This same thing came up in the InDesign forum. Here are some of the best answers:
Computer monitors don’t display in centimetres, they display in pixels. And the physical dimensions of an image will depend on how many pixels the monitor displays to a centimetre. So basically it’s a pretty meaningless concept beyond an indication.
If you want to set InDesign to display at the actual size on your monitor, keep changing the zoom until it measures what you consider to be the right size. Then note the scaling percentage indicated in the title frame, replace the "134" in this line with your percentage:
app.layoutWindows[0].zoomPercentage = 134;
save that line in a text editor as actual_size.jsx at C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\Adobe\InDesign\Version 5.0\Scripts\Scripts Panel
actual_size.jsx will then appear in your scripts panel. Double click it to set your zoom at that level.
You can assign a shortcut to it in Edit> Keyboard Shortcuts
ken
"100%" is a misnomer. That view sets the display to show, in ID 1pt per screen pixel, and something similar in operation (you have a choice of 72 or 96 ppi display sizes) in Acrobat. What that will be in terms of actual physical dimensions is entirely dependent on the size of your monitor and the screen resolution you have set.
The only way to get a real "life-size" display is to use a custom zoom factor. Dave wrote a script that is floating around here somewhere which will set the zoom to a scale factor of your choice, and you can assign a keyboard shortcut to that if you like.
I tell my students to think of 100% as "big" and nothing more.
Peter
and think it’s probably an adjustment on the monitor but haven’t been able to make it right.
You are right, it is the monitor settings. Right click anywhere on the desktop, and then choose properties, then the settings tab. You should have several options of different screen sizes. You can choose the one that is closest to actual size (trial and error) with the screen resolution setting.
As noted above, you cannot get exact, you can only get the closest of the preset resolutions.
You have to remember that most software uses 72 pixels as an inch, but PC monitors are 96 pixels per inch. Hencely issue.
Having said that, some cards like Matrox let you adjust your monitor to compensate, my nVidia doesn’t do it, but I really don’t give a hoot, if I need to see the page as actual size, I just creep in until I get the actual size on monitor, but I stopped doing that a long time ago because there was no benefit to doing so.
I see a problem with this if you are using a LCD display. Running an LCD at anything other than its native resolution results in poor performance. I also fail to see any reason to care if an inch on the screen is really an inch long or not. I just pop up the ruler displays and if it measures an inch by them then it will be an inch long. Having the display show an inch as an inch is of limited value unless everything you do is smaller than the screen size.
John Passaneau
I agree with John P. Why on earth should you need to see it real size on the screen?
If PS says it’s 6" wide, that’s how wide it is!
My suggestion is – in photoshop – go to Edit>Preferences>Units&Rulers and change the print and screen ressolutions. Most lcd monitors have a res close to 96. If youreset the screen res to that, then activate the "Print Size" button, you should be close. You may need to tweak it a bit.
Thanks very much Phos four dots. The article by Ben Willmore which you referenced with the pdf explained the whole phenom and also had the answer I was looking for. Thanks to all who took the trouble to make suggestions.
To John Joslin: Call me crazy. I just like an accurate picture of what I’m doing onscreen.
How about if it’s a 6ft banner?
I just like an accurate picture of what I’m doing onscreen.
Viewing at "print size" may result in a very inaccurate rendering of the image you are editing. Always double check at Actual Pixels (100% view)
