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Display Scaling - why it can make software look weird, and what to do about it!

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Display Scaling

This article looks at the common Windows setting, Display Scaling, and how to configure the Swann software to appear correctly on your screen.

Display Scaling is a mechanism in Windows where super-high resolution screens can have icons and text appear at a readable size, without reducing the resolution of the screen. This preserves the clarity that your monitor is capable of.

 

Windows 11 - How to Fix It?

The image below shows that the HomeSafe View software looks too small.

To fix this, right-click on the application and go to Properties.

Under the Compatibility tab, click Change high DPI settings.

Then, check the box for Override high SPI scaling behavior and change the dropdown option to System. Click OK to save and close the small window, then OK again on the bigger window.

Close the application and open it again, and it should look better like in the screenshot below.

 

How about for Windows 10?

When you use the Display Scaling option, it can cause issues with software that is not designed for the feature, or where particular software needs to preserve the resolution of content (eg. Swann software displaying live camera streams) so that the content appears correctly.

Win10_Display.png

Windows 10 New Control Panel > System > Display

 

In the Windows Control Panel, you will find a panel called Display, or similar. In this panel, you will see an option labelled Display Scaling, or for Windows 10, the above-marked option. If this setting is not at 100% (no scaling), then Windows is changing the size of objects displayed on the desktop. This can have unintended consequences for some software, such as the text appearing blurry or cut off, the software window extending past the edge of the screen, or other strange graphical effects.

 

The Solution

Indeed, the cause of the problem also presents the solution to the problem, but in a very different place.

Any application software in Windows has associated Properties, which tells Windows how to interact with the software. Similar to Windows 11, right-click on the application and select Properties.

Under the Compatibility tab, check the box for Disable display scaling on high DPI settings.

Click OK, and re-open software again. If all goes well, the software should load up and appear correctly on your screen!

SVLink_Properties.png
Windows 10 Properties > Compatibility window for SwannView Link
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