How to Adjust Screen Scale and Layout (Mac)

A guide to adjusting screen scale and layout on a Mac.

Scale

You may notice that the windows and text on the laptop or the television are too large or too small. You must adjust the scale of the screen.

  1. Open System Preferences > Displays > Display Settings.

    Mac settings app icon
  2. Adjust resolution from Default for Display to Scaled and select scale that works for you.

Layout: Mirrored vs. Extended

You may want the television to mirror the laptop (show exactly what is on the laptop screen on the big screen) or extend your screen space (the television acts as a separate screen with different content).

Difference between mirrored and extended

  1. Open System Preferences > Displays > Display Settings.

    Mac Settings app icon
  2. Under the "use as:" drop down, select the proper setting for your purposes.
    1. Main display: Extended display method using the laptop as the main display
    2. Extended display: Extended display method using the television as the main display
    3. Mirror for SAMSUNG: Mirrored display method
      Use as menu

  3. If you are extending your display, you may want to rearrange the orientation of the laptop and television by rearranging the screens on the display page.

    Extended display menu



Keywords:
guide "make bigger" smaller resolution screen scale Mac
Doc ID:
129236
Owned by:
iSchool U. in School of Information Sciences
Created:
2023-06-21
Updated:
2024-06-03
Sites:
University of Illinois School of Information Sciences