JSI Tip 7032. Windows XP and Windows 2000 do NOT natively support high-DPI screens?

Jerold Schulman

August 5, 2003

1 Min Read
ITPro Today logo in a gray background | ITPro Today

Most monitors use 96 DPI (dots-per-inch). Some newer monitors support a higher resolution.

A Window that was designed to look good at 96 DPI may not look good at a higher resolution. Displaying the same window at 200 DPI may make the screen unreadable. As the density increases, the size of each pixel decreases, and the size of the display will appear at about half size.

Internet Explorer 6 and higher attempt to solve this problem by adjust the scale on high resolution screens proportionally.

Scaling does not always resolve display problems, because ActiveX Controls and other objects that use the Microsoft Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) calls do not scale well, or not scale at all. The GDI does not automatically scale based upon screen density.

NOTE: The next generation of Windows will provide this capability.

To set the DPI:

1. Right-click a blank area of the desktop and pressing Properties.

2. Select the Settings tab.

3. Press the Advanced button.

4. On the General tab, select the DPI from the drop-down list and press OK.

5. Shutdown and restart your computer.

To insure that Internet Explorer scales properly:

1. Copy / Paste the following to a UseHR.reg file:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain]
"UseHR"=dword:00000001

2. Close all instances of Internet Explorer.

3. Merge the UseHR.reg file with your registry, or run regedit /s UseHR.reg.

4. Open Internet Explorer.



Sign up for the ITPro Today newsletter
Stay on top of the IT universe with commentary, news analysis, how-to's, and tips delivered to your inbox daily.

You May Also Like