Using The Display; Adjusting Brightness; Switching The Video Image; Setting Display Resolution And Refresh Rate - Dell Latitude D420 User Manual

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Using the Display
Dell™ Latitude™ D420 User's Guide
Adjusting Brightness
Switching the Video Image
Setting Display Resolution and Refresh Rate
Dual Independent Display Mode
Swapping Primary and Secondary Displays
Adjusting Brightness
When a Dell™ computer is running on battery power, you can conserve power by setting the brightness to the lowest comfortable setting by pressing <Fn>
and the up- or down-arrow key on the keyboard.
NOTE: Brightness key combinations only affect the display on your portable computer, not monitors or projectors that you attach to your portable
computer or docking device. If your computer is connected to an external monitor and you try to change the brightness level, the Brightness Meter may
appear, but the brightness level on the external device does not change.
You can press the following keys to adjust display brightness:
Press <Fn> and the up-arrow key to increase brightness on the integrated display only (not on an external monitor).
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Press <Fn> and the down-arrow key to decrease brightness on the integrated display only (not on an external monitor).
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Switching the Video Image
When you start the computer with an external device (such as an external monitor or projector) attached and turned on, the image may appear on either the
computer display or the external device.
Press <Fn><F8> to switch the video image between the display only, the external device only, or the display and the external device simultaneously.
Setting Display Resolution and Refresh Rate
To display a program at a specific resolution, both the graphics card and the display must support the program, and the necessary video drivers must be
installed.
NOTE: If you change the display resolution from the current settings, the image may appear blurry or text may be hard to read. Before you change
display settings, note the current settings for future reference.
NOTE: Use only the Dell-installed video drivers, which are designed to offer the best performance with your Dell- installed operating system.
If you choose a resolution or color palette that is greater than that which the display supports, the settings adjust automatically to the closest supported
values.
1. Click Start® Control Panel® Display® Settings.
2. Try different settings for Color quality and Screen resolution.
NOTE: As the resolution increases, icons and text appear smaller on the screen.
If the video resolution setting is higher than that supported by the display, the computer enters pan mode. In pan mode, the entire screen cannot be
displayed at one time. For example, the taskbar that usually appears at the bottom of the desktop may no longer be visible. To view the rest of the screen,
use the touch pad to pan up, down, left, and right.
NOTICE: You can damage an external monitor by using an unsupported refresh rate. Before adjusting the refresh rate on an external monitor, see the
user's guide for the monitor.
Dual Independent Display Mode
You can attach an external monitor or projector to your computer and use it as an extension of your display (known as "dual independent display" or
"extended desktop" mode). This mode allows you to use both screens independently and drag objects from one screen to the other, effectively doubling the
amount of viewable work space.
1. Connect the external monitor, TV, or projector to the computer.