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Rick Meikle
Known Participant
October 27, 2010
Question

Page display resolution setting

  • October 27, 2010
  • 6 replies
  • 27619 views

Many or all CS5 apps would benefit from the same kind of Page Display preferences that Acrobat Pro provides. It allows you to set page display resolution at the pixels per inch setting that will display content at true actual size (100pct viewing). By that I mean an 8.5x11 page on screen is the same size as an 8.5x11 page in your hand. It may be that Acrobat's default "Use system setting" figure (81ppi on my display) is all that's needed to get reasonably close, but InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc., don't have this ability. And Acrobat can be setting to any ppi that gets the job done. Print designers, especially, need true actual size to have a better feel for the scale of the physical piece and design elements on it, notably including type.

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    6 replies

    N
    Niklas Öhrberg
    Participant
    April 13, 2017

    I found this little script after some more "googeling":

    "

    app.generalPreferences.customMonitorPpi = 72;

    app.generalPreferences.useCustomMonitorResolution = true;

    "

    Paste these lines in a text document and save it as indesign110ppi.js (or what ever you want to call it, as long as it ends with .js )

    Change the "72" into your screens ppi (in my chase: 34" ultrawide 144p = 110ppi)

    Put the file in "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CC 2017\Scripts\Scripts Panel".

    Run InDesign, open your document and run the script and double click the zoom tool (or select 100% zoom) and you should see that 100cm "irl" = 100cm in InDesigns rulers.

    I guess it should work if you put the script in the "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CC 2017\Scripts\startup scripts" folder as well, but I haven't tried that yet.

      R
      RyanAckleyCBB
      Participant
      November 28, 2016

      I find it crazy that this is still not a thing yet. How hard is it really to add this? Love using the feature in Photoshop and for Indesign being a professional print layout program, it's just not acceptable in my opinion. I know Adobe is trying to make ID the go to digital creator, but come on.

        Peter Spier
        Community Expert
        Peter SpierCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        February 21, 2011

        Here's a one-line script that Dave Saunders wrote years ago for setting the zoom size to accurately reflect your screen:

        //by Dave Saunders. Replace the percentage number with the correct value for your screen

        app.layoutWindows[0].zoomPercentage = 134;

        Change the number to the calculated percentage for your monitor, then save as a plain text file with a .jsx extension and load into your scripts panel folder (see How to install scripts in InDesign | InDesignSecrets) then assign a keyboard shortcut to it (one candidate would be to use the current default shortcut for 100% zoom) and you can run the shorcut to get your true 100% view. It won't help the view when you double click the zoom tool but it's a start.

        R
        Rick MeikleAuthor
        Known Participant
        February 21, 2011

        Now that's pretty cool, Peter (and Dave)! For those using CS5, the Scripts panel is located at Window > Utilities > Scripts (or Option-Command-F11). Another way to arrive at the number to use in the script is to divide the pixels/inch value shown for "Use system setting"  in Acrobat Pro's Page Display preference by 72. (Then multiply by 100 to get the needed percentage. Or both steps can be reduced to dividing by .72 as a single step.) In my case, I needed to fudge the result slightly upward. Don't know why it wasn't exact, but it was very close to start with.

        However, despite this clever workaround, the feature request remains valid. In fact, the clunkiness of the script solution, and the time that has passed without building the capability into InDesign, underscores the need to just do it.

        T
        Thomas Dearie
        Known Participant
        February 22, 2011

        Indeed - an out of the box working solution is a better answer, to be sure.

        I had never asked for the feature because, with Photoshop having the feature, I thought it was on the way in InDesign CS5.

        Oh - and John - the other guys answered your not-remotely-dumb question as well or better than I could, so nuff said.

        Cheers

        T
        Thomas Dearie
        Known Participant
        February 20, 2011

        Hi Rick

        Setting correct screen resolution is indeed a much needed feature in InDesign and has been on the wish list of print pros for a long time.

        I'm glad Peter pointed out the Feature Request form, and I'll use it. (I would hope too that Adobe would put equal weight on request in this forum,otherwise it's pretty purposeless.)

        For future reference for those who forget where Peter's link is, the Feature Requust form is here:

        Adobe.com > Contact Abode (way at the bottom of the page) > Feedback > Request a Feature

        For those not familiar with the issue, InDesign, sees screen resolution as 72 ppi. Unfortunately, screens haven't been 72 ppi for many years. (My screen, for example, is 104 ppi.)

        The result is that documents displayed at "Actual Size" do not print at the size they appear at on screen. My 104 ppi screen displays an inch as .69". So everything is much smaller on screen that it actually prints.

        This has many implications in print design that I won't list here.

        Photoshop solves the issue simply (as, I believe, does Quark XPress; though someone else can confirm or correct). It provides a preference in Units and Rulers that allows you to enter your screen resolution. This allows you to see the image exactly at final output size.

