OS X El Capitan: Display pane of Displays preferences

Display pane of Displays preferences

Use this pane to adjust resolution and brightness, and to set display options.

Note:   Not all options described here appear for all display models, and some options appear only when your Mac is connected to a display.

To open this pane, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Displays, then click Display.

Resolution

The amount of detail your display shows. Select “Default for display” to automatically use the best resolution for the display, or select Scaled to manually select a resolution. For instructions, see Adjust your display’s resolution.

Brightness

Controls how light or dark your screen appears. Move the slider to the right to make the screen brighter and to the left to make it darker. For instructions, see Adjust your display’s brightness.

Automatically adjust brightness or Ambient light compensation (depending on your display)

If your Mac has ambient light sensing, you can have the display brightness adjust automatically based on current light conditions.

Rotation

Rotates the image shown on your display by the chosen amount. For instructions, see Rotate the image on your display.

Refresh Rate

How frequently your screen is redrawn. If the rate is too low, your screen may appear to flicker. If the rate is too high, the screen may be black because it doesn’t support that rate. Check the documentation that came with your display for the best rate.

Detect Displays

Scans for all the displays connected to your Mac. Click this button if your Mac doesn’t recognize a display you’ve just connected.

Show displays in menu bar

Displays an icon in the menu bar that lets you switch between your most frequently used resolutions.

Overscan

If you’re using a TV as a display and you can’t see the menu bar, select this option.

AirPlay Display

Use AirPlay Mirroring to wirelessly send what’s on your Mac to another display.

Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available

Show devices available for AirPlay Mirroring in the menu bar.

Gather Windows

Moves all open Displays preferences windows to the display where this button is. This button appears only if more than one display is connected to your Mac.

Last Modified: Apr 13, 2016
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