I run windows XP. My monitor will display up to 1280x1024 resolution.
I'm looking for software that will allow me to display in twice that
resolution.... so basicly everything would be smaller on the screen,
and I could fit more things.... It would have to be some type of
software driver that would drop half the pixels.

Dear ecocozza,


If you double the virtual resolution of the screen without increasing
its physical resolution, you will lose half the resolution in each
application window. Although graphics will remain recognizable, the text
will be unreadable and most interface controls will be unusable.

A much better way of optimizing your screen usage is to use a tool that,
like Expose for the Macintosh, responds to a user-defined hotkey by
temporarily shrinking and tiling all of your windows. Once you click
on an application window, that window will come to the foreground
at its normal size while the other windows return to their previous
configuration. This approach lets you view a shrunken image of your
applications on a per-need basis whereas most of the time you use each
individual application at its normal resolution.

Two applications that achieve this effect under XP are WinPLOSION 
and Exposer for Windows. Each one offers a limited-time free trial. A
permanent activation code costs $9.95 for WinPLOSION and $7 for Exposer.

WinPLOSION: Home
http://www.winplosion.com/

Exposer for Windows: Home
http://www.onlinetoolsteam.com/WindowsExposer/


Another approach to increasing your screen's real estate is to use the
free tool SDesk, which stands for Scrollable Desktop. As the name implies,
SDesk gives you one giant desktop that extends beyond the visible window's
borders. A small display in the corner shows you which part of the desktop
you are looking at, and you can quickly snap the view to one of several
user-defined regions.

SDesk: Home
http://www.nearestexit.com/sdesk/

SDesk: Download
http://www.nearestexit.com/users/~wawb/rcal/download.php?sdesk.zip


Finally, you can use the virtual-desktop stratagem, wherein you switch
between different groups of windows to view. It's like having multiple
monitors, except that you only see one monitor at a time. This is the
approach I use myself, and I love it. My 17" LCD has a native resolution
of 1280x1024, but with five virtual desktops, I can have dozens of
windows open at one time without great confusion.

There are many inexpensive third-party programs that implement virtual
desktops on Windows XP. Then there is a completely free download from 
Microsoft itself, which I recommend for system stability even though 
it limits you to four virtual desktops. On the following page, scroll
down to "Virtual Desktop Manager" for a brief description.

Microsoft: PowerToys for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Microsoft: Virtual Desktop Manager download
http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/DeskmanPowertoySetup.exe


It has been a pleasure to address this question on your behalf.

Regards,

leapinglizard

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Request for Answer Clarification by ecocozza-ga on 21 Oct 2005 12:40 PDT

Hi,

Thanks for your well-thought out reply. However I've looked at each of
the products suggested, and none of them seem to function like the
'driver' i requested.

Exposer comes close, but if I try and  use the window, it pops back to
full size....

You are correct that some text would be hard to read with the method i
am looking for, however thats the root i need to go... I'm using it
for software demos, so i need all the windows to update in
real-time.... The suggested produccts also will not update the
windows... the resize a 'snapshot' only of the last time the window
was full-size.

Thanks,

 -Eric

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Clarification of Answer by leapinglizard-ga on 21 Oct 2005 13:11 PDT

Instead of emulating a larger display, why not buy one? It needn't
cost much more than a software solution. For example, you can get a
1600x1200 refurbished CRT monitor from TigerDirect for $59.99 plus
$34.01 shipping, for a total of $94.

TigerDirect: NEC-Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 91
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1585503&CatId=169

That would give you a 50% greater true resolution than your current
monitor, without any loss of image quality.

Or consider this 1920x1440 CRT, which has twice the resolution of your
current monitor.

eBuyer: Viewsonic G90fb
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=171840&_LOC=US

leapinglizard

Hi,

This is my seccond refund request... the previous being posted about 3
weeks ago. I did not recieve any response to my first request.

The answers provided do not allow my to run at a higer resolution...
they can only resize 'incactive' windows.... not the windows i am
using.

Thanks,

 -Eric

If you drop half the pixels you'll get only 640x512 resolution, wont' you?

He's looking for a 'digital zoom' feature, like "Expose" on the
Macintosh or similar.  I have not heard of one, personally, for the
PC.