Why does a larger dpi make things look LARGER?

[R. Stephen Gracey]

In Windows' display settings, one can change from the 96
dpi setting (normal) to 120 dpi, and everything looks
larger.

I'm a graphic designer, so I know that larger resolutions
make things look SMALLER.

Is this just an example of calling something it's not so
that people will get the result that they want--sort of
like how explosive materials are listed as "flammable,"
when in fact they are "inflammable," meaning that they
catch fire easily?

Why would a larger dpi setting make the objects on the
screen larger, effectively REDUCING your screen resolution?

Many thanks,
Stephen
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Atreju]

I guess it comes down to a question of semantics (as opposed to
Symantecs ;-)

Larger Dots-Per-Inch SETTING would indicate a visual setting whereby
more dots are packed into an existing inch.

Apparently, MS in their infinite quest to dumb down to the average
user level, has decided that LARGER Dots per inch is exactly that -
LARGER DOTS.

I don't know if this is the real explenation, and, I agree with you -
they get some terminology wrong now and then, whether by accident or
design. Plenty of other stuff is designed to be "nice and easy" rather
than accurate or functional.

In Windows' display settings, one can change from the 96
dpi setting (normal) to 120 dpi, and everything looks
larger.

I'm a graphic designer, so I know that larger resolutions
make things look SMALLER.

Is this just an example of calling something it's not so
that people will get the result that they want--sort of
like how explosive materials are listed as "flammable,"
when in fact they are "inflammable," meaning that they
catch fire easily?

Why would a larger dpi setting make the objects on the
screen larger, effectively REDUCING your screen resolution?

Many thanks,
Stephen
(e-mail address removed)

---Atreju---

 

[David Candy]

Windows works in screen inches. 96 or 120 pixels per screen inch. If you are at a resolution of 1024 x 768 that works out at 10.6 and 8.53 inches respectively.

So something with a screen width of 5 inches (126 mm) will take 47% of the width of the monitor at 96 and 58% at 120.

 

[Andy Jones]

Why would a larger dpi setting make the objects on the
screen larger, effectively REDUCING your screen resolution?

Changing DPI doesn't give you more pixels per inch, it just tells
windows how many there should be for you monitor size and desktop
resolution.

If your monitor is 10 inches wide and your display resolution was
1280x1024 then you've got a DPI of 1280/10=128 DPI.

If your display resolution was 1024x768 then you'd have a DPI of
1024/10=102.4 DPI.

For a set monitor size a lower resolution means a lower DPI.

The idea of the DPI setting is to make text appear the same physical
size on two different systems, to make something appear an inch wide on
the first system would need 128 pixels. On the second system it would be
102.4 pixels.

In other words by making the DPI higher you're telling windows to use
more pixels for each inch which is why your text/etc. gets bigger.

 

[Pop Rivet]

It's just an opposite-view thing. Screen resolution remains the same, but
the no. of pixels being displayed goes from 96 to 120 - thereby making the
graphic larger.
Sort of an anti-rose is an anti-rose <g>