Copyright: Copyright (c) 1996 Creative Technology Ltd.


Help Contents
Contents

Using BlasterControl

Introduction

Launching Display Properties Dialog Box

Adjusting Display Settings

Adjusting Color Parameters

Assigning and Clearing Hot Keys

Troubleshooting


Introduction

After you have installed the Graphics Blaster software for Windows 95, the BlasterControl property pages indicated by the BlasterControl logo [image] will be added to the Display Properties dialog box.  The other unmarked pages are standard Windows 95 Display property pages.

Using the BlasterControl property pages, you can customize screen resolution, color depth, and refresh rate.  You can also change the brightness and contrast of the monitor, and assign hot keys to frequently used resolutions.  This help file shows you how to perform these customizations and more.

Notes

This help file documents the BlasterControl property pages only.  For more information on the other display property pages, refer to your Windows 95 documentation.

Your monitor may not be able to support some of the display settings that can be controlled by BlasterControl.  If this is the case, the buttons or options of unsupported display settings may be grayed out.  Some display property pages may also be absent.


Launching Display Properties Dialog Box

The Display Properties dialog box provides you with controls to customize screen elements in Windows 95.

To launch the Display Properties dialog box, do one of the following

Right-click any point on the Windows 95 desktop.
On the shortcut menu, click Properties.

In the status area at the right edge of the taskbar, double-click the BlasterControl logo [image].

In the status area of the taskbar, right-click the BlasterControl logo.
On the BlasterControl menu, click Display Properties.

Once you have completed any of the steps above, the Display Properties dialog box appears.  The Display Properties dialog box contain several tabs.  The tabs indicated with the BlasterControl logo contain the property pages for BlasterControl.

Clicking the BlasterControl tabs will display the following pages:

Monitor Property Page

Color Correction Property Page

HotKey Property Page

These property pages allow you to perform tasks that are detailed in the following topics:

Adjusting Display Settings

Adjusting Color Parameters

Assigning and Clearing Hot Keys


Adjusting Display Settings

You can change the monitor display settings using the Monitor property page in BlasterControl.

To change the refresh rate, position and size of your monitor’s display

1	Click here [image] to launch the BlasterControl Display Properties dialog box.

2	Click the Monitor tab.
The Monitor property page appears.

3	Change the refresh rate.
If you are using Windows 95, click here [image] for further instructions.
If you are using Windows NT 4.0, click here [image] for further instructions.

4	Select a test pattern.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

5	Adjust the display position.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

6	Adjust the display size.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

7	Click the Apply button or the OK button.


Changing Refresh Rate in Windows 95

Warning

Consult your monitor's user manual before adjusting the refresh rate.  Applying the wrong refresh rate may seriously damage your monitor.

To select a particular refresh rate

1	If you want the software to set the best refresh rate for your monitor, select the Optimal check box.

OR

If you want to select the refresh rate yourself

a	Make sure that the Optimal check box is not selected.  If it is selected, clear the box.

b	In the Refresh Rate box, click the down-arrow button.
A list of all the refresh rates that are supported by your display adapter appears.

c	Click the desired refresh rate.

2	Click the OK button or the Apply button.
A confirmation dialog box appears, prompting you to confirm the refresh rate selection.
At this point, you can do three things:

If the screen is not correct, click the No button.

If the refresh rate setting is acceptable, click the Yes button.

If the Yes button is not clicked within 5 seconds, the refresh rate will automatically revert to the last saved setting.
This feature is useful when the screen is badly distorted and you are unable to click the No button.

Notes

Do not change the default refresh rate unnecessarily as other settings may not be supported by the brand and model of your display.

If you happen to confirm the selection of a frequency that causes distortions to your screen, you need to clean up this errant setting by using BlasterControl Rescue.

BlasterControl obtains the name and model of your monitor through the information you have entered in the Settings property page.  To change the name and model of your monitor, go to the Settings property page and click Change Display Type.

The Optimal check box is available only if your display adapter supports it.

Related Topic

Cleaning Up Errant Display Settings


Changing Refresh Rate in Windows NT 4.0

Warning

Consult your monitor's user manual before adjusting the refresh rate.  Applying the wrong refresh rate may seriously damage your monitor.

To select a particular refresh rate

1	Click the Settings tab.
The Settings property page appears.

3	In the Refresh Frequency group box, click the down-arrow button.

4	From the list, click the desired refresh rate.

5	Click the OK button or the Apply button.

Note

Do not change the default refresh rate unnecessarily as other settings may not be supported by the brand and model of your display.

For more details, refer to your Windows NT 4.0 documentation.

Related Topic

Cleaning Up Errant Display Settings


Using BlasterControl - Adjusting Display Settings - Selecting Test Pattern
Selecting Test Pattern

A few test patterns are provided to help you adjust the size and position of your display.

To select a test pattern

Click the Test Pattern area.

Note

Whatever changes you have made will immediately be reflected by the test pattern.


Changing Display Position

To adjust the position of the screen display

In the Alignment group box, click the Up, Down, Left, and Right positional buttons.


Changing Display Size

To increase the height and width of the displayed area

Click the “+” buttons.

To decrease the height and width of the displayed area

Click the “-” buttons.

Note

The position and maximum size of the display depend on the model of your monitor.


Adjusting Color Parameters

The Color Correction property page allows you to adjust the colors of your screen display.

To change the brightness, contrast, or Gamma correction of a color component

1	Click here [image] to launch the BlasterControl Display Properties dialog box.

2	In the Properties dialog box, click the Color Correction tab.
The Color Correction property page appears.

3	Select a test pattern.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

4	Select a target color.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

5	Move the sliders to change the parameters of the color component.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

6	If you want to revert to the previous applied settings, click the Restore button.
If you want to revert to the default settings, click the Default button.

