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I'm on an M1 Mac mini and have two displays plugged in, one via a TB/USB-C cable and the other via HDMI.

I want to match them for resolution of menus and palettes at the fourth (of five) resolutions but the intermediate resolutions macOS is offering me are different for each monitor… even thought they are bth native 4K displays (see table for details).

What can I do to change the intermediate display options? Is this associated with the cables at all?

table of resolutions at each scale offered by macOS on both monitors

second highest resolution on Dell U2720Q

second highest resolution on Dell S2722QC

EDIT TO show display preferences when "Option" key is help clicking "Scaled":

solution

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  • Can you unplug one monitor, restart the Mac, and then plug in then2nd monitor and unplug the first, then restart again before plugging both back in? It may fix any simple oddities.
    – anonymousaga
    Commented Feb 15, 2022 at 3:04
  • One is HDMI, one is not.
    – Marc Wilson
    Commented Feb 15, 2022 at 3:08
  • @Mark Wilson, yep but is that relevant? I don't have a second USB-C cable that is also TB compatible so I can't run them both as USB-C/TB/DP. All my display converters of which I have many are the old mini-DispalyPort (DP) TB2 kind.
    – wide_eyed_pupil
    Commented Feb 15, 2022 at 3:26

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Have you updated the firmware of the monitors? Sometimes there are updates.

While adequate for the majority of users, these five resolution choices (default and scaled) are missing several “in-between” display options, as well as “low resolution” modes, such as a true 2560×1440 that must be upscaled by the monitor and may be necessary for testing or software compatibility purposes. Thankfully, these resolutions are still accessible, and here’s how to access them.
Press and hold the Option key on your keyboard, and then click the “Scaled” option again. (Source)

Have you tried keeping the Default resolution for both monitors and changing the resolution of the individual applications?

Finder resolution for instance can be changed by going to the Home folder > right-click > Show View Options and then changing the icon/text size to your preference. Changing the settings at the Home folder will change all subfolder view options.

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  • Yeah Adobe apps have changeable text sizes for some interface elements, Illustrator does for sure but it's not playing ball. The macOS resolutions are playing havoc with it. I'll check for updates, not last time I looked for the U2720Q and one of these monitors, the S2722QC is only a few weeks old.
    – wide_eyed_pupil
    Commented Feb 15, 2022 at 3:29
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    yep, that Option Key click "Scaled" did the trick… I had a feeling there might be a hidden option. Thanks heaps. It turns out the newer monitor has more intermediate display resolutions to choose from, but all the ones on the older (better actually from a colour space perspective) monitor are are available on the newer one. Thx again.
    – wide_eyed_pupil
    Commented Feb 15, 2022 at 3:34

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