How can I determine the screen size in inches programatically

I need to determine the screen size in inches so I can size by figures properly. Using the get(groot) with "units" set to inches returns the wrong dimensions, and using the ScreenSize in pixels and ScreenPixelsPerInch also returns the wrong results. In fact ScreenSize in pixels includes Windows scaling for the monitor in questions, not the actual screen size in pixel.

[Rik]

As far as I'm aware, Windows is fairly inconsisten with what it reports to programs regarding the screen size. You might need an external program.

This would also depend on the screen correctly reporting the physical size in the first place, which is not a given.

Answer 1

[Stephen23]

Windows 7 was arguably the last version where screensize determination was relatively straightforward. Here's why:

Windows 8 introduced DPI scaling awareness levels and began the transition to more complex display scaling

Windows 10 significantly complicated matters with:

• Per-monitor DPI scaling
• Mixed DPI environments
• Dynamic DPI changes without logout

Windows 11 continues and extends Windows 10's approach, making non-trivial to determine the screensize. In fact, it really depends on what you mean by screensize...

That said, even in Windows 7, you had to account for DPI scaling, but the system was much more predictable.

This might work:

% Get all screen devices
jge = java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment();
gds = jge.getScreenDevices();

% For each monitor
for k = 1:length(gds)
    gd1 = gds(k);
    bounds = gd1.getDefaultConfiguration().getBounds();
    
    fprintf('Monitor %d:\n', k);
    fprintf('  Position: (%d, %d)\n', bounds.x, bounds.y);
    fprintf('  Size: %d x %d\n', bounds.width, bounds.height);
end

You might be able to use a third-party tool to access the EDID:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Display_Identification_Data