Technology Issues

The more we use technology, the more problems may emerge. That is the nature of the beast. The source of the problem may lie in each solution provider thinking they offer the best. Sometimes it is true but when it is not, watch out.

TeamViewer not a Team Player

A while back, I wrote about a remote connection tool to help others. TeamViewer has been a useful tool for me to help friends and family with their problems on their computers. It has provided a simple connection that allowed me to see and control the other side’s computer. This worked well until about three weeks ago. When my friend Jim asked me to connect to look at a Lightroom question, I was stopped by the TeamViewer application prevented me from connecting with a message that they detected professional use of the program rather than the free personal use.

I searched and visited their site and following their instructions, I submitted a request to remove the block. The next morning, there was an e-mail informing me that the block was removed. We tried once more, and once more I was blocked. I repeated the request submission to remove the block two more times and received the same positive e-mail that the block was removed. Not so! Next time I would be blocked because they detected heavy use. Come again?

I visited a page on their site, Community, and posted my problem hoping that they would read and provide a solution. It turned out that the “Community” meant a crying wall for all the people having the same problem. I have visited the forum area and there was not a single reply from any TeamViewer support staff but many posts complaining about the same kind of block on their use.

Chrome Remote Desktop to the Rescue

After some more research, I found out that the Google Chrome browser had an extension for remote desktop. It is free and does not require any new account creation. If you are interested in using this service, visit the Chrome Remote Desktop page and follow the simple instructions. You can even use the Firefox browser if you like.

• Click on the Get Support
• Allow installing the add on
• You will now see a button “Generate Code”
• Click on the button, and copy the one-time code and send it to the person who will connect to help you
• The person who will give support visits the same page
• Copies and pastes the code into the field “Access Code”
• Click on “Connect”
• Presto! You see the other side’s computer screen
• Keep in mind that the generated code is valid for 4-5 minutes

From now on, TeamViewer will be named in my book as TeamBlocker!

Chrome Browser Rendering Problem

On very high-resolution screens, some browsers push their assumptions on your user experience. Probably done with the best of intentions, it can potentially create problems for some users, namely Web site designers. And, I have experienced a problem and spent a lot of time trying to figure out a solution.

The Chromium engine magnifies all the elements of the screen, including the content on quad density screens like my Microsoft Surface Book 2. The consequence is that the elements now take up more space on the screen. My everyday browser is Firefox, and it renders all the elements as expected. A content area that is set at 800-pixels remains at that and renders on my screen as 1600 pixels because the system magnifies everything 200%. But when using either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge which uses the same Chromium engine, that width becomes 1850 pixels, representing a 925-pixel content area instead of 800 pixels. The following screen captures are maximized browsers with a digital measuring ruler for comparison.

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My research led me to a page on the Firefox site talking about “Window Device Pixel Ratio” and sure enough, in Firefox I would get the correct 200% magnification but on Chrome that would be a higher magnification. I wrote to the theme developer with whom I had communicated before in case he might have some insights. Alas! You can try visiting the page in Firefox, and in Chrome or Edge, scroll down until you see a purplish rectangle showing the current magnification. You may notice the higher-than-expected magnification.

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Doing further research, I stumbled on a remarkably simple fix which I will share with you in case you may be fighting the same battle. It involves changing one of the application properties. That’s it! Here are the steps with screen captures below them:

• On your desktop or in the program folder, right-click on the application icon, Chrome and/or Edge
• Select “Properties”
• Click on the “Compatibility” tab
• Click on “Change high DPI settings”
• Put a checkmark to override high DPI behavior
• From the drop-down list, choose either “System” or “System (Enhanced)”
• Click OK to close the open windows going back
• Restart Chrome or Edge

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You will see a noticeable change in appearance. The icons, text, tabs at the top will become slightly smaller. Now open a page with known width and see how it should look as intended by its creator! Here are the screen captures of MS