Where is it, and what, EXACTLY is it supposed to do?

I can't find it myself. It's supposed to make items on the screen a different size (so it appears as though you have a higher resolution).

err is this some new feature in leopard? where is it

You must install the XCode development package from the Leopard install disk.

Then launch /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/Quartz Debug.app and select "Show user interface resolution" in the "Tools" menu...

But it's still a buggy feature

Damn....
Time to go get another copy of the install disk

I think you mean a lower resolution. The idea is that when you run a high resolution display , say a 2560X1600, the icons are the same size as on a lower resolution, say a 1440X900. Same with text in menus which can become tiny and hard to read.

If it goes that way instead of what Ramm said, I'll be very, VERY dissapointed

It is more or less what Ramm said. It allows an element to look the same size even if the resolution of the screen is much bigger.

Which allows you to have a high-density screen without having all the stuff super-tiny.

=(
I guess I'm looking for the opposite...to shrink the things on my screen like I'm running a higher resolution that what I actually have.

I think you can also shrink the display factor down to 0.5x... using Quartz Debug.

Primarily its a universal access thing, its lets people have large elements on the screen for easier use without sacrificing fidelity of relying on specific resolutions. It also allows you to have properly sized elements on screens with higher pixel densities, or even smaller elements if you feel like having more desktop space.

It can be used without installing Xcode, there are some terminal commands you can use, but I can't seem to find them. Its pretty glitchy at the moment, lots of stuff looks poor quality.

off topic - hey mnit, your from salford? I'm like 15 miles north of you in Blackburn!

Got to say...

If you wouldn't mind sending me some info on that.....That'd really make my day.
PM or AIM - Ayanamizer00

I can't for the life of me find the site anymore - and I didn't have the forethought to note the commands down I'm afraid. Its a HItoolbox command if I recall correctly, the command followed by the number you want to multiply the scale by, which can be a decimal. I'm gonna keep digging around and if I find it I'll post it up here.

Embio: damnit! you're more Northern that I am!

EDIT: found it:

defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleDisplayScaleFactor 2

would give you twice the usual size. Watch out using sizes that are too small, as Suzuka notes below it can cause problems getting back to usual as you cant click anything right.. if you want to go smaller go smaller in increments, 0.9, then 0.8, etc.

Its glitchy as hell, but in some ways its pretty cool. Ive got my 15" MBP running at scale factor 0.85 at the moment, and its a much more fitting size.

PS, log out and in again after doing it.

EDITED to get rid of the 0.5 value...

please change that value...I just set it to 0.5 >.< that was hard to get out of

Done and done!

could have potential...look forward to final release of leopard and all that it might hold, should be light years ahead of vista even though released later (like the iphone is generations ahead of current smartphones)

Hmmmm, interesting ... certainly has potential.

But, as mentioned - very buggy ! Tried 0.9 and text was fuxored on about everything .... oh well, bring on the Gold Master :-)

Well, I fooled around with it for a bit, and tried to go back to normal.

I now have no more Finder bar. It is replaced by a white box where the menu used to be.

=( =( =(

Any ideas?

Such a disappointment. How terrible Resolution independence is...

Yeah....How do I revert back? Time Machine didn't help me, and nothing is rendering right.....Please tell me there's some kind of something to use as a default


EDIT:
Ok, so I tried using display prefs. to change the real resolution, and it's not helping. It's really the Finder and Camino that are trashed beyond use, but Dashboard and Time Machine aren't rendering correctly, and System Prefs. barely comes out right at all.

Obvious next question, here is my answer;
No, I do not have a copy of the leopard install disk, nor do I have a backup of the disk image. My files and such are backed up, but nothing with the OS.

Obvious third question, here is my answer;
No, Time Machine is not changing anything.

use a scale factor of 1

I bet making your signature image smaller will help

If you have a problem with someone's signature, PM them about it. Don't make a public attack/joke out of it.


Ayanami, try completely killing Finder after setting the DPI to 72 and the scale factor to 1.0. Do this by typing in killall Finder in Terminal.

Actually, mnit is right.
I swear I tried that once and it didn't work, but a techie guy I know told me to do the same, and it worked perfectly.
Maybe it'll work a little better in the next build

If controlling the scaling from the terminal, there is no command I know of to set the DPI, only the scale factor.

Has anyone found a display scale that actually renders things correctly?

I was explaining how to kill the Finder, which can be done through terminal.

Which I might do the next time I want to create a signature like I've got. I just really didn't feel like taking the blue light out when I made that one. Far too much work for too little effect.

Resolution Independence has improved a lot over the last few months. I'm really Excited about that and can't wait to see further improvements and maybe an enduser interface in one of the next build(s).

when i use the global command... my dock and the mouse dont change the resolution... mmmhhhh

so i get many problems with applications to work on it.

is there any solution for really complete global change????

No.