Does anyone know why some computers have a geometry tab in the display preferences and some don't? Even with exactly the same monitor attached and the same operating system, a G4 Powermac has the tab when a G5 doesn't.
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"Geometry" tab in Display preferences
- Thread starter The Truth
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You got a screenshot?
I have a Powerbook and I've never ever seen this Geometry tab you speak of.
I have a Powerbook and I've never ever seen this Geometry tab you speak of.
ATI cards will have it, Nvidia's won't
It's hidden on the PBs because obviously rotating your display doesn't make sense (holding Option and clicking on the Display box will reveal it though on PBs with ati cards).
It's hidden on the PBs because obviously rotating your display doesn't make sense (holding Option and clicking on the Display box will reveal it though on PBs with ati cards).
Umm, I believe that the Geometry is available IF AND ONLY IF:
1. The display is a CRT (LCDs are digital and have to geometry controls)
--AND--
2. The display is built-in (Can't control external displays)
It's not an Nvidia/ATI issue
1. The display is a CRT (LCDs are digital and have to geometry controls)
--AND--
2. The display is built-in (Can't control external displays)
It's not an Nvidia/ATI issue
Woah. Okay, I have a 1.2 iBook from last May, or thereabouts. I went to the display preferences, and held down the aformentioned "option" key, and what appeared is the following:
Rotate:
Standard
90°
180°
270°
So I tried it, and sure enough, everthing changed direction... my display was in portrait mode, and then upside down! I got sorta freaked when I went to change it back, and the drop down had disappeared. So I closed System Preferences, and went back through the same motions, and was able to put it back.
Attached is a screenshot.
Is this what you're referring to as "geometry" or is there something more that I'm not seeing? This is so freaking cool! I wish I could think of a practical application of it, without having to turn my laptop on its side, or laying down to view it in portrait mode. I used to work for a newspaper, and this would have been huge with our new 20" DVI displays.
I'd heard (or read, rather) rumors about Apple monitors being able to rotate, and potentially sense the rotation, and redraw the screen accordingly, but haven't actually seen it in action. This is so sweet. Gotta remember this one.
Any other Option key preferences, or other OS X.4 easter eggs? I know about the terminal games, but anything else?
Attached is a screenshot of my display in portrait mode. Please believe that this is NOT at all PhotoShopped. Weird thing is that it rotates it, so when opening the screenshot, it's oriented correctly. However, when taking a screenshot of the 180° rotation, it just appears as the screen normally does. I assume this is because the dimensions of the displayed image don't change, and is just simply rotated an additional 180° to be oriented correctly.
No wonder I'm barefoot. OS 10.4 rocks my socks off!
Rotate:
Standard
90°
180°
270°
So I tried it, and sure enough, everthing changed direction... my display was in portrait mode, and then upside down! I got sorta freaked when I went to change it back, and the drop down had disappeared. So I closed System Preferences, and went back through the same motions, and was able to put it back.
Attached is a screenshot.
Is this what you're referring to as "geometry" or is there something more that I'm not seeing? This is so freaking cool! I wish I could think of a practical application of it, without having to turn my laptop on its side, or laying down to view it in portrait mode. I used to work for a newspaper, and this would have been huge with our new 20" DVI displays.
I'd heard (or read, rather) rumors about Apple monitors being able to rotate, and potentially sense the rotation, and redraw the screen accordingly, but haven't actually seen it in action. This is so sweet. Gotta remember this one.
Any other Option key preferences, or other OS X.4 easter eggs? I know about the terminal games, but anything else?
Attached is a screenshot of my display in portrait mode. Please believe that this is NOT at all PhotoShopped. Weird thing is that it rotates it, so when opening the screenshot, it's oriented correctly. However, when taking a screenshot of the 180° rotation, it just appears as the screen normally does. I assume this is because the dimensions of the displayed image don't change, and is just simply rotated an additional 180° to be oriented correctly.
No wonder I'm barefoot. OS 10.4 rocks my socks off!
Attachments
zakatov said:
Nup, nup, nup sorry. The whole point of this thread was that a G4 PowerMac was able to control an Apple 21" CRT's geometry (height, width, keystone, convergence etc). A G5 with ATI Radeon 9600 however, can not. I want to know if there is some software that can do it.
alangyssler said:
Alan, it is cool, but they are talking about adjustments for things like parallelogram and pincushion on CRTs. Those kinds of adjustments have no analog (haha) in LCDs....
PS...regarding your screenshot, if I understand you correctly, when you go back to landscape mode, the screenshot still shows up in Preview, etc, with the long dimension vertical. This is because the image is tagged with an orientation. If you look at the screenshot with the display rotated to portrait mode, then you should see that the image has its long axis in the same orientation as the long axis of the monitor (so sideways, if you're looking at the notebook head on, or oriented correctly if you've positioned yourself to match the screen). So it's all self-consistent. It's very similar to what happens when you take a picture with a digital camera sideways. Usually, when you import them, they will rotate onscreen (and on the display on the back of the camera) so that they remain correctly oriented.
I'm blown away! I just re-arranged my desk. In doing so I unplugged my monitor. When I plugged it back in, I HAD THE GEOMETRY TAB AGAIN!!!!! I'm confused but thanks everyone.
well, no longer can i show off the coolness of rotating the orientation of the monitor on my iBook (which, if for no other reason is cool because it makes people go "huh?!?") as i've lost the ability to get the "geometry" setting within 10.4.2. didn't try it in 10.4.1, but i think the update is what squashed it. unless, of course someone snuck into my room while i was asleep, and replaced my video card in my iBook without me noticing... but i doubt that's it.
anyone else missing this option? i wish i had it... again, just to feel cooler than i really am.
anyone else missing this option? i wish i had it... again, just to feel cooler than i really am.
Glad you got your problem solved--perhaps it was just a loose VGA connection? Actually, I've also noticed that if you have the monitor powered off when you boot the Mac it may not recognize the display; perhaps you did it in a different order this time, and that's why it worked. Worth trying if your geometry tab disappears in the future.The Truth said:
Interestingly enough, I believe the NVIDIA conrol panel on Windows can adjust the geometry of a newish CRT in software, so this is not a unique feature. I wonder if that tab will show up on a compatible non-Apple CRT, or if it's limited to Apple displays? I know it wasn't present with the previous CRT monitor that I owned, but that was several years old so may not have been "remote control" compatible or whatever.
To any one who can help me,,,
I have a
imac g3 and i have connected a second screen using a vga.
but it seems to just mirror my screen, how do i turn this off? and just have more room for dock?
in later macs it has the choice, but in mine where the tab should be it is a geometry tab? how come?
Thanks
I have a
imac g3 and i have connected a second screen using a vga. but it seems to just mirror my screen, how do i turn this off? and just have more room for dock?
in later macs it has the choice, but in mine where the tab should be it is a geometry tab? how come?
Thanks
To any one who can help me,,,
I have a
but it seems to just mirror my screen, how do i turn this off? and just have more room for dock?
in later macs it has the choice, but in mine where the tab should be it is a geometry tab? how come?
Thanks
Some older macs don't support 'extended desktop' which is what you want.