Dell Latitude L400 User Manual page 30

Back to Contents Page
Display: Dell™ Latitude™ L400 User's Guide
Adjusting the Brightness
Expanded Video Mode
Video Drivers and Video Resolution
Customizing Video Resolution
Adjusting the Brightness
To adjust the brightness of the display, you can use the key combinations shown in
NOTE: When you run the computer on battery power, set your computer's brightness control to the lowest setting that affords
comfortable viewing. You can extend your battery life by using the minimum brightness setting.
Table 1. Brightness Key Combinations and Their Functions
Key Combinations Function
<Fn> + down arrow Decreases brightness
<Fn> + up arrow Increases brightness
Expanded Video Mode
When working in MS-DOS® text mode, you can select the font used to display text. Press<Fn><F7> to toggle between regular video mode (serif
font) and expanded video mode (a serif font with extra leading). In expanded video mode, items in resolutions other than 800 x 600 expand to fill
the screen.
NOTE: You may have difficulty using the display fonts feature with MS-DOS programs that use downloaded fonts. For optimum video
performance in these cases, do not use expanded video mode.
Video Drivers and Video Resolution
The Dell-installed video drivers work with the operating system to let you customize the video resolution, number of screen colors, and refresh rate
of your display.
NOTE: The Dell-installed video drivers are designed to offer the best performance on your computer. Dell recommends that you use
only these drivers with your factory-installed operating system.
Table 2 lists the combinations of resolutions and colors supported using one controller with a computer display only or an external monitor only.
Table 2. Resolutions and Colors Supported Using A Single Controller and Single Display
Resolution Bits of Color Depth Per Pixel (bpp)
640 x 480 8 16
800 x 600 8 16
1024 x 768 8 16
1280 x 1024 8 16
NOTES: The display will always pan at 1280 x 1024.
Numbers of colors per bpp rating:
8 bpp = 256 colors
24 32
24 32
24 32
24 N/A
Dual-Display Mode
If You Have Display Problems
Cleaning the Display and Touch Pad
Table 1.