6 Replies Latest reply: Mar 4, 2014 10:32 AM by Error7103 RSS

    The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update

    feline_1973 Community Member
    feline_1973 Jul 24, 2013 2:01 AM

      This isn't the most important issue in the world, but I did notice that the 'Monitor Size' setting in Frame 11 (Edit > Preferences > Global > General > Monitor Size) hasn't changed for years.

       

      It's used so that when you have your screen set to 100% zoom, it matches the real paper world in size.


      But - it just has a drop-down for 'diagonal width" monitor size which assumes a 4:3 aspect ratio (as per old CRT monitors) and only goes up to 22".  I'm currently typing on a 23" 'widescreen' (16:9) monitor so I don't think that diagonal width drop-down is going to do much useful for me

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        • 1. Re: The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update
          Arnis Gubins CommunityMVP
          Arnis Gubins Jul 24, 2013 8:43 AM (in response to feline_1973)

          FWIW, this one of those magic dropdown lists where you can also directly enter your own value, e.g. 23.

          • 2. Re: The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update
            peter at knowhowpro Community Member
            peter at knowhowpro Jul 24, 2013 8:57 AM (in response to Arnis Gubins)

            Arnis Gubins wrote:

             

            FWIW, this one of those magic dropdown lists where you can also directly enter your own value, e.g. 23.

            IIRC, in the old days of CRT monitors, when pixel sizes varied model-to-model, brand-to-brand, the sure-fire way to get true on-screen dimensions was to experiment with settings and measure with a ruler. This may or may not apply to modern monitors.

             

            HTH

             

             

            Regards,

             

             

            Peter

            _______________________

            Peter Gold

            KnowHow ProServices

            • 3. Re: The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update
              feline_1973 Community Member
              feline_1973 Jul 24, 2013 8:59 AM (in response to Arnis Gubins)

              Ah, so you can! (I'm sure I used to know that )

              Also, you can edit it directly in maker.ini
              However, is it not assuming you're using a 4:3 aspect ratio monitor? So the dimensions it infers will be wrong for a 16:9 display...
              And goodness knows what happens when I drag my Frame window from across my dual desktop, to a different sized monitor

              • 4. Re: The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update
                feline_1973 Community Member
                feline_1973 Jul 24, 2013 9:06 AM (in response to peter at knowhowpro)

                Peter, I think TFT/LCD monitors are much the same, pixels sizes are generally slightly different.
                The only real difference is that on CRTs you could adjust the display resolution 'to taste' and even play a bit with horizontal and vertical stretch, whereas on a LCD you really need to go for the native resolution, or they look like hell.

                • 5. Re: The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update
                  David :D Community Member
                  David :D Dec 5, 2013 5:16 AM (in response to feline_1973)

                  Coming back to this thread -

                  I have noticed that when I have my FrameMaker set to "100%" resolution, imported PNG graphics that are at 100% of their original size in an anchored frame currently look like hell. I need to zoom in to about 150% for them to look right (and even then, they seem to be a bit resized, with some of the stems of text getting resampled to 2 pixels wide instead of one, etc.)
                  I'm guessing this is a side-effect of this issue with the "Monitor Size" parameter assuming a 4:3 aspect ratio display?

                  • 6. Re: The 'Monitor Size' setting could do with an update
                    Error7103 Community Member
                    Error7103 Mar 4, 2014 10:32 AM (in response to Arnis Gubins)

                    I presume this setting wasn't fixed in FM12, and still assumes a quaint single-screen 4:3 aspect ratio.

                     

                    Back when computers were slower, and I was doing a lot of work with relatively high res TIFFs, I figured out that if I set Monitor Size and zoom levels carefully, I could get specific zoom levels to render raster images at exact integer multiples or fractions of the video card's frame buffer raster dimensions. I found that this made a huge difference in display & refresh performance. At 1:1, doing so apparently eliminated resampling of the image data entirely. At integer 1:N or N:1, it apparently minimized the computation required, and minimized artifacts.

                     

                    This sort of consideration is less important today, but it would be nice to get the parameter fixed, or at least publish a FAQ on how to game the 4:3 assumption for 16:9, 16:10 and 21:9 monitors, as well as arbitrary multi-monitor configurations.