how to make a macro or shortcut to automatically swith the screen res.

[sparx007]

I would like to have a shortcut on my desktop to change the resolution to
eg. 1024x768 and another to 1152x864.
I need this for when using my TV as screen for watching my digital photos
and then the other for swicthing back to normal CRT PC screen for desktop
work.

Can anyone help me in this, if it is possible?

 

[bcastner]

Kelly Theriot notes:

On your desktop or on the Start menu, right-click the game or other program that you want to run in 256 colors, and then click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab. Select the Run in 256 colors check box.

Or if you want to Run in 640x480 screen resolution check the box. Your screen resolution will revert to its previous resolution when you close the program. The Compatibility tab is available only for programs or games located on your computer's hard disk. It is not available if the program is stored on a floppy disk, compact disk, or a network.

Any other method I suspect will require a reboot to affect the changes. The details that could easily be done with a batch file referencing regedit /s filename.reg

Display Resolution - Change

1. Start/Run/Regedit and Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{3A2C2EBE-ECDB-4A7B-99EC-
58117AFDC5E2}\0000\Mon22446688

2. Find 'DefaultSettings.XResolution'. That is your y axis. Edit as a Decimal to what you want it to be. IE 1152.
3. Find 'DefaultSettings.YResolution'. That is your x axis. Edit as a decimal to what you want it to be. IE 863.
4. Reboot.

Or...

Start/Run/Regedit: HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\Display\Settings. In the right pane, right click Resolution, modify, 800,600.


Open notepad, and copy/paste the below with your required settings as discussed above by Kelly. The file has to have a .reg file extension:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{23A77BF7-ED96-40EC-AF06-9B1F4867732A}]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{23A77BF7-ED96-40EC-AF06-9B1F4867732A}\0000]
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000320 <<- change
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000258 <<- change

 

[gpalmer711]

I some time ago wrote an application that would do this, the only problem was that icons arranged on the desktop would be messed up. If this is not a problem I will test it for XP and then post a link to it here.

Greg Palmer
Free Software for Adminstrators

http://www.palmersoft.co.uk

 

[bcastner]

I wish the layout stuff was distributed by MSFT as part of XP.
Source:

http://www.subvers.com/technobabble/html/tweaks/visual.htm

I recommend this highly for all Windows users. Let me quote the source link above:

Tool: Two files from the MS Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit (26KB). Download them from here.

This is one of my favorite tweaks because I'm a real neatness freak about my desktop icons. Basically this tweak allows you to save the positions of your desktop icons, so you can restore the icons to their saved positions at any time in the future. To give you this added functionality in XP, do the following:

1. Download the file Layout.zip from

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/tweaks/layout.zip

and extract the contents to an empty directory.

(bcastner note: there are other sources. This is legitimate stuff from the reskit, and there is not a EULA issue. This is straight MSFT files, and you are allowed to use them.)

2. Copy Layout.dll to the \Windows\System32 directory on the hard drive which contains Windows XP.

3. Double click on the Layout.reg file to automatically make the appropriate changes to your registry.

4. Now go to your desktop and arrange the icons as you'd like them to be saved.

5. Once done, right click on the Recycle Bin and select 'Save Desktop Icon Layout'. The positions of all the icons are now saved. You can move the icons around freely, however whenever you want them restored to their original saved positions, right click on Recycle Bin again and select 'Restore Desktop Icon Layout'. Bingo!

This is particularly handy if you're installing new graphics card drivers for example and your desktop icons get messed up, or you change resolutions and they get bumped around, or if you accidentally move an icon while trying to double click on it.

 

[sparx007]

greg, after the posting from bcastner on how to arrange the icons, pls. post your application if it works in winXP

Thanks!

 

[bcastner]

sparx007,

The reskit tools absolutely work under Windows XP. The layout utilities have been distributed every time since NT 4 resource kit. For every resource kit. And they are true MSFT utilities. And they are freeware.

Using a form of RunAs seems to me a false lead for a solution to your issue. I am baffled that your issue has had several quite good solutions, and you keep asking for more.

 

[sparx007]

bcastner, thanks for your reply. I already installed the tweak that saves the icon positions. However your solution, is not what I need, (or maybe I don't understand it) as a reboot is out of the question. I found a piece og freeware that can change the resolution, without rebooting and with having to accept the usual windows questions. However the program does not support Hotkeys or shortkeys.
And I cannot call it from my RF remote control.

And your solution to run the app. in 256 mode eg. is not feasible, as it is many applications and not games, it only depends on if I use my TV or my crt monitor, which resolution the PC should use.

Maybe I wasn't clear from the start, but English is not my first language...

And I not techie enough to fully understand your 2nd solution, I only know that a reboot won't support my need...

 

[JacksonGuy]

I use a program called multires which you can download it here . You can configure this to run using batch file and I find that is works very well.

 

[sparx007]

JacksonGuy that's a smart app. tried the batch file thing, is there any way one can prevent the dos-window from apearing calling the command?

 

[bcastner]

I am clueless as to the details of the .bat written by the program, but "Hiding" a CMD session tsuji and I pretty much covered in a different thread:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?SQID=839332&SPID=616&page=1

Give tsuji a star, as this is just good stuff.

 

[JacksonGuy]

The way that I got around it was to make a shortcut to the batch file and in the shortcut properties you can make it startup minimized. If you find a way to hide it I would like to know please.