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Displays settings on Mac
On your Mac, use Displays settings to adjust resolution and brightness, and to set other options that match the requirements of your media workflow.
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Connect one or more external displays with your Mac
Browse through the options below for details about customising your settings.
Note: Not all options described here appear for all displays or Mac models, and some options appear only when your Mac is connected to a display.
To change these settings, choose Apple menu in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Option | Description | ||||||||||
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Arrange | Arrange the position of the displays, mirror their content or relocate the position of the menu bar. This option only appears when you have an external display connected to your Mac. See Extend or mirror your Mac desktop across multiple displays. | ||||||||||
| Choose a display to mirror or extend your desktop. | ||||||||||
Use as | Set up your display to mirror or extend your desktop or to act as your main display. This option only appears when you have an external display connected to your Mac. | ||||||||||
Optimise for | Choose to optimise for the external display or your desktop. This option only appears when you have an external display connected to your Mac. | ||||||||||
Resolution | Choose the amount of detail your display shows. Choose Default to automatically use the best resolution for the display, or choose another option to manually choose between larger text or more space on screen. | ||||||||||
Show all resolutions | View all available resolutions, including low-resolution modes. | ||||||||||
Brightness | Adjust how light or dark your screen appears. For alternative ways to adjust brightness, see Change your Mac display’s brightness. | ||||||||||
Automatically adjust brightness | Automatically adjust the display brightness and black level based on current ambient lighting conditions. | ||||||||||
True Tone | Automatically adjusts the colours on the display based on current ambient lighting conditions. | ||||||||||
Preset | Choose a built-in reference mode that matches your media workflow. See Use the Preset menu in Displays settings. | ||||||||||
Customise Presets | Allows you to create custom reference modes. See Create custom reference modes. | ||||||||||
Calibrate Display | Use the Pro Display Calibrator for in-field recalibration for specific colour workflows that may require custom calibration. See Customise the calibration using the Pro Display Calibrator. | ||||||||||
Rotate or Rotation (depending on your display) | Rotate the image shown on your display by the chosen amount. See Rotate the image on your Mac display. This button only appears if an external display is connected to your Mac. | ||||||||||
Refresh rate | Set how frequently your screen is redrawn. You can choose a dynamic refresh rate, known as ProMotion, or select a fixed refresh rate. If frame accuracy is desired, select the refresh rate based on the frames per second (fps) of the media you’re working with. | ||||||||||
Show Sidebar | Choose whether the sidebar on your iPad appears on the left, the right or not at all. This option only appears if you’re using your iPad as a second display. | ||||||||||
Show Touch Bar | Choose whether the Touch Bar on your iPad appears on the top, the bottom or not at all. When you use an app that supports the Touch Bar on your iPad, the Touch Bar is shown in the location you specified. The buttons available in the Touch Bar vary depending on the current app and task. This option only appears if you’re using your iPad as a second display. | ||||||||||
Enable double-tap on Apple Pencil | Select the tick box if you want to be able to double-tap the lower section of Apple Pencil to switch drawing tools in some apps (if your Apple Pencil supports it). See the Apple Support article Pair Apple Pencil with your iPad. This option only appears if you’re using your iPad as a second display. | ||||||||||
Overscan | Select this option if you are using a TV as a display and you can’t see the menu bar. This option only appears on supported TVs. | ||||||||||
Underscan | Select this option if you’re using a TV as a display and you don’t want black bars to appear around a movie or show. This option only appears on supported TVs. | ||||||||||
Dynamic resolution | Enable to allow the resolution of a virtual display to automatically match the size of its screen share viewer window. This option only appears when a Screen Sharing Virtual Display is connected. | ||||||||||
High dynamic range | Enable to allow remote ultra-high-definition video production workflows up to 1,000 nits by supporting the High Dynamic Range (HDR) Video (P3-ST 2084) reference preset. This option only appears when a Screen Sharing Virtual Display is connected. | ||||||||||
Advanced | Set options for viewing resolutions and connecting to a nearby Mac or iPad.
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Night Shift | Shifts your display to the warmer end of the colour spectrum. Warmer screen colours are easier on your eyes when you use your Mac at night or in low-light conditions. See Use Night Shift. | ||||||||||
Detect Displays | Scans for all the displays connected to your Mac. Press and hold the Option key to make this button appear in place of the Night Shift button, then click Detect Displays if your Mac doesn’t recognise a display you just connected. |