Would you like to make your display as crisp and readable as possible?

You can improve your computer viewing and help prevent eye strain with a few very simple steps.

The technology used for your lcd display on your flat panel monitor, laptop, or even your plasma TV is quite different from the old fashioned "big square" CRT monitors so some new rules apply. "Native resolution" is the number rows of horizontal and vertical pixels (dots) that create the picture on your screen. Ideally, you should set your screen resolution to match your monitor's native resolution, most commonly 1024x768 or 1280x1024. See your monitor's user manual to determine the native resolution of your monitor (sometimes referred to as maximum resolution) and read the instructions below to change this setting in Windows.

How to Determine and Change Screen Resolution

• Right-click on an empty area on your destop and select Properties.
• In the Display Properties pop-up window, select the Setting tab.
• Set the Screen Resolution to match your monitor's native resoltution.
• While you have this window open, also check your Color Quality (sometimes called Color Depth) and set this value to 32 bit, 24 bit, or 16 bit (these numbers will vary on different computers).

How to Increase Text Size

If you find that text is too small to read comfortably at the new setting, you can make some additional simple changes to your Windows settings:

• Right-click on an empty area on your desktop and select Properties.
• In the Display Properties pop-up window, select the Appearance tab.
• Near the bottom of the window is a place to set Font Size.

• Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox: View-->Text Size
• Netscape: View-->Text Zoom
• Opera: View-->Zoom
• Safari: