Changing Your Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Display Settings
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You aren't limited by the factory screen settings on your Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. The Display settings list within the Settings screen gives you several different options for changing what you see on your screen, including these:
- Changing screen and reading modes so the screen is as sharp as you need it to be
- Modifying the brightness so the screen is bright enough to see without blinding you
- Setting the font size and style so the text is readable for you
- Controlling what you see on the screen when the Tab 3 is docked or in sleep mode
- Changing your wallpaper on the Home and/or Lock screens
- Determining what you see on the Quick Settings and Notifications screen
- Enabling the Smart Screen feature to have the screen react to your face
- Running two different apps in separate windows so you can switch between them
- Changing other important settings, including the touch screen light duration, the battery percentage amount in the Notification Bar, and editing a captured screen immediately after capture
Open the Display settings list by tapping the Settings icon on the Home screen; within the Settings screen, tap Display in the settings list on the right side of the screen. You see the Display settings list in Figure 1.
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Figure 1 The Display settings list appears on the right side of the screen
The Display settings list is divided into five sections with the General section; you can view all the sections by swiping up and down in the list. The first setting you can change is the wallpaper for your Home and/or Lock screen, as described in Chapter 4 of my book, My Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.
Change Settings Within the Quick Settings and Notifications Screen
If you want to change what you see in the Quick Settings and Notification screen, tap Notification Panel in the list. The Notification Panel settings screen appears as shown in Figure 2.
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Figure 2 Change the order of quick settings buttons in the Notification Panel
By default, the Brightness slider bar appears in the Quick Settings and Notifications screen so you can quickly change the screen brightness without having to go into the Settings screen.
If you don't want this slider bar in the Quick Settings and Notifications screen, tap the Brightness Adjustment check box to clear it. You can turn it back on by tapping the check box again; you know the slider bar is on when there is a green check mark in the check box.
Buttons within the Notification Panel at the top of the Quick Settings and Notifications screen appears in the Notification Panel section. The buttons within the section mirror the order of the buttons in the Notification Panel from left to right and from top to bottom. That is, the Wi-Fi button appears as the first button in the Notification Panel, which is the left side of the Panel, and the last button that appears is Airplane Mode.
You can change the order of the buttons by pressing and holding your finger on a button and then dragging the button to a new location within the Notification Panel section. If you move the button between two existing buttons, the two existing buttons make room for the moved button. For example, if you move the Sync button between the GPS and Reading Mode buttons, the Reading Mode buttons and the remaining buttons in the second and third rows move to accommodate the Sync button's new position.
If you decide you don't want to make any changes to the Quick Settings and Notifications screen, press the Back button.
Switch to Multi Window Mode
You can switch to different apps in different windows by pressing and holding the Home button until the Task Manager screen appears and shows you all the open windows. If you want a quicker way to switch between programs, tap the Multi Window check box within the Display settings screen. When you do, the check box has a green check mark in it, and on the left side of the screen you see a small, white, curved app tray button that contains a right arrow.
Tap the app tray button to open the app tray (see Figure 3). You can view all the apps you can open by swiping up and down within the tray. You can close the app tray button by tapping the Multi Window check box again to clear it.
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Figure 3 The app tray appears on the left side of the screen
If you want to edit the apps that appear within the tray, tap the Edit button. The Edit Tray screen appears, as shown in Figure 4, so you can tap, hold, and drag app icons from the app tray on the left to the holding area on the right to remove app icons from the tray. You can also add app icons to the tray by tapping, holding, and dragging the selected icon from the holding area to an area on the tray.
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Figure 4 If you need quick information about dragging items to and from the app tray, tap the Help button
Icons appear in the tray in alphabetical order from top to bottom. You can also rearrange the icons in the tray by tapping, holding, and dragging your selected icon up or down in the list to its new position. When you release your finger, the icons below your desired icon move down in the list to accommodate your selected icon. When you're finished editing the tray, tap the Done button at the bottom of the tray.
Change the Default Screen Mode
By default, the Tab 3 adapts the screen resolution to give you the best viewing experience, depending on what you're viewing. For example, the Movie screen resolution is higher than when you're using the Calendar app. You can change the default screen mode within the Display settings list by tapping Screen Mode in the list.
After you tap Screen Mode, the Screen Mode window appears (see Figure 5) with the Adapt Display check box checked.
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Figure 5 The default screen mode is Adapt Display
If you want to change to a specific screen mode, tap the Adapt Display check box and then tap Dynamic, Standard, or Movie. As you tap each button, you'll see the colors on the screen change (including the picture in the Screen Mode window) so you can see how the colors look and decide if the color mode is right for you. When you finish setting your screen mode, tap the OK button.
Alter Other Screen Settings
Within the Screen section on the Display settings list, you can change three other screen settings:
- Tap Brightness to change the brightness level of the screen, as discussed in Chapter 4 of My Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.
- Tap Screen Timeout to change the length of inactivity before the screen turns off, as discussed in Chapter 4 of My Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.
- In the Daydream setting, turn on the Tab 3 screen saver by sliding the Daydream button from Off to On. The default Daydream screensaver is Colors, as shown in Figure 6. You'll learn how to view and change the Daydream screensaver in the online article "Enabling and Managing Your Galaxy Tab 3 Screen Saver" on the Que Publishing website.
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Figure 6 The default Daydream is Colors
In the Display settings list, swipe down the page so you can see and change settings in the Features, Font, and More Settings sections (see Figure 7).
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Figure 7 When you swipe down the Display list, you see the Features, Font, and More Settings sections
Smart Screen
In the Features section, tap Smart Screen to turn on the Smart Stay and Smart Rotation features. By default, the Smart Stay feature is turned on so the screen will stay on as long as the Tab 3 front camera recognizes that you're looking at it.
The Smart Rotation feature rotates according to the orientation of your face. That is, if you start tilting your head, the screen will rotate so you continue to see text and pictures in their correct position instead of tilted.
Fonts and Legibility
Chapter 4 of My Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 discusses a few things about changing the font style and size. You can change the font style by tapping Font Style and then tapping the font style in the Font Style window shown in Figure 8.
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Figure 8 You can get more fonts from Samsung by tapping the Get Fonts Online button
After you tap the font style you want, the Set Font window appears. Confirm the font change by tapping the Yes button. After a second or two, the Home screen appears, and the text reflects the new font.
You can change the font size by tapping Font Size and then tapping the size in the Font Size window. You have five size options from Tiny to Huge. After you tap the new font size, the Settings screen reflects the new font size, and you see more or less information on the screen depending on the font size you choose.
By default, the Increase Legibility check box is checked to maximize the clarity of the text. You can turn this feature off by tapping the check box to clear it. After you tap the check box, the Home screen appears and reflects the lower text legibility. (Whether you actually see a difference in text quality is up to you.)
Change More Settings
Within the More Settings section, tap Touch Key Light Duration to change the duration in which the touch buttons below the screen stay on. By default, when you press the Menu or Back buttons, the button is lit for 1.5 seconds. You can change the duration to 6 seconds, turn off the button light at all times, or keep the button lights on at all times. Keep in mind that if the button lights are on at all times, battery life will be drained more quickly than if the lights are on for a brief period (or off).
Speaking of battery life, you can show the battery percentage in the Status Bar by tapping the Show Battery Percentage check box. If you want more information about managing your Tab 3 battery life, read the online article "Managing Your Galaxy Tab 3 Battery Life Effectively" on the Que Publishing website.
If you want to edit a screen capture file after you capture a screen, tap the Edit After Screen Capture check box. Once you capture the screen you're viewing by pressing and holding the Power and Home buttons simultaneously for one or two seconds, the S Paper Artist app opens and displays the screenshot so you can edit it.
Final Thoughts
That concludes our tour of the Display settings list. Now that you know more about changing your display settings, feel free to experiment with those settings to make the Tab 3 screen look just right.