Tweaking Text on LCDs

I want to buy a 19-inch LCD monitor, but the text looks too small. Can I lower the resolution in order to increase the size of the on-screen text, without losing sharpness?

Doug Cragoe, North Hollywood, California

Associate Editor Laura Blackwell responds: A 19-inch LCD screen looks sharpest at its native resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels; the bigger text that you obtain by switching to a lower resolution will look fuzzy. To improve text readability, you can go to the Appearance tab of XP's Display control panel. There, you can increase the font size for Windows. You can also enable XP's font-smoothing technology, by clicking the Effects button and then choosing Clear Type in the second drop-down menu. Clear Type works best at an LCD's native resolution, but some users report improved legibility at lower resolutions, as well.

Need information or advice about a buying decision? Drop us a line at askourexperts@pcworld.com.

Laura Blackwell