Dell Latitude D530: Using the Display

6

Using the Display

Adjusting Brightness

When a Dell™ computer is running on battery power, you can conserve power

by setting the display brightness to the lowest comfortable setting by pressing

<Fn> and the up- or down-arrow key on the keyboard.

NOTE: Brightness key combinations only affect the display on your portable

computer, not monitors or projectors that you attach to your portable computer or

docking device. If your computer is connected to an external monitor and you try to

change the brightness level, the Brightness Meter may appear, but the brightness

level on the external device does not change.

You can press the following keys to adjust display brightness:

• Press <Fn> and the up-arrow key to increase brightness on the integrated

display only (not on an external monitor).

• Press <Fn> and the down-arrow key to decrease brightness on the

integrated display only (not on an external monitor).

Using a Projector

When you start the computer with an external device (such as an external

monitor or projector) attached and turned on, the image may appear on

either the computer display or the external device.

Press <Fn><F8> to switch the video image between the display only, the

external device only, or the display and the external device simultaneously.

Making Images and Text Look Bigger or Sharper

NOTE: If you change the display resolution from the current settings, the image

may appear blurry or text may be hard to read if you change the resolution to one

not supported by your computer and display. Before you change any of the display

settings, make a note of the current settings so you can change back to the

previous settings if you need to.

Using the Display 53

You can enhance the legibility of text and change the appearance of images

on the screen by adjusting display resolution. As you increase resolution,

items appear smaller on the screen. In contrast, lower resolution causes text

and images to appear larger and can benefit people with vision impairments.

To display a program at a specific resolution, both the video card and the

display must support the program, and the necessary video drivers must be

installed.

NOTE: Use only the Dell-installed video drivers, which are designed to offer the

best performance with your Dell-installed operating system.

If you choose a resolution or color palette that is higher than the display

supports, the settings adjust automatically to the closest supported values.

To set the display resolution and refresh rate for your display, perform the

steps in the following section that corresponds to the operating system your

computer is using.

®

®

Microsoft

Windows

XP

1

Click

Start

→

Settings

→

Control Panel

.

2

Under

Pick a category

, click

Appearance and Themes

.

3

Under

Pick a task...

, click the area you want to change, or under

or pick a

Control Panel icon

, click

Display

.

4

In the

Display Properties

window, click the

Settings

tab.

5

Try different settings for

Color quality

and

Screen resolution

.

NOTE: As the resolution increases, icons and text appear smaller on the screen.

®

Windows Vista

1

Click the Windows Vista Start button , and click

Control Panel

.

2

Under

Appearance and Personalization

, click

Adjust screen resolution

.

3

In the

Display Settings

window, under

Resolution

, slide the slide bar to

the left/right to decrease/increase the screen resolution.

4

Click

How do I get the best display?

for further instructions.

If the video resolution setting is higher than that supported by the display, the

computer enters pan mode. In pan mode, the entire video image cannot be

displayed at one time, and the taskbar that usually appears at the bottom of

54 Using the Display

the desktop may no longer be visible. To view the parts of the video image

that are not visible, you can use the touch pad or track stick to pan (or move)

the image up, down, left, and right.

NOTICE: You can damage an external monitor by using an unsupported refresh

rate. Before adjusting the refresh rate on an external monitor, see the user’s guide

for the monitor.

Using Both a Monitor and Your Computer Display

You can attach an external monitor or projector to your computer and use it

as an extension of your display (known as dual independent display or extended

desktop mode). This mode allows you to use both screens independently and

drag objects from one screen to the other, effectively doubling the amount of

viewable work space.

To use extended desktop mode, perform the steps in the following section

that corresponds to the operating system your computer is using.

®

®

Microsoft

Windows

XP

1

Connect the external monitor, TV, or projector to the computer.

2

Click

Start

→

Settings

→

Control Panel

.

3

Under

Pick a category

, click

Appearance and Themes

.

4

Under

Pick a task...

, click the area you want to change, or under

or pick a

Control Panel icon

, click

Display

.

5

In the

Display Properties

window, click the

Settings

tab.

NOTE: If you choose a resolution or color palette that is higher than the display

supports, the settings adjust automatically to the closest supported values. For

more information, see your operating system documentation.

6

Click the monitor 2 icon, click the

Extend my Windows desktop...

check

box, and then click

Apply

.

7

Change

Screen Area

to the appropriate sizes for both displays and click

Apply

.

8

If prompted to restart the computer, click

Apply the new color setting

without restarting

and click

OK

.

9

If prompted, click

OK

to resize your desktop.

Using the Display 55

10

If prompted, click

Yes

to keep the settings.

11

Click

OK

to close the

Display Properties

window.

To disable dual independent display mode:

1

Click the

Settings

tab in the

Display Properties

window.

2

Click the monitor 2 icon, uncheck the

Extend my Windows desktop onto

this monitor

option, and then click

Apply

.

If necessary, press <Fn><F8> to bring the screen image back to the

computer display.

Windows Vista

1

Click the Windows Vista Start button , and click

Control Panel

.

2

Under

Appearance and Personalization

, click

Adjust screen resolution

.

3

In the

Display Settings

window, click the monitor 2 icon, click the

Extend

the desktop onto this monitor

check box, and then click

Apply

.

4

Click

OK

to close the

Display Settings

window.

To disable extended desktop mode:

1

In the

Display Settings

window, click the

Settings

tab.

2

Click the monitor 2 icon, uncheck the

Extend the desktop onto this

monitor

option, and then click

Apply

.

Using a Monitor as Your Primary Display

To swap your primary and secondary display designations (for example, to use

your external monitor as your primary display after docking), perform the

steps in the following section that corresponds to the operating system your

computer is using.

®

®

Microsoft

Windows

XP

1

Click the

Start

button and click

Control Panel

.

2

Under

Pick a category

, click

Appearance and Themes

.

3

Under

Pick a task...

, click the area you want to change, or under

or pick a

Control Panel icon

, click

Display

.

4

Click the

Settings

tab

→

Advanced

→

Displays

tab.

56 Using the Display

See the documentation that came with your video card for additional

information.

Windows Vista

1

Click the Windows Vista Start button , and click

Control Panel

.

2

Under

Appearance and Personalization

, click

Adjust screen resolution

.

3

In the

Display Settings

window, click the monitor 2 icon, click the

This is

my main monitor

check box, and then click

Apply

.

4

Click

OK

to close the

Display Settings

window.

Using the Display 57