When using an HDR-enabled display in Windows 11, we can use the "SDR content brightness" slider in Settings > System > Display > HDR to control how bright the regular non-HDR elements are on screen.
E.g. if the display has a max of 400nit and the slider is set to 60%, the SDR content is shown at 240nit brightness.
Windows 10 has something similar too.
I'd like to be able to change the value of the slider programmatically, so I can have a brighter desktop during the day, and a dimmer one during the evening.
The "old" ways changing brightness through WMI or DDC/CI don't work on HDR-enabled displayed.
I used ProcessMonitor to see what the slider does, but it generates way too many entries, and the only relevant bits I can see are that it changes the registry key Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\MonitorDataStore\DELA1E4#G7IYMxgwAAgX_10_07E6_A1\SDRWhiteLevel.
The value is from 1000 (0%) to 3500 (50%) to 6000 (100%) in dec on my display, where 1000 equals 80nit.
Once the SystemSettings.exe has changed the registry value, it calls something in D3D12 to actually apply the change.
Looking through the Microsoft documentation on Win32 API, I can't find any relevant information.
Anyone knows how to get it to work please? Any language will do, PowerShell, C#, C++, Python...
Thank you.
Related
At the moment I am struggling with our ways of working in my place. Guys are generating sample labels which have barcode on them, due to huge number of operators they cannot use their own accounts as it defaults the settings each time, they are trying to print even though I have set print settings on printer which is Novexx 6406 6" printer.
I would like to generate or create a PowerShell or bash script which we will then run on each account via group policy, and I would like to do the following.
print speed - 4"/s
darkness -80
width-102 mm
height- 72 mm
no padding at any side so set it to 0mm for top bottom left & right
and I need the label to be going horizontal.
I'm new to bash & PowerShell so I am looking to get started & any help would be appreciated.
Forward to explain scenario better the sample labels are being printed out from web-based app in edge browser.
Any further questions needed for resolution please reach out
Searching online however to no avail
So I have a big 32 inch display with a resolution of 1440p, and I want to set the DPI scaling to 75% instead of 100%. But I can't find any way to do so on multiple monitors.
I currently have:
Display 1 [2560 x 1440] (Main display I want to change)
Display 2 [2560 x 1440] (This one is 27 inches so it's fine as is)
Display 3 [3840 x 2160] (Set to 100%, fine as it is)
This trick (click me) changes DPI scaling via some registry keys (LogPixels & Win8DpiScaling), but when I use that trick it downscales display 3 instead of display 1.
Is there a way to get this to work? I see no reason for Microsoft to limit the scaling in displays.
Note: I have a 2070 super, all the displays are plugged into the GPU via displayport directly, with the latest avalible firmware at the time of writing (september 2021)
The tl;dr:
Technical limitations aside, there are very solid user experience reasons why this probably isn't allowed.
No, Windows will not let you set UI scaling below 100%.
(even if a stable workaround were to be discovered, most users would probably be quite unhappy with the results)
While I would love¹ to be proven incorrect, the implications of scaling at less than 100% are so fraught that this limitation is unlikely to change in the near future.
Background:
This has been the case for ages, likely since Windows first introduced the feature.
Compatibility with current software
The only ~purely technical~ reason I can think of:
The 100% scaling size likely uses the smallest base image (e.g. Explorer and Taskbar icons, mouse and text cursors) resources included in various existing Microsoft and 3rd-party applications.
User experience
Going below the 100% point may cause small UI text and icons, especially in application toolbars and the Taskbar to be blurred to the point of ambiguity.
Those fine lines in the taskbar 'Windows' menu icon? Blurred or gone.
Taken to the extreme, the UI ~might~ become so unreadable that the user is effectively prevented from being able to read the text even in the 'Settings' window and therefore is 'stuck': i.e. not able to navigate through 'Settings' to restore the original '100%' scaling mode.
(Luckily, Windows is never used to run any SCADA software where confusing two icons could theoretically cost money or lives.)
Performance:
Since those carefully-designed graphic assets don't exist, if sub-100% scaling were allowed, it would also likely cause extra CPU/GPU workload - that is why only certain fixed sizes of up-sampling are shown on the normal Display settings screen and why the Advanced scaling settings screen warns that custom scaling between 100-500% is "not recommended".
That might also apply to any fixed scaling option offered below 100%, and absolutely would for custom scaling sizes.
Some people enjoy reading:
Vector-based TrueType/OpenType fonts usually contain a ~lot~ of manual tweaking / hints to enable readable display of very small point sizes.
The marketing department & friends of the C-suite
Could they implement this at a limited range of options? 90%? 75%?
Perhaps - but it's extra testing for a horrible-looking edge case.
The existence of the option, even if only available as a registry hack, might cause some people to actually use it in kiosks and other public-facing displays; this risks the same sort of bad PR as when a BSOD is seen on the 'arrivals' screen at a train station or airport monitor.
Combined with the first example below, even a 90% option could cause trouble in some environments.
Example and tutorial:
Imagine how Windows might look displayed on one of those cheapo '1080p-supported' projectors that actually only contains an imager with a native pixel resolution of, say, 1024x576 (or even 480x234).
Windows thinks it can send 1080p, since that what the HDMI connection advertises, so it does: any text / vector content looks atrocious.
(At least in this case the user could normally² unplug the projector and reconnect to a normal monitor to restore functionality.)
