The other day, I was working at the office of a older man. He had been working with spreadsheets and Word documents. He was a very experienced and thorough worker, yet his colleagues were finding more and more errors in his work. In spite of his efforts to scrutinize the screen, many of his errors were attributable to his diminishing eyesight. I was called in to see what I could recommend to the company to improve the situation.
What Did You Suggest To Him?
The first suggestion was to change the resolution on his computer screen. The computer was running Windows XP. He had just acquired a new 21" wide screen monitor and was still using the resolution that was set by the system to use as much video real estate as possible (read high resolution). By right-clicking on the wallpaper and clicking on Properties. Once the dialog box appeared, we clicked on the Settings tab (top right). On the middle left of the settings box was a slider for the Screen Resolution. We changed it from 1440 x 900 pixels (picture elements) to a lower resolution -- 1280 x 720 or 800 x 600. Either selection allowed him to see icons and text in an effectively larger font. This made him happy.
The next suggestion that saved him time was to Maximize the application on the screen not by double-clicking on the middle icon in the upper right corner, but double-clicking on the title bar of the application window itself. His opportunity to hit the mark was improved by about 50-fold. Now, he was working on an improved setup that allowed him to see things better, but there was more that he could do to improve his viewing opportunity--most applications allow the user to ZOOM in or ZOOM out to quickly assess the contents of the screen.
Quicker Methods To Zoom In And Out
Most applications have keyboard shortcuts to facilitate function and improve productivity. The Microsoft Office Suites and Internet Explorer (for example) are no exception. If you are working in Internet Explorer, all you need to do to Zoom In is press the CTRL key and + (plus sign) at the same time. To reverse the process and Zoom Out, just press the CTRL key and - (minus sign) at the same time. You may be pleasantly surprised by the ease at which you may now function. I, for one, need glasses for myopia (nearsightedness) and often need larger type to see all that I need to know. Using these keyboard shortcuts save precious time in my limited 24-hour day. Another method to perform the Zoom quickly is to hold down the CTRL key when you move the wheel on your mouse. One direction will increase size, the other direction will reduce. Try it now while you read this blog.
Besides being able to adjust the Zoom level of your screen view, you can also adjust font size or text size. In Word and other applications, usually this option is found in the View Menu to use the Zoom or Full Screen Mode (more real estate to view with). If you wish to view Internet Explorer in Full Screen Mode, just press the F11 function key. If you wish to change the size of the fonts, remember that the fonts sizes are retained by the document, so if it is printed, you may use A LOT OF PAPER! If you are in Internet Explorer, another option is to select the View Menu, Text Size option. There you may choose to see your web pages' text in smallest to largest fonts. This, too, is useful, but the larger fonts may significantly modify the appearance and feel of the webpage.
Any Other Brilliant Ideas?
The last suggestion that we'll make today is to purchase a second monitor. Prices on monitors have dropped substantially and their thinner profiles make it easier to fit more than one on a desktop. By purchasing a multi-output video card to support added monitors, you will find that you can get more done because you can take more in at once. If you purchase a video card (and monitors) that support the newer Digital Video Input (DVI), you will get a sharper picture. A similar comparison might be to compare a standard TV signal to a High Definition (HD) signal. If you are interested in upgrading your system to provide you with dual screens or more, feel free to contact us at fred@tech4now.com or call us at (201) 797-5050. You may also visit our website for added ideas to enhance your productivity. We are here to help and can show you how this nominal investment in your systems may result in a direct increase in your bottom line.
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