How to Change the Video Settings or Improve Text in Windows 11 and Windows 10

The screen resolution of a monitor determines how much information is displayed on the screen. It is measured horizontally and vertically in pixels. At lower screen resolutions such as 640 x 480, fewer items will fit the screen but they will appear larger. At higher resolutions such as 1900 x 1080, more items will fit the screen but they will appear smaller.

The resolution modes will vary with each display based on the video card, monitor size, video driver, and monitor driver where applicable.

By default, Windows will choose the best display settings for your computer based on the monitor and video drivers installed. You can change the screen resolution manually for each monitor that is connected to your computer.

1. Right-click an empty area on the desktop, and click Display Settings.
2. In the left pane, click on Display.
3. In the right pane, scroll down and click Advanced display settings.
4. If you have more than one monitor connected to your computer, then select the monitor on which you want to change the screen resolution.
5. Click the Resolution drop-down menu, and then select a screen resolution. For example, 1920 x 1080.
   NOTE: For optimal performance, chose the native resolution that is usually noted as Recommended.
6. Click Apply.
   NOTE: You will have 15 seconds to select Keep Changes or Revert before it will automatically revert to the previous settings.
7. If the selected screen resolution mode is optimal, click Keep Changes.
8. Repeat Steps 4 to 7, if you have more than one monitor connected to your computer.

Back to Top

Changing the screen brightness on Dell laptops

Dell laptops have hotkeys or shortcut keys on the keyboard to increase or decrease the brightness of the screen. This is usually a combination of the Fn key and one of the function keys.

To learn more about how to set the brightness on your Dell laptop, see the User Guide of your Dell laptop.

Changing the screen brightness on Dell monitors

Dell monitors use the On-Screen Display (OSD) menu to increase or decrease the brightness and contrast of the screen. Use the buttons on the monitor to access the On-Screen Display menu.

To learn more about how to use the On-Screen Display menu to set the brightness and/or contrast on your Dell monitor, see the User Guide of your Dell monitor.

1. Browse to Dell Manuals website.
2. Identify your Dell product:
   1. Enter the model number or Service Tag of the laptop or monitor, and then click Search.
   2. Or, click Browse all products, and select your Dell laptop or monitor from the catalog.
3. Under the Documentation tab, scroll to the Manuals and Documents section and click View PDF next to the User Guide.

Back to Top

1. Right-click an empty area on your desktop, and click Display Settings.
2. In the left pane, click on Display.
3. In the right pane, scroll down and click Advanced display settings.
4. If you have more than one monitor connected to your computer, then select the monitor on which you want to change the refresh rate.
5. Scroll down and click Display adapter properties.
6. In the Display adapter properties window, select the Monitor tab.
7. Select the required refresh rate for your monitor and click OK.
8. If the selected refresh rate is optimal, click Keep Changes.
9. Repeat Steps 4 to 8, if you have more than one monitor connected to your computer.

Back to Top

Windows ensures that everything appears on the screen at a useable and consistent size by instructing applications to resize their content by a scale factor. On most desktop monitors and laptops this setting is usually in the range of 95-110 DPI, Windows sets a scale factor of 100% by default.

When you change the DPI scaling level for your monitor, it changes the size of text, apps, and other items to appear larger or smaller. A higher DPI level has everything appear larger, and a lower DPI level has everything appear smaller.

1. Save all open documents and close all the open windows.
2. Right-click an empty area on the desktop, and click Display Settings.
3. In the left pane, click Display.
4. If you have more than one display connected to your computer, then select the monitor on which you want to change the DPI scaling level.
5. Under Scale and layout, click Advanced scaling settings.
6. For optimal performance, enable Let Windows try to fix apps so they're not blurry. This allows Windows to automatically determine the best settings.
7. To set a custom scaling, enter the custom scaling size under Custom scaling. For example - 100%, 125%, 150%, 200% and so on.
8. Click Apply.
9. If the selected DPI is optimal for your usage, click Sign out now for the settings to take effect.
10. Repeat Steps 4 to 8, if you have more than one monitor connected to your computer.

Back to Top

ClearType adjusts how text appears on your screen through a series of interactive options.

1. Press the Windows + Q key on the keyboard.
2. In the Search box type ClearType.
3. In the search results list, click Adjust ClearType text (Control panel).
4. Check Turn on ClearType, and click Next.
5. Select the monitor(s) on which you want to change the ClearType settings, and then click Next.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to choose the sample text that looks optimal to you, and click Next.
7. Once the process is complete, click Finish.

Back to Top