Frequently asked questions...
Q: Is SwitchResX compatible with Leopard ?
A: SwitchResX is compatible with Leopard beginning with version 3.7.11.
Version prior to 3.7.11 have exhibited a crash in the Control Panel when run in Leopard,
as well as some unresponsiveness to mouse clicks in the Control Panel.
Moreover, some features of SwitchResX are relying on APE (but probably not the features
that most users use: redirecting and/or forbidding a resolution before it is applied,
and the automatic change of resolution when an application is started), and these
features will only be fully available in Leopard when APE will also be updated.
As of version 3.8 and above, APE 2.5b1 is included. Please note that this version,
although working on Leopard, is still a beta version (from Unsanity).
Also remember, APE is not required, it just gives SwitchResX more features.
Q: Why do I need to install all this stuff to just define some custom resolution ?
A: SwitchResX was not primarily designed to define
custom resolutions. Its first purpose was to expand the basic
Display Menu that Apple provides, with some cool features like
Display Sets or Application sets.
Custom resolutions came later, and were integrated in the
tool.
If you just need SwitchResX for designing a specific resolution, no
need to even run the installer. Just run the SwitchResX Control
panel directly, and define the resolutions. Of course, in this mode
you won't have access to all the other options.
Q: Can I save desktop icons finally ?
A: Yes, if you use version 3.7 and Mac OS 10.4 at
least.
SwitchRes2 was able to save Desktop Icons and windows since day 1.
SwitchResX had this feature developed, but the Finder could not
respond to the AppleEvent used to activate this feature. This
problem in the Finder was removed in Mac OS 10.4, and SwitchResX
has been expanded to take this change into account in version
3.7
Q: Where can I find the timing parameters for a specific resolution ?
A: If you have a specific request, there are some
web based user forums on the net where contributors are much more
able to provide information than I am. AVSforums is one of them,
for example.
In general, you can try to get the timing parameters for PC
software, the same value can generally be used on the Mac.
You can also try by yourself, but it's not easy to find the correct
parameters. Try to use the values from the simplified settings that
SwitchResX proveides, and try to change them slightly to adapt the
result. But it can be long and difficult to get working value.
Q: Why does SwitchResX force me to use 1368 as the horizontal value when I enter 1366 ?
A: Some video cards force the values to be multiple of 2, 4 or 8. If you enter 1366 as a timing paramter for such a video card, SwitchResX will enforce the multiplicity, and correct it to the next multiple of 8 found, which is 1368.
Q: Why isn't my new custom resolution available after restart ?
A: The system makes a lot of tests during the boot. If one test is not satisifed by the new timing, this one is rejected and you won't see the resolution activated. There's no way for SwitchResX to find which test has failed, so for SwitchResX if a resolution was entered and saved, it can only say that the timing "may be active".. Such tests involve multiplicity tests (see above), or range tests (a resolution should not be bigger than the maximal viewable size as reported by the monitor)...
Q: I've defined a new resolution and rebooted, now my screen is black. Is my monitor destroyed ? How can I go back to the light ?
A: First, try to reboot in safe mode. The file
named "com.apple.windowserver.plist" in the Preferences folder
contains the resolution that the System tries to use at startup.
Deleting this file helps generally.
If this solves the problem during thre reboot, but not in your user account, a similar file named "com.apple.windowserver.XXXXX.plist" exisit in your own /Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/ByHost folder. You can remove this file to get back the standard resolution in your user account.
If nothing above works, try to press the
"reset" or "factory defaults" button in SwitchResX Control for your
monitor. This will delete all changes that you have made for this
monitor.
At last resort, if you can't even start SwitchResX itself, you'll have to delete the monitor profile you will need to delete the monitor profile file that you modified when you created a new custom resolution.
This file is located in /System/Library/Displays/Overrides/ and is the last modified file, that you can find if you sort by date. You should remove this file, if you can access the file system, either by
1) accessing the file system from an other Mac on the network, from ssh or by mounting a shared folders.
2) OR starting up in single user mode (or safe mode)
3) OR at last resort: reinstalling the OS above the existing install, which will keep your exisiting profiles, but remove the system modified files.
Q: Is SwitchResX available for MacOS X on Intel ?
A: Yes. SwitchResX 3.6 is compiled with XCode to make the transition. The distributed version is already a Universal Binary for MacOS X on Intel Macs. Since I don't have an everyday access to an Intel Mac so far, this version was not extensively tested as the PowerPC version. I'd be happy to get feedback on the Universal Binary version.
Q: Which version do I need to use with Tiger ? Panther ?
A: SwitchResX 3.5 and above are designed for Tiger. For Panther, you should upgrade to MacOS X 10.3.9 and use SwitchResX 3.5.
Q: Could you add Pivot support on Macs that don't support it natively?
A: Basically, no. Even if I was able to define new resolutions that are the pending of the standards one (600x800, 768x1024, etc.), I don't know how I could tell the video driver to display all the desktop turned 90° counterclockwise. That's the basic of using Pivot monitors, and this feature is to be developed at an other level than where SwitchResX acts. On Tiger, some ATI video cards do support Pivot functions natievly. SwitchResX uses this function and gives you access to monitor rotation in its menus.
Q: What is the "Use Keychain" button for ?
A: When enabling or disabling a resolution, SwitchResX requires you to enter your administrator password, because the settings it modifies require rights to be saved. You can use the standard dialog to authenticate, as Apple requires (they claim that new authentication means, such as biometrics, may become available in future OS versions). But this dialog requires you to authenticate each time you make a modification. For this, you can also authenticate only once, and save the entered information in the Keychain, so that you'll never asked to enter the password again (but you'll loose the advantages of the biometrics if they become available).
Q: Why is SwitchResX menu red crossed?
A: That means that SwitchResX daemon is not running, maybe because it crashed. If it really crashed, please contact the author, and if possible, send the "SwitchResX Daemon Crash.log" file. You can just start the daemon again by clicking on the menu icon itself.
Q: How do I uninstall SwitchResX?
A: If the Unistaller does not work totally, then the simplest answer: find all elements containing the name "SwitchRes" from your hard drive, and trash them.
Q: Why do I need to install Application Enhancer ?
A: Application Enhancer (APE) is requested only if you need SwitchResX to block some resolutions, or redirect some resolutions. If you don't use this feature in SwitchResX, you can uninstall APE. You can read more about APE on Unsanity site and this discussion in particular about its behavior.
Q: How can I just remove the SwitchResX menu ?
A: Just drag and drop the menu from outside the menu bar, while keeping the "command" key depressed.