See for yourself... while connected to any monitor (at that monitor's native resolution), with Windows set to 100% scaling:
Open Windows Notepad
Type or paste in any block of text
Now, use the Zoom Out command from the View menu³ five or more times in a row
While not an exact analogue, you may still see how hard it could be to read down-sampled text, even when very high-contrast (the best-case scenario).
¹: As someone currently typing this very answer on a 1080p connection to a 55" 4K television as a second monitor, I came across the question very much hoping this was possible. Sadly, logic intervened and killed my potential joy.
²: Unless the computer is actually stored somewhere locked or inaccessible, such as a NUC-style PC hidden above the false ceiling in a conference room.
³: Alternatively, press <CTRL>-<Minus> five or more times.
I was hoping to create a script or two to be able to adjust the gamma level of my display with the push of a button. Currently, the process is opening the display, clicking on Calibrate color, nexting my way through about 20 screens, and adjusting the value of the gamma.
Does anyone know of a way to shorten this process? I don't care which technology is used but I guess my intuition says powershell might be the way. I want to be able to switch the gamma level to 100% quickly and also to switch it back to the default value of 50% quickly.
So, essentially hoping for something like:
$GammaObject.SetValue(100)
According to this article, you can edit in in registry:
http://jonls.dk/2010/09/windows-gamma-adjustments/
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ICM]
"GdiIcmGammaRange"=dword:00000100
To edit registry using powershell:
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/heyscriptingguy/2015/04/02/update-or-add-registry-key-value-with-powershell/
In Windows 7 and Windows XP you can find the "Window Color and Appearance" dialog under "Control Panel\Appearance and Personalization\Personalization".
Changing "Color1" of item "3D-Border" will result in a change of the following entries in the registry key
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors]
containing the resulting rgb-values:
Group1 (same values):
InactiveTitle, AppWorkspace, ButtonShadow, Graytext
Group2 (same values, different to those of group1):
Scrollbar, ButtonHilight
Does anyone know how these value are being calculated from the given rgb-values of "Color1"?
After searching the web without results and playing around with many values I did not happen to find a plausible way of how to do this.
Does anyone know the rules for this?
Any help would be appreciated.
I uploaded some demo values, systematically dealing with values in the lower parts. Also a text file comparing the affected registry key [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Colors] after change of Color to Red (255 0 0).
When you set the "3D Border" color to red, it changed the "Button Face" color to red and interpolated this color to generate various lighter and darker shades of red, which were used to set some related color values.
The point is to create a consistent-looking theme with minimal effort. All you need to do is set the "base" color for 3D objects, and all of the other colors are automatically calculated to ensure that objects have the appropriate 3D appearance.
Some of these values, like the highlight and shadow colors used for 3D objects, are not directly configurable from the control panel applet. However, they can be set manually in the registry, and you can call the SetSysColors function to update currently running applications.
Why do you think you need to know the actual algorithm that Windows is using? What problem are you trying to solve? What are you going to use this information to do?
I do not imagine that the exact algorithm is documented anywhere. The code has been part of the OS since at least Windows 95.
So I've recently had to create a report that emulates a Canadian customs form. The problem is that the report is printed on 11" x 14" paper, but uses a metric layout. As my FoxPro installation is on a machine with US-English units-of-measure, FoxPro tries to oblige by using an English ruler, and doing snap-to-grid on inch-based measurements. This creates some minor design issues obviously.
I understand that the reports are really just tables in disguise, and I have figured out how to turn on the Metric ruler (instead of the English one) by changing a record, and that is working as intended. However, the snap-to-grid functionality appears to want to snap on 48 units-to-an-inch, instead of something Metric. So moving a box around using a mouse results in the box being offset (again) in English measurements.
To get around this, I have taken to openning up the report as a table and manually converted all Metric units with a spreadsheet, and entered the offsets and sizes by hand. While this has worked well and appears to be very accurate, it's still error-prone.
So the question is, how do I get FoxPro 8 to snap-to-grid in Metric units on the report, so that I don't have to keep re-entering numbers by hand? It would be nice to get FoxPro to accomodate Metric in a fashion where I can align objects in the report using a mouse, rather than punching them in as numbers and "flipping" the report into design view to check it.
For reference, currently there are the following translations:
25.4 mm = 1 inch = 10,000 report units = 48 grid snap points
Obviously I'd like something closer to this:
25.4 mm = 1 inch = 10,000 report units = 25.4 grid snap points
Note: Yes, I have considered setting up a Virutal Machine with FoxPro that uses a Metric install, i.e. a Windows XP install set up for Canada. However, that will take another day or so to get the installation done, along with the rest of the development environment, so I'm trying to avoid that.
Hidden unless you've been exposed to more of it...
Modify your report.
Right-click, get to properties of the report.
On the tab for Ruler / Grid, there is a combobox which is defaulted to ruler of "inches", but you can change it to Metric/cm or Pixels. Below that is your grid snap and you can change the default of how many pixels to snap to.
Additionally, if you use your cursor keys, you can move the controls one pixel at a time for more precise alignments as needed. And if you need to resize a control's width, if you hold the Ctrl key down and use the arrow keys left/right, will shrink / strecth one pixel at a time instead of moving the control. Likewise for the moving and sizing if you pick multiple controls, they will ALL move or resize respectively.
HTH
Just spoke with a freind lastnight who has VFP8 installed. Based on that version, there MIGHT be a way to get metric for your reports. There is a setting on the reports from showing based on PIXELS, or SYSTEM METRIC. If you system configuration is based on inches, so too is the report. If you change your system metric to that of centimeters (or whatever equivalent it would be), so too should the report respect in design time.
HTH