How to Resolve Act! Display Problems on High Resolution Screens
If you have recently taken the plunge and invested in a new laptop or monitor with a super high resolution screen, you may experience display issues when using Act!.
High resolution screens display sharper text, images and video, however using a high-pixel-density on a small screen comes with trade-offs – the main one being that few PC software applications are designed to support High-DPI displays. If your display DPI settings are higher than 96DPI, Act! (along with other programs) can have issues rendering certain areas of the application properly. We find this is a common problem for Microsoft Surface Pro users.
Of course, for most people that sort of high resolution display is unnecessary – unless you’re planning to build yourself a really big spreadsheet or want to watch House of Cards in 4K on Netflix.
These display issues can be easily resolved by lowering the screen resolution to 1920×1080. Obviously not the most favourable option given that you have just spent money to have the luxury of a high resolution screen.
The good news is that there is a fix that should enable you to use Act! on an ultra high resolution screen.
DPI Fix for High Resolution Monitors
1. Download the following file DPIFix.exe and save to your Desktop.
2. Close all programs (making sure all your work is saved as a reboot is required).
3. Go to Task Manager either by holding Ctrl, Alt and Delete and selecting Task Manager OR right click on the Time and Date in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and select Task Manager.
4. Select the ‘Processes’ tab (For Windows 10 users click on More Details).
5. Find ‘Act.integration‘ and End the Task by right clicking and selecting End Task (or End Process).
6. Repeat step 5 for ‘Act.Outlook.Service‘ and ‘Act.Server.Host‘.
7. Locate the file saved to your Desktop in step 1.
8. Double click on the file and let it run the process.
9. When complete, reboot the computer and open Act!.
For a more detailed explanation about how DPI affects the appearance and why Act! experiences issues when running on DPI settings higher than 96DPI, refer to the following knowledge base article: Why does Act! experience display problems using high Dots Per Inch (DPI) settings?
How do you know what your screen resolution is?
1. Right click on your Desktop
2. Select ‘Screen Resolution’ to see what your current is.
3. If you have high resolution the numbers displayed in ‘Resolution’ will be higher than 1920×1080.
High Resolution Monitors
If you are considering purchasing a new laptop or computer and are overwhelmed by the choices here are some high DPI laptops and monitors that will need the above fix.
| Display | Screen Resolution |
| Dell 27-inch ‘5K’ UltraSharp Monitor | 5120×2880 pixels on a 27″ screen |
| Acer K272hul 27″ Led Monitor | 2560×1440 pixels on a 27″ screen |
| Hewlett-Packard 30-Inch LCD Monitor | 2650×1600 pixels on a 30″ screen |
| 15″ Apple Mac | 2880×1800 pixels on a 15″screen |
| Toshiba’s P50T-B Laptop | 3840×2160 pixels on a 15.6″ display |
| Dell Precision M3800 | 15″ with 3200×1800 resolution |
| Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro | Quad-HD display with 3200×1800 resolution on a 13″ screen |
| Gigabyte Aorus X3 Plus | 3200×1800 resolution on a 13.3″ screen |