        Currently, the workaround is to view at the inverse of your screen error (Actual screen res / 72 x 100). In my case, this is 104/72x100 = 144%.

        So, at 144%, my screen is displaying the document at actual size and I'm getting a realistic assessment of legibility and overall design.

        J
        John_Boyden
        Participating Frequently
        February 21, 2011

        Thomas:

        I hope you will tolerate a stupid question from a non-print pro.  I use ID4 as my primary word processing machine because of the wonderful control over the documents that I create.  My Apple Cinema HD 30" Display has a resolution of 2560x1600.  A nice person on Apple Discussions showed me how to convert resolution to ppi:

        The diagonal is 30 inches and √(2560² + 1600²) pixels.

        30" = √(6,553,600 + 2,560,000) pixels

        30" = √9,113,600

        30" = 3,018.97 pixels

        Pixels per inch = 3,018.97/30 = 100.63

        Using your formula in combination with the ppi calculation, my documents should be set at 139.76% rounded to 140%.  The formula in Excel is =(100.63/72)*100

        In practice, a new, untitled page set at 141% is a perfect fit for my 8.5 x 11 inch paper.  I would say that the calculations yielded a surprisingly accurate result.  Thank you for the explanation.

        Now for the question:  How do I set a new, untitled page or document to a default 141%?  Currently, the default % size of a new document on my display is roughly related to the size of the ID4 window.  If I increase the size of the window, the size of the page increases.  Is there any way to set a default so that the document is always 141%?  This would be a real boon to my work, but I don't know how to do it.  Thanks for any assist you can give.

        John

        R
        Rick MeikleAuthor
        Known Participant
        February 21, 2011

        Hi, John. Your exercise carried you to the gist of this feature request. There isn't a way to do what you want in InDesign, so all you can do is add your voice to the request. In the meantime, you can make a PDF file from your InDesign document and view it at 100% in Acrobat Pro. The "Page Display" pref in Acrobat Pro needs to be set to "Use system setting". (This should also show you the ppi you calculated, but without having to calculate it yourself. If for some reason it doesn't show what you calculated--or at least something very close to it--you can enter the number yourself.) Of course, it would be far superior to be able to view your InDesign file at "true" actual size as you work on it. Hence, the feature request.

        R
        Rick MeikleAuthor
        Known Participant
        January 7, 2011

        I'm finally checking in a few months after posting this request. As the "OP", I can say that this "question"--a curious description for a feature request--has NOT been "answered." "Jongware" is correct. Unfortunately, the lack of visible support for the feature request leaves little hope that the InDesign team will seriously consider it. Even experienced designers often struggle with the concepts of resolution and dimension and "actual size." Perhaps that includes members of the InDesign team. (I wonder how many users who can nod their head with what I've suggested even visit this forum in the first place. Once upon a time, the Adobe user forums were frequented by gurus and even the occasional Adobe participant.) The merits of this particular request are inarguable, but if it comes down to "popular demand," its prospects are dim. What is amazing is that someone on the Acrobat team not only appreciates the concept, but actually managed to get it implemented. Well, if anyone who reads this request "gets it," now would be a good time to chip in with "I agree."

        Peter Spier
        Community Expert
        Peter SpierCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 7, 2011

        I think your request has a lot of merit. A lot of "me too" here, though, carries far less weight than an official request at Adobe - Feature Request/Bug Report Form

        R
        Rick MeikleAuthor
        Known Participant
        January 7, 2011

        Thanks, Peter. I was unaware of this avenue. I will put it to good (and judicious) use!

        Rick

        K
        KMakk2
        Participant
        January 7, 2011

        I too wish ID had the "pixels" measurement unit. I still have ID4, so don't know if this has been included in ID5. But if not, for those of us who wish to create text boxes and other graphics for websites, it would certainly be a huge help. As it is, I have to find some online conversion tool to change picas or inches to pixels.

        Peter Spier
        Community Expert
        Peter SpierCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 7, 2011

        Work in points as your unit. That's equivalent to 72 ppi, and is what CS5 does when you say your layout is for the web.

        _
        _Jongware_-9BC6tI
        Inspiring
        January 7, 2011

        That's a fair answer to a load of nonsense ...

        1. The original poster was not concerned about pixels, and in fact showed by his very feature request that he was acutely aware of the difference between pixels and real, actual, physical dimensions. The OP did not ask for, nor does he want, measurement in pixels -- in fact, he wants the exact opposite.

        2. There is no measurement unit called "pixel". A "pixel" is not a defined distance, and there are no online conversion tools to convert between picas or inches and pixels. If there are, they are a load of nonsense as well.

        3. Good news is that CS5 has, yeah!, "pixels" as measurement units. But ... since the pixel is not a really existing unit of measure, it's of no use at all and you might as well pretend (in your mind) what CS5 pretends on the screen: one pixel equals one point.

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