Optimising for a high resolution screen.

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starbase1
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Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by starbase1 »

I was allowed to bring a rather nice desktop PC home from work, (it was state of the art a few years ago), and decided it was a good time to treat myself to a new monitor, which is UHD / 4k / Whatever you want to call it.

Mint installed nicely, but not surprisingly the actual menus and text and icons and everything look absolutely tiny!

Is there a quick way to get a full set of settings more suited to a high resolution display please?
Current version of Mint 64 bit and Cinnamon desktop installed.

Nick, (I rate myself as newbie!)
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JerryF
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by JerryF »

Go to Display and change the resolution to something lower. You may have to try a few to get one that's comfortable.
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silfox2000
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by silfox2000 »

Much more better is to increase the DPI. I can't remember where is it in Cinnamon, but in XFCE is quite easy to find it in settings under Appearance menu.
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Mick-Cork
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by Mick-Cork »

silfox2000 wrote:Much more better is to increase the DPI. I can't remember where is it in Cinnamon, but in XFCE is quite easy to find it in settings under Appearance menu.
In Cinnamon: Menu/Preferences/Fonts then increase 'Text scaling factor' to whatever works best.

I think 18.3 (live release in next few weeks hopefully) has some improvements for HiDPI as well so probably worth checking the release notes when available.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the text scaling factor won't address all areas, for example you might find you need to set (ie: increase) the default zoom level on whichever browser(s) you're using.
Last edited by Mick-Cork on Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JerryF
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by JerryF »

Mick-Cork wrote: In Cinnamon: Menu/Preferences/Fonts then increase 'Text scaling factor' to whatever works best.

I think 18.3 (live release in next few weeks hopefully) has some improvements for HiDPI as well so probably worth checking the release notes when available.
Unfortunately, that doesn't increase the size of icons, panel, etc.

With Cinnamon, you can change the Desktop Scaling, but there aren't many options.

System Settings, General, User interface scaling: (choices are Auto, Normal, and Double [Hi-DPI])
Last edited by JerryF on Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mick-Cork
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by Mick-Cork »

JerryF wrote:
Mick-Cork wrote: In Cinnamon: Menu/Preferences/Fonts then increase 'Text scaling factor' to whatever works best.

I think 18.3 (live release in next few weeks hopefully) has some improvements for HiDPI as well so probably worth checking the release notes when available.
Unfortunately, that doesn't increase the size of icons, panel, etc.
Nope. It isn't perfect. The panel height can be changed in the panel settings and the icon sizes follow suit. Right click on the panel, click 'Panel settings' and you'll see the options.
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by starbase1 »

Thanks to all for the responses, I'll have a go!
rickst29

Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by rickst29 »

Mick-Cork wrote: Nope. It isn't perfect. The panel height can be changed in the panel settings and the icon sizes follow suit. Right click on the panel, click 'Panel settings' and you'll see the options.
Slghtly OT post: I'm a newby, but this feature seems to be 'Regressed' in 18.3 beta (installed last night). I can do the right-click and bring up "Panel Settings" in the visible area, but the 'child' options do not include anything to adjust the height. I DON'T have a high-res screen, but my somewhat older 1920x1080 HDTV has too much overscan - the outermost pixels are not displayed. The panel is logically present and reachable with the mouse, but exists mostly below the bottom edge of the visible screen area.

I'm unsure whether the problem will exist on my friend's HDTV. But even if the panel IS sufficiently visible, the default height will correspond to unreadable small text (at his viewing distance). I'm grateful for the work of Mint Developers, but this might be a Development "opportunity". Unable to work with it on that screen, I switched over to a heavyweight 'KDE' Distro, with which I (and he) can adjust the height by unlocking and then simply "dragging" to optimum height. The rest of Mint 18.3/Cinnamon seemed really nice. :mrgreen:
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Mick-Cork
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Re: Optimising for a high resolution screen.

Post by Mick-Cork »

Hi Rick,

The option definitely exists in 18.3 Cinnamon stable. Under Panel Settings the 'Use customised panel size' toggle needs to be ticked/turned on. The Text and icon scaling toggle can then be set on and the panel height adjusted.
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