Windows 7 "make text larger"...on dual monitor setup

[futura65]

Hi there,
So I just got a new laptop that the resolution is high...1920x1200 on a 17" screen. I use a second monitor with it, a 24" with the same 1920X1200 res. My old laptop had a re of 1440x900 on 17"....wich next to the 24" monitor, things were about the same, size wise.

Under the settings on the new laptop on windows 7 there is an option to "Make Text and other items larger or smaller" and it does a nice job of doing just that....however it does it on both monitors. Is there anyway to make this option apply to only the laptops 17" monitor and not also affect the 24" second monitor? I like the way things look on the laptop when I bump it to 125%...but on the 24" things get a little larger than they need to be and wast space. If I have to live with it, I will. It seems far better than to look at the laptop set to 100%....some stuff gets hard to see. It's a nice feature to not lower screen resolution so images and other things still display properly, but text and menu bars get bumped up.

thanks if anyone can help.

 

[Zap]

I sympathize with you... NOT!

I have a notebook with a 15.4" widescreen at 1920x1200 resolution. Your 17" screen sounds like heaven. I always have to zoom in software.

Now, I don't know of a way to have the two monitors set differently, but maybe you can get by on a per-application setting? For instance you can have different browser windows/tabs at different zoom levels, and most office apps have some kind of zoom feature.

 

[futura65]

I'm sorry...did you say you have a 15" with the same res? How can you read anything?
Yeah I could do it on a per application basis, but once I move that window to the other screen....it will either go way big or way small depending on which way I was moving it. Dunno....I guess I'll just live with the second monitor diplaying the text at 125% it's not a to big a deal...unless anyone else suggests a solution...anyone? anyone?

 

[Zap]

I'm sorry...did you say you have a 15" with the same res? How can you read anything?

Yes, a 15.4" widescreen with 1920x1200 resolution. And no, I can't read anything on it, which is why I'm always zooming in Internet Explorer.

It is a Clevo M860TU with a T9600 CPU, 4GB DDR3 (soon to be 8GB) and a GeForce 9800M (or was it 9600M?). It has a BD drive and a crappy 500GB 5400RPM HDD that I'm hoping to swap out for an SSD.

 

[kalrith]

AFAIK, there's no way to do this. It seems that you have a few work-around options:

1. Decrease resolution on laptop screen.
2. Move laptop screen closer or 24" screen farther away.
3. Zoom in on every window that's on your laptop screen or zoom out on every window that's on your 24" screen.

That's all I can think of.

I think option 2 is best. Laptop screens have a higher PPI than desktop monitors, because laptop's are made to be in your lap with the screen very close to your eyes. If your laptop screen is 1' closer to you than your 24" screen, then that should normalize the PPI relative to viewing distance.

Edit: Try positioning your 24" at 2' 6" away from your eyes and your laptop screen at 1' 9" away from your eyes. They should look pretty close in size, and things should be easy to read at that distance.

 

[ViRGE]

AFAIK, there's no way to do this.

Correct, there's no way to use different DPIs on separate monitors. Win7 DPI scaling is across the entire OS - it's all or nothing.