Using the Display
Swapping Primary and Secondary Displays
Adjusting Brightness
When the 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.
The Dell QuickSet Brightness Meter shows the current brightness setting for the display. Right-click the 
icon in the taskbar to enable or disable the Brightness Meter on the screen.
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NOTE: By default, the Brightness Meter appears in the lower-right corner of the display. You can click and drag the meter to a new location, and the meter subsequently always appears at the new location. |
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NOTE: Brightness key combinations only affect the display on your portable computer, not monitors 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 appears, but the brightness level on the monitor does not change. |
You can enable or disable the Brightness Meter from the QuickSet taskbar menu. When the meter is enabled, press the following keys to adjust brightness:
- Press <Fn> and the up-arrow key to increase brightness on the integrated display only (not on an external monitor).
- Press <Fn> and the down-arrow key to decrease brightness on the integrated display only (not on an external monitor).
For more information about QuickSet, right-click the 
icon in the taskbar and click Help.
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 to the display only, the external device only, or the display and the external device simultaneously.
Setting Display Resolution
To display a program at a specific resolution, both the video adapter and the display must support the program, and the necessary video drivers must be installed.
Before you change any of the default display settings, make a note of the default settings for future reference.
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NOTE: Use only the Dell-installed video drivers, which are designed to offer the best performance with your Dell-installed operating system. |
- Click the Start button and click Control Panel.
- Under Pick a category, click Appearance and Themes.
- Under Pick a task…, click the area you want to change, or under or pick a Control Panel icon, click Display.
- Try different settings for Color quality and Screen resolution.
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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 screen cannot be completely displayed. 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 or track stick to pan up, down, left, and right.
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NOTICE: You can damage an external monitor by using an unsupported refresh rate. Before adjusting the refresh rate on an external monitor, see the monitor user’s guide. |
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.
Integrated and Discrete Video
- Connect the external monitor, TV, or projector to the computer or docking device.
- Open the Control Panel and double-click the Display icon.
- In the Display Properties window, click the Settings tab.
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NOTE: If you choose a resolution or color palette that is higher than the display supports, the settings adjust automatically to the closest possible values. For more information, see your operating system documentation. |
- Click the monitor 2 icon, click the Extend my Windows desktop… check box, and then click Apply.
- Change Screen Area to the appropriate sizes for both displays and click Apply.
- If prompted to restart the computer, click Apply the new color setting without restarting and click OK.
- If prompted, click OK to resize your desktop.
- If prompted, click Yes to keep the settings.
- Click OK to close the Display Properties window.
To disable dual independent display mode:
- Click the Settings tab in the Display Properties window.
- Click the monitor 2 icon, uncheck the Extend my Windows desktop… option, and then click Apply.
If necessary, press <Fn><F8> to bring the screen image back to the computer display.
Swapping Primary and Secondary Displays
To swap your primary and secondary display designations (for example, to use your external monitor as your primary display after docking), open the Control Panel, click the Display icon® Settings tab® Advanced, and click the Display tab or the tab for your video driver. See the documentation that came with your video adapter for additional information, if available.