To set the Display Settings, open the Preferences dialog box by bringing Eclipse to the foreground and choosing “Preferences...” from the File menu.
 
At the top center of the Preferences dialog box is a pop-up menu labeled “Options.” Choose “Display Settings” from this menu. You will see the following:
 
Interface
The Display Settings interface offers three choices:
• Just dim the screen
• Display the time
• Display graphics & movies
Display Settings work together with the Dimming Settings. If you have Eclipse set to display the time or a graphic and the screen brightness level is set to 0, your display choice will not be visible.
Just Dim the Screen
If you are a minimalist, you’ll appreciate the “Just dim the screen” choice. This choice fades whatever is on your monitor to the brightness level you specify. Eclipse dims the screen after the preset amount of idle time has elapsed.
Display the Time
For the clock watcher in you, the “Display the time” choice displays the current time (and date, if you like) floating on your screen. When you make this choice the following is shown in the bottom half of the dialog box:
 
Select a size for the clock by clicking on one of the clock size icons for a small, medium, or large display. A red rectangle appears around the graphic to indicate that it has been chosen.
The “Display the date” checkbox tells Eclipse to display the date below the time. Eclipse determines the time and date from your computer’s clock.
The “Flash colons” checkbox tells Eclipse to flash the colons every two seconds — one second on, one second off — when the clock is displayed.
If you click on the “Time color” icon, Eclipse displays a dialog box that allows you to choose the color of the clock display.
Display Graphics and Movies
This choice allows you to put your favorite graphics or movies in the Eclipse Graphics folder and tell Eclipse how long to keep the graphic or movie on the screen. This is ideal for those who crave variety, or who may be in need of a simple slide show application. You can also download images and movies directly into the Eclipse Graphics folder for immediate display, shortening your time online.
The “Display Graphics and Movies” choice shows the following in the bottom half of the dialog box:
 
Eclipse displays the files in the Eclipse Graphics folder. In order for graphics to be displayed properly, the Eclipse Graphics folder, or an alias of it named “Eclipse Graphics”, must be in the same folder as the Eclipse application.
Eclipse can display the following types of files:
• GIF files: GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, a graphic file format that was popularized by CompuServe Informational Service. The GIF format is widely used to exchange graphic files between computer platforms.
• JPEG files: JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the name of the body that creates this file format. JPEG files are frequently used to distribute high quality photographic images.
• PICT files: PICT (short for picture) is a Macintosh-specific graphic file format widely used only in the Macintosh community.
• QuickTime movies: Movies or animation created with the Apple QuickTime system extension. The QuickTime tool is used to record, edit, play, and compress digital movies on the Macintosh.
Eclipse comes with graphics files already in the Eclipse Graphics folder, but you can place your own graphics, QuickTime movies, or aliases to the above types of files in the Eclipse Graphics folder. Eclipse displays them according to which radio button is selected:
Randomly
This tells Eclipse to display the graphics and movies in random order.
Sequentially
This tells Eclipse to display the graphics and movies in alphabetical order.
Eclipse displays a graphic or movie for a set amount of time before moving on to the next graphic or movie. The “New graphic/movie” setting (below) tells Eclipse how long it should wait before it shows the next graphic or movie.
 
You can set this slider anywhere between 0 and 30 minutes. The 0 minute setting causes Eclipse to use default settings: graphics are displayed for 5 seconds, movies play for their entire length, then Eclipse shows the next graphic or movie.
Please note: You must have the QuickTime extension installed on your system to display JPEG graphics or QuickTime movies. Eclipse skips over them if QuickTime is not installed.
Special Situations
Eclipse takes full advantage of your system’s capabilities in the way it handles aliases, QuickTime movies, and large graphics.
Aliases
Eclipse resolves any aliases to PICT’s, GIF’s, JPEG’s and Quicktime movies that you put into the Eclipse Graphics folder. Keeping larger graphics or movies on CD’s or external devices saves space on your hard drive. If Eclipse can’t resolve an alias or recognize the format of a file, it will skip over it and move on to the next graphic or movie file.
QuickTime movies
QuickTime movies usually have very small dimensions due to the power needed to display them. If you’re using a PowerPC machine, the size of a QuickTime movie will be doubled to take advantage of your faster machine.
Large graphics
If Eclipse encounters a graphic that is larger than your monitor, it centers the graphic on the screen. Clipping of larger images may occur around the edges.