7	To adjust the parameters of another color component, repeat steps 4 and 5.

Notes

The Color Correction property page depends on the model of your VGA display card and the display drivers you have installed.  It is perfectly all right if this property page is not displayed.

The Color Correction property page is available only in 256 colors.

All monitors will display colors with slight differences.  Manufacturing differences, lighting conditions, ambient temperature and color fluctuations will all affect the way you see color on your screen.


Using BlasterControl - Adjusting Color Parameters - Selecting Test Pattern
Selecting Test Pattern

Test patterns help you adjust the color of your screen display.

To select a test pattern which shows the color you want to adjust

1	In the Test Pattern list box, click the down-arrow button.

2	From the list, click the test pattern you require.


Selecting Target Color

To select the target color whose parameters you want to change

1	In the Target Color list box, click the down-arrow button.

2	From the list, click the desired color component.


Adjusting Gamma Correction, Contrast and Brightness

Gamma Correction

Gamma correction allows you to change the middle intensities on the screen.  Use Gamma correction to adjust the color tonal balance.

Contrast

Contrast is the relationship between light and dark elements on the display.  A high contrast image is very stark, like a black-and-white tiled floor.  A low contrast image is muted and “washed-out”, as if viewing a scene through a fog.

Brightness

Brightness refers to the amount of light that is being emitted by the display.

To get the desired amount of Gamma correction, contrast or brightness

Move the corresponding slider left or right to decrease or increase the amount.

Note

The Color Graph visually indicates how a digitally stored color (x-axis) you have selected is displayed on the screen (y-axis).


Assigning and Clearing Hot Keys

The Hotkey property page allows you to assign hot keys to your often-used screen resolutions and color depths.  This allows you to switch between display modes quickly.  For example, you may want to switch the color depth from 256 colors to 16.8 million colors by pressing a particular keystroke.

Related Topics

Assigning Hot Keys

Clearing Hot Key Assignments


Assigning Hot Keys

To assign a hot key to a particular combination of resolution and color depth

1	Click here [image] to launch the BlasterControl Display Properties dialog box.

2	Click the Hotkey tab.
The Hotkey property page appears.

3	In the Operations list box, click the desired combination of resolution and color depth.
That particular combination is highlighted.

4	Place your text cursor in the Key Assignment text box.

5	Press the hot key that you want to assign.
For example, if you press <F12>, “F12” will appear in the Key Assignment text box.

6	Click the Assign button.
The hot key that is assigned is displayed next to the selected resolution and color depth in the Operations list box.

7	If you want to use the hot keys immediately after you close the BlasterControl dialog box, make sure the Enable Hotkey check box is selected.
If you do not want to use them yet, click to clear the Enable Hotkey check box.

Note

The hot key that you assign must be unique, otherwise there will be conflicts with existing hot keys.
To prevent conflicts with existing hot keys, modifiers such as <Ctrl> and <Alt> may be added to the hot key you have chosen.  For example, if you press <V>, BlasterControl will automatically configure the hot key as <Ctrl+Alt+V>.


Clearing Hot Key Assignments

If you no longer want the hot key assignment for a particular combination of resolution and color depth, you can clear it.

To clear a hot key assignment

1	Click here [image] to launch the BlasterControl Display Properties dialog box.

2	Click the Hotkey tab.
The Hotkey property page appears.

3	In the Operations list box, click the particular combination and its corresponding hot key assignment.

4	Click the Clear button.
The hot key assignment for that particular combination is removed and the Key Assignment text box shows “Not Assigned”.


Troubleshooting

The Color Correction property page is not displayed

Cleaning Up Errant Display Settings

Generating Bug Report


The Color Correction property page is not displayed

Question	I cannot see the Color Correction property page in the BlasterControl Display Properties dialog box.  Why?

Answer	The Color Correction property page depends on the model of your VGA display card and the display drivers you have installed.  It is perfectly all right if this property page is not displayed.


Cleaning Up Errant Display Settings

What happens if you have selected a display setting that causes distortion to your screen?  For example, you may have selected a high refresh rate that is not supported by your monitor and the monitor starts to flicker.  In a situation like this, you have to clean up the errant settings.

To clean up errant display settings

1	Restart the system in Windows 95 Safe mode.
Click here [image] for further instructions.

2	Click here [image] to launch the BlasterControl Rescue dialog box.

3	In the Product Name list box, click the name of your display adapter.
A list of resolutions appears in the Display Setting To Clean Up list box.  Each resolution represents a group of display settings.

4	Select the resolution that causes the screen distortion and click the Clean Up button.
For example, if you have selected a refresh rate of 75 Hz and a resolution of 1024 x 768 and these settings cause the display to go out of sync, select the “1024 x 768” entry and click the Clean Up button.

5	Click the Close button.

6	Restart your system in Windows 95 Normal mode.


To restart in Windows 95 Safe mode

1	Restart your system and when the message “Starting Windows 95...” appears, press <F8> on your keyboard.
A list of options such as Normal Mode, Safe Mode, and MS-DOS Command Prompt Mode appears.

2	Select Safe Mode and press <Enter>.


Generating Bug Report

To generate a bug report

1	Click here [image] to launch the BlasterControl Bug Report dialog box.

2	In the Bug Report dialog box, fill in the bug report.

3	To save the report into a file, click the Save As button.
To view the bug report, click the View button.
To print out the bug report, click the Print button.

Note

If you do not want to report the contents in your system configuration files (e.g., win.ini, system.ini), clear the check box.