many colors your
screen will display. Being able to view only 16 or 256 colors will cut out most of
the colors on a website and the images on the site will look terrible. Your best choices for color would be either “True Color 24," (Win. 95) or “True Color 32,” (Win. 98) which will permit you to see from 64,000 to 16 million colors. If your video card offers you the option of True Color 32, that is the best choice.
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| 6. If you wish to change your settings, click “Apply” first and then click “OK.” | You can change the color setting by clicking the
little black arrow on the right side of this area and selecting the setting you want. Your
best and most typical settings will be 800 x 600 and either True Color 24 or True Color
32. Windows 98 will give you True Color 32 as a choice, but Windows 95 normally will
give you True Color 24.
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| 7. Windows will first show you how the desktop will look and ask you if you wish to keep those settings. Look to see if the changes are made before you click the Yes or OK button. Sometimes your computer video driver files need to be updated and Windows may put the old setting back in place. If this happens, you have two choices: You can just leave things the way they are or contact your computer support person to find out how to update your video driver files. |  |
| Unless you have visual problems, setting your Font Size to “Small Fonts” will give you better viewing for web sites. | |
| 8. Some laptop computers and computers which have large monitors are set to higher settings. You may still reset these settings as long as the video card will allow it. You will find out if the video card will allow it by trying to change the settings. If the settings will not change, either your video card it too old or is not rated for those other sizes, but you will not harm your computer if you attempt to reset the desktop size or the color palette. You will be able to find these instructions in your Windows manual, Windows Help Files, or the manual which came with your monitor or video card. |
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