Comments on: Enable HiDPI Display Modes in Mac OS X Lion with Quartz Debug

By: Ado

Ado — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:07:37 +0000

you can do it without installing xcode and quartz debug.

in mountain lion use this commands:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver DisplayResolutionEnabled -bool YES;

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver DisplayResolutionDisabled;

then logout/login and check display resolutions. it will be there.

works fine even with vmware fusion if you’re running os x 10.8 as guest.

it works fine if you need to use os x in virtual machine on retina macbook pro. today vmware and parallels don’t support retina in guest os x. but with this tweak you get the thing to work almost as it should: you will get scaled 1280px at max but it’s fine if you’re running windowed vmware/parallels.

By: Hi-DPI Eclipse screenshots | GhoUl

Hi-DPI Eclipse screenshots | GhoUl — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:05:41 +0000

[...] displays with some hacking: basically by downloading the Quartz Debug program (details for Lion and Mountain Lion) I can reduce the visible resolution to 960×540 pixel on my Full HD monitor. [...]

By: Lauri Ranta

Lauri Ranta — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:19:54 +0000

The checkbox in Quartz Debug just changes one preference key. You can also edit the property list directly:

f=/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist; sudo defaults write $f DisplayResolutionEnabled -bool true; sudo defaults delete $f DisplayResolutionDisabled

After logging out and back in, the HiDPI modes should be shown in System Preferences.

By: Ryan Schmidt

Ryan Schmidt — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:12:34 +0000

QuartzDebug is not included with Xcode
4.3 anymore; now it’s a separate download from http://connect.apple.com/ called Graphics Tools for Xcode.

By: Highlight Non-Retina Image Assets in Red to Insure High Resolution Images Load

Highlight Non-Retina Image Assets in Red to Insure High Resolution Images Load — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:16:56 +0000

[...] recommends using this in combination with HIDPI mode, assuming you have a display which supports it of [...]

By: 3 Ways to Run a Retina MacBook Pro at 2880×1800 Native Resolution

3 Ways to Run a Retina MacBook Pro at 2880×1800 Native Resolution — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:07:45 +0000

[...] works the effective resolution is 1440×900 and the onscreen elements are just running in HIDPI mode. Apple provides an option to run at 1920×1200 through System Preferences, but as of now there [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:33:38 +0000

Like all apps from the Mac App Store, Xcode is just Xcode.app — there is no /Developer folder any more. Maybe this worked back in the Xcode 3 days?

By: Christopher Price

Christopher Price — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 04:49:05 +0000

HiDPI is quite useful on HDTVs, where the DPI increase is significant. The only downside is that many apps may have issues, since even 1080p then falls to 960×540, factoring in the 2:1 DPI increase, so some apps are cut off.

My Mac mini with HiDPI looks much better on my 46-inch 1080p LCD.

By: Conditionally serving high resolution images

Conditionally serving high resolution images — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:59:40 +0000

[...] terms – is happening right now. The iPhone got it in 2010, the iPad in March 2012, and Macs are around the corner. Rather than introducing resolution independence, Apple changes the ratio between logical pixel and [...]

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:07:15 +0000

Just came across this post and check out Quartz Debug. HiDPI was enabled already on my 15in MacBook Pro with the high-res BTO screen option from June 2011. (1680 x 1050) It isn’t doing anything different from what I could tell from zooming in and comparing the shots with my menubar but maybe some update in the future will change it. I ended up just leaving the setting on as it was.

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:45:56 +0000

How much extra load will enabling this put on the graphics hardware even if the screen can’t handle it?? The practical reason for enabling it at the moment (if it works like this) is when you use the OSX zoom to zoom in on an area it should be less pixelated and easier to read / see. It could also mean screen shots are captured at a higher res.

By: Hm

Hm — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:27:12 +0000

The strong rumours suggest that Apple are going to significantly update all of their hardware this year, so I would guess very soon…

By: Ivan K.

Ivan K. — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:39:35 +0000

Looking forward the new retina iMacs. Agreed, this is not useful at the moment and more than likely HiDPI will be enabled by default. Cheers for the heads up.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:14:59 +0000

Did you bother to try it? It’s not very practical at the moment.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:14:16 +0000

It won’t be necessary when retina displays are available, the HiDPI mode will be enabled by default. I think these HiDPI options are going to be left for developers who don’t yet have a retina display but need to test their graphics on the HiDPI mode.