Displays settings on Mac
On your Mac, use Displays settings to adjust resolution and brightness, and to set display options.
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Browse through the options below for details about customizing 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 open these settings, choose Apple menu 
in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Arrange | Arrange the position of the displays, mirror their content, or relocate the position of the menu bar. This option appears only 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 | Choose whether your display mirrors or extends your desktop, or acts as your main display. This option appears only when you have an external display connected to your Mac. See Extend or mirror your Mac desktop across multiple displays. |
Optimize for | Choose to optimize for the external display or your desktop. This option appears only 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 select a resolution. See Change your Mac display’s resolution. |
Show all resolutions | View all available resolutions, including low-resolution modes. |
Brightness | Adjust how light or dark your screen appears. Move the slider to the right to make the screen brighter or to the left to make it darker. See Change your Mac display’s brightness. |
Automatically adjust brightness or Ambient light compensation (depending on your display) | Adjust the display brightness automatically based on current ambient lighting conditions. This option is available only if your Mac has ambient light sensing. |
True Tone | Automatically adjust the colors on the display based on current ambient lighting conditions. |
Color profile | Change the color profile your display uses. Detailed information about all of the color profiles installed on your Mac (and used by connected cameras, printers, and displays) is provided in ColorSync Utility (in the Applications > Utilities folder). See the ColorSync Utility User Guide. You can also create your own custom color profile by calibrating your display. |
When connected to TV | Choose what to share when connected to a TV or whether to ask each time you connect. This option appears only on a Mac with Apple silicon. See Extend or mirror your Mac desktop across multiple displays and Mirror your Mac on a TV. |
Preset | Choose a built-in reference mode that matches your media workflow. See Use the Preset menu in Displays settings. |
Customize Presets | Create custom reference modes. See Create custom reference modes. |
Calibrate Display | Use the Pro Display Calibrator for in-field recalibration for specific color workflows that may require custom calibration. See Customize 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 appears only if a compatible external display is connected to your Mac. |
Refresh rate | Adjust how frequently your screen is redrawn. If the rate is too low, your screen may appear to flicker. If the rate is too high, the screen may be black because it doesn’t support that rate. Check the documentation that came with your display for the best rate. If you have a compatible display, you can set your display to dynamically adjust its refresh rate, using Adaptive Sync. This option appears only if an external display that supports changing the refresh rate is connected to your Mac. |
Show Sidebar | Choose whether the sidebar on your iPad appears on the left, the right, or not at all. This option appears only if you’re using your iPad as a second display for your Mac. |
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 appears only if you’re using your iPad as a second display for your Mac. |
Enable double tap on Apple Pencil | Select the checkbox if you want to be able to double-tap the lower section of Apple Pencil to switch drawing tools in some apps (if you have a compatible Apple Pencil). This option appears only if you’re using your iPad as a second display for your Mac. |
Overscan | Select this option if you are using a TV as a display and you can’t see the menu bar. This option appears only 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 appears only 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 appears only when a Screen Sharing Virtual Display is connected. |
High dynamic range | Enable to allow remote ultra-high-definition video production workflows up to 1000 nits by supporting the High Dynamic Range (HDR) Video (P3-ST 2084) reference preset. This option appears only 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 | Shift your display to the warmer end of the color spectrum. Warmer screen colors are easier on your eyes when you use your Mac at night or in low-light conditions. See Use Night Shift. |
Detect Displays | Scan 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 recognize a display you just connected. |
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