Add a custom defined resolution - possible?

Hi folks!
Got my Macbook Pro and am a bit puzzled. I can change the resolution to lower settings, but there is a "jump" from 1600x1000 to 1344x1008 (the next is 1344x840). Where is 1440x900? Can it be added, are there any tools? I know that LCDs look best at their native res., it's just handy sometimes when surfing the web late at night to lower the resolution. Thanks for any info on this!

 

I am not aware of being able to add resolutions.

It may be possible to find a file and edit it to add the resolution, I know you can under Linux. But I've never heard of this under OS X.

 

This is what you need: http://www.switchres.info/

 

An LCD can only display one resolution. In the case of your Macbook Pro, its 1440x900. When you choose any other resolution, you are actually just stretching/distorting it back to 1440x900 and It will look terrible. Some resolutions scale nicer than others so a custom resolution is most likely not ideal. If you want to make things appear bigger, why don't you just zoom in or let the browser scale the text up.

 

Thanks for the pointer to switchres, will try that.
To Chris27: I will see ho well the zooming thing might work. And maybe I wasn't clear enough reg. the screen. I have the 17" model and opted for the Hi-Res (matte) since the premium you have to pay is rather low. I'm going to do a lot of video stuff on this thing and the more space I have, the better. I just still wonder why I have the aforementioned 1344x840, but not 1440x900. Anyway, as long as switchres does the job, I'll try to stop wondering to much..

 

Oh, if you want to make all your interface objects look bigger, then do not change the resolution, as lowering the resolution will result in a loss of quality.

What you want to do is change the DPI of OS X. Do this by launching the Quartz Debug Tool (/Developer/Applications/Performance Tools/ you might have to install Xcode, but I'm not sure). Then hold Command and press U, and drag the slider that appears right a bit. Then, restart your applications.
Everything in OS X should look bigger afterwards, without losing its sharpness.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that when you plug in monitors to the mbp, it usually finds the correct resolution of the monitor you plug in.

So it may be that it doesnt show up as an option for the main mbp lcd screen, but if you connect to to an external monitor/hdtv it might show up.

 

Thanks guys, you are great! To Budding: I'm on a German version of Leopard and I can't seem to find what you are suggesting, really nothing that does even come close. I did a search for any of the keywords you mention but to no avail (except for "Quartz", which led me to System Profiler). Would I have to install the developer apps first? Oh well, I use to get phone calls when something goes wrong with a Windows box/network stuff but Mac-land is just so new to me..

 

After some googling around, it appears that Quartz Debugger is part of Xcode. Therefore, if you want to change the DPI settings of your OS X, you will have to sign up (free) to Apple's Developer Connection and download Xcode (1.1GB) from http://developer.apple.com/tools/download/

 

That's great, I'm downloading it right now (I want to fill my harddrive as fast a s possible anyway so gimme the gigs!). BTW, what is googling for?

 

Googling is an online phrase describing the carrying out a search of the World Wide Web using the popular search engine Google.

 

Thanks for the kind explanation. In my last reply I added this smiley When you hover over it - at the right side of the editor window, where a part of the collection of available smileys is displayed - with your mouse, it reads "Roll Eyes (Sarcastic)". So I actually tried to conduct an adequate portion of self criticism; in other words: I know the term "googling" well and maybe might have found the dev tools myself if I just were not the chief of staff for the "slouch on the sofa"-company. Of course, a smiley reading "Ironic" would have fitted even better.