The screen resolution of your video monitor will determine how this website appears on your screen. The term "screen resolution" refers to the number of individual pixels that fit within a given space. When talking about an 800x600 resolution, the number 800 refers to the number of pixels that the monitor can display horizontally, while the number 600 refers to the vertical limit.

Monitor size and optimal screen resolution are closely linked. As you increase the resolution, e.g. from 800x600 to 1024x768, the web page elements appear smaller on the screen. The information contained on a 15-inch screen set to 1024x768 may be so small as to be practically unreadable. But the same information displayed at that resolution on a 17 or 21-inch monitor could look fine.

Comparing two monitors side by side, one set to 800x600 pixels, the other set to 1024x768 pixels, note that the latter has more pixels, but everything looks smaller on your screen. That's because the pixels on that screen are smaller, so more of them fit into the same space.

One way* to change your monitor resolution setting is to right-click the mouse on your desktop to reveal a dialogue window as illustrated below. Select "Properties" which will reveal the Display Properties dialogue window. Click the "Settings" tab and move the Screen resolution slider to increase or to decrease the monitor resolution.







A 15-inch monitor set to display at 800x600 pixels has a higher resolution than a 21-inch monitor set to the same display. That means a 200x300 pixel GIF image will look smaller on the 15-inch monitor than on the 21-inch monitor. An image that size would still be readable, but small navigation buttons quickly become illegible - even for visitors with great eyesight.

The pages you are visiting have been designed with 800x600 resolution monitor users in mind. If you are viewing the pages at the 1024x768 resolution, the pages will occupy the left-hand side of screen. The remaining area on the right-hand side of your screen will be blank.

* Based on Microsoft Windows XP. Depending on the version of your operating system, the procedure may differ.