Q I have a Diamond FireGL 100 Pro and a 17in monitor and I run Windows in 1280 x 1024 High Colour mode. Is there a way to have different resolutions for different users as some of the other users of my PC prefer 800 x 600? I have used QuickRes from the Microsoft Powertoys collection to change resolutions easily, but is there a way to automate the process?

A There is a free program called QRes (www.berend.com/qres.html and on our cover CD) that adds automation capabilities to QuickRes. To use QRes, QuickRes must be installed first. Win 95 OSR2 has QuickRes built in, but if you're running the original version of Windows 95 you can install the utility from our cover CD or obtain it from Microsoft's Web site.

Caption: Change video resolutions easily with the free QRes utility

QRes adds an extra tab to all Shortcut properties which allows you to set what screen resolution you want to change to when you use that Shortcut. This is especially useful for games that require particular screen modes. QResÆs configuration wizard simplifies the setup of these shortcuts.

You can also create an icon on the desktop for each video mode. Create a new Shortcut and in the Command line field type qres.exe. This program is in the Windows folder so you donÆt need to specify the full path. Next you need to specify the command line parameters for the video mode that you want. Use x=800 for 800 x 600 mode or x=1024 for 1024 x 768 mode. You can also change the number of colours by putting c=8 for 256 colours or c=24 for 24-bit True Colour.

If you are running user profiles you can set up each user to have their preferred screen resolution. Simply put the appropriate Shortcut in each userÆs startup folder.