Option-Scaled res question for MB Pro 2015 owners

[nagromme]

In El Capitan, under System Preferences > Displays, for the built-in screen, if you OPTION-click the word Scaled, can you get a LIST of resolution numbers, instead of the usual row of thumbnails? (A way to get more choices.)

I was trying this at a (non-Apple) store today, and that trick worked on the retina iMacs but not the retina MacBook Pros. Yet I know it used to work, at least prior to El Capitan.

(It's important because this lets you use the FULL native res of the display at 1x: super tiny text, but useful for some of my development projects.)

TIA!

 

[UndercoverDotNetGuy]

Just download an app called RDM
You can set all wonderful resolutions from there.
Works like a charm and has way more options for custom resolutions.
DMG and PKG here
Source code here

 

[nagromme]

Thanks! Good to know.

I hate to install anything from unknown sources, though, so I'm hoping the OS simply still has this feature built in. (The only res that really matters to me is the native 1x.)

 

[nagromme]

Tested at a real Apple Store. Apple seems to have removed this option from all 3 current retina laptops (although many sites describe it as working previously).

Retina iMacs still have this, for some reason.

Too bad. I hate to have to run hacks! I'll look for a plist hack as my next resort.

 

[NathanA]

I don't think that the Option-click method ever listed the true 1x resolution of 2880x1800 in the list of options on the rMBP, so you would still have required a "hack" to achieve that particular resolution regardless of whether that feature was available or not.

I am still dual-booting Mavericks and Yosemite on my 2012 rMBP, so I will double-check this later tonight and post results.

-- Nathan

UPDATE: Option-clicking the "Scaled" radio button does zilch on my 15" 2012 rMBP in either Mavericks or Yosemite. Thinking back, I'm not sure that this ever worked, even in Lion or Mountain Lion. I've always used something akin to SwitchResX to accomplish the 1x resolution whenever I wanted to do so. So I'm not sure it is fair to say that Apple "removed" this feature from the retina MacBooks; I don't think it was ever there to begin with. I'm not sure what sites you are reading, but nearly every article on the subject I have summoned via Google indicates that Option-clicking Scaled only has an effect for adjusting the resolution for the *external monitor* attached to a retina MacBook, not the internal retina display itself. Given this, if it works on retina iMacs, I have to think that it is an oversight or bug.

 

[venom600]

(It's important because this lets you use the FULL native res of the display at 1x: super tiny text, but useful for some of my development projects.)

TIA!

Apple never let you use the full resolution of the retina notebooks, likely because at full resolution they are virtually impossible to read, even with my 20/20 vision. I use a 2013 13" rMBP at work and I have a 2015 15" at home. Neither of them can be set to native res without using a third party app. However, if you are concerned about unsigned third party apps, you can download one from the App store that will do it. It's called resolutiontab, and you can download it from the App Store for $2 at this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/resolutiontab/id540141595?mt=12