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CS2 and CC2015 UI too small or too large on a full hd monitor


Pipppero2007

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Hi all,
I recently change my notebook into a model with a monitor FULL HD 1920x1080 (native).
My res is 1920x1080 and my Windows scaling is 150%.

I have these problems with UI:
Photoshop CS=TOO small. (impossible to work because the panels are too small for my eyes!)

Photoshop CC 2015=TOO small at 100% and TOO big at 200% UI scaling. (i.e. the window of preferences is so big that I can't see the menu at the left and the button at the right!)


Help.​
 
This could get very complex very quickly so in an attempt to keep it as simple as possible...

If I understand you correctly when you say 'Windows Scaling' you are referring to this...

windows_scaling_MT_01.png

If so, this is the root of your problem.

The simple solution is to return this back to its default 96ppi (100%) and PS back to its default settings and it'll fit just fine.

If you have trouble seeing the PS UI then adjust the font size in the PS preferences instead...

PS_UI_text_size_MT_01.png




An explanation:

I'll stick my neck out and say that almost all [windows] software has been written with the default 96ppi (100%) windows scaling. It would just be too impractical to write software for every conceivable ppi.

Photoshop is no exception....for PC's its 96ppi and for Macs its 72ppi.

The reason for this is that Photoshop was originally developed on Apple hardware, and it used 72ppi......ever noticed how the default ppi for a new document in PS is 72ppi?

Anyway....up until 'retina' displays came into being things were fine, but cramming four times the amount of pixels into virtually the same screen size created problems.

The higher density of screen pixels meant that the UI would now only occupy one quarter of the screen making it almost impossible to see let alone use.

As a quick 'fix' Adobe just doubled the UI.....and by that I mean that where there was once 1 pixel there were now two.....guide lines became 2px thick instead of 1px.....the marching ants were 2px wide not 1px.....the tool icons were double thick lines.....and so on....everything was just 'doubled'...

normal_UI_MT_01.png

double_UI_MT_01.png

Later updates prioritized Macs and the software was re-written to adapt to these higher density displays, so the UI went back to being the normal '1px' thick lines but now the UI was bigger to fill the extra screen space....if you see a screen shot of the UI you'll see the 'panels' are much narrower in relation to the whole and the workspace now covered four times the amount of pixels.

Windows users had to wait a while for a 'fix' if they also used a higher density display, (2560x1440px).
Adobe added the '200%' as an 'experimental' feature but it was really just the same way to display the '2px' line thickness version of the UI.

In the 2015 versions Windows users now have the option of 'Auto' 100% or 200% scaling in the preferences. I don't have a higher density screen so cannot test if the 200% option does work as expected but certainly on a 1920 x 1080px the UI is still just 'doubled'....not made bigger to fit, but this may be down to PS 'detecting' the screen dimensions and adjusting to suit.

So...

I'd strongly suggest returning your Windows scaling back to its default, (And never touch it again), it will affect EVERYTHING on your PC, not just PS, and generally leads to more trouble than its worth.

If you need applications made bigger then try to do this on a one to one basis rather than changing the whole OS. Its not common for applications to have this option...in fact PS is the only one I've ever used that does, but still, you may get lucky.

Windows also has the 'Magnifier' if you really need some magnification....although not very practical.

Regards.
MrToM.
 
Last edited:
Nope to all.
My laptop has a 17' size with fixed res of 1920x1080. I can't go to 96ppi at all. If I do that, I can't use almost anything including the UI of the Win7 itself. I have to stuck the DPI scaling to 150%.
So back to Photoshop.
I am focusing on CC 2015 version that is newer.
I tried the method of you both, the link of gedstar and "the Win7 100% DPI scaling advice" of MrToM.
Nothing works.

Photoshop at 100% UI is TOO SMALL in panels and in fonts while in 200% is too big in panels and TOO BIG in windows that I can't even see all (i.e. preferentes are cutted in left and right).

I wonder how to manage it.
 
Then your only option is to get a bigger monitor.

You have to appreciate that there is only so much room to fit everything in.

Windows, set to its native 96ppi and on a display of 1920x1080px dimensions, and PS set to its default 100%, (Or Auto in 2015), works just fine.....and yes, on a 17" monitor everything WILL be small.....what else can it be?

What you cannot do is make everything bigger and still have it fit.....its just illogical....how could that ever work?

PS has the font scale option if have trouble seeing it.

The 200% option is NOT there to make the UI bigger generally, its for displays of 2560x1440 or more.

Your problem is not with Adobe or Microsoft, its more an 'Optical' issue.

There is no software option to solve this.....you need a bigger monitor....and by that I mean physically bigger....it can still be 1920x1080 but just physically bigger.....bigger than 17".

Regards.
MrToM.
 

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