Monitor Resolution
Mac Tip #19/05-Sept-2001

In Tip #18 I suggested going to MacDesktops to find great desktop pictures. When you get there though you’ll find that you can download various sizes of pictures: 1152×768, 1024×768, 800×600, 640×480 and many others. So which do you choose?

The answer depends on the resolution of your monitor.

Your monitor is divided into “pixels” (picture elements). These are basically the small dots of colour which make up the picture you see.

If you have an iMac your monitor is probably set to use 800 pixels across and 600 pixels up. In that case the best desktop picture to choose would be the 800*600 size.

My Powerbook has a screen which displays 1152 pixels across and 768 up, so I choose the 1152*768 size.

To check what resolution your monitor is set to point to the checkerboard-pattern square on the Control Strip and hold your mouse button down. The pop-up list of resolutions you could use will have a black dot beside the one it’s currently set to.

Oh, and if you don’t know what the Control Strip is, then next week’s tip will help.