X11, Gnome: 19" instead of 17"

diostm · 08-08-2010, 04:13 PM

Hello everybody!
I am newbie to Linux. Yesterday I installed linux on my PC(Gentoo Linux). Before that I used Mustdie 7 and Ubuntu Linux.

Now all is configured good, but only one thing disturbs me: When I launch a gnome environment and try to change my monitors settings there is a label in the corner, something like:
Navatek Corporation Engineering 19".

I think, that 19" means 19 inches, but my monitor is 17"(inches) and i don't know how to change it.
I think, fonts on my PC look ugly because there is a false monitor diagonal length.

I would like to RTFM, but i don't know which one is for me. I read
"man Xorg.conf", but there i don't find any answers.
Google has no answers too. :'-(

diostm · 08-09-2010, 05:37 AM

up-up

RockDoctor · 08-09-2010, 07:32 AM

You could change the screen resolution (might require creation of an xorg.conf file)

r3sistance · 08-09-2010, 08:09 AM

To me that sounds like an attempted auto-detection of the monitor brand/model, however this should have no impact on the display itself and thus I would suggest can just be ignored for the easy life.

diostm · 08-10-2010, 09:18 AM

Fonts are to ugly to ignore that :-(

r3sistance · 08-10-2010, 09:29 AM

Hi,

Fonts will not be based on this, technically speaking the OS does not care of the specific size of a monitor, only the resolution it can/is displaying. I would advise changing your system fonts instead.

Regards,
Berwick.

GrapefruiTgirl · 08-10-2010, 09:48 AM

There's one or two more things I can think of that haven't been mentioned, and that's:

-- your DPI setting (dots per inch), which does affect how your fonts look.
-- your anti-alias setting(s), which relate to both the subpixel layout of your monitor, and the level of anti-aliasing (smoothing) that is done to the fonts.

Both these items can have a significant impact on the look of your fonts, and on your eye comfort when viewing your monitor.

Right off top of my head, I can't remember a good one-stop location to read all about these, but as one example of how to set this stuff up, here's what I use in my ~/.Xresources file to configure how libXft affects fonts:

Code:

shell$ cat .Xresources

!         libXft settings         !

Xft.antialias: true
Xft.dpi: 96
Xft.hinting: 1
Xft.hintstyle: hintfull
Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault
Xft.rgba: vrgb
Xft.render: true

Something tells me there's somewhere else on my system, where I set something to do with the DPI setting, but again, I can't recall exactly what or where - but if I do, I'll post again any info I find.

Meanwhile, I recommend Googling for .Xdefaults, .Xresources, libXft settings, and antialiasing, and see what you come up with.

Also, for your "rgba" setting, which is based on the subpixel layout of the pixels in your monitor, check this site to read about this and find out which arrangement you have: http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/subpixel.php

And here's a "ScreenFontSettings" X11 page at freedesktop.org, where there might be some more info:
http://freedesktop.org/wiki/ScreenFontSettings

Good luck!

Wim Sturkenboom · 08-10-2010, 10:55 AM

Most monitors have an option somewhere in the menus that displays information about the signal that is received. Check if that is correct with regards to aspect ratio of the monitor and, if it's a LCD monitor, if it is the native resolution.

Also, please post make and model of your monitor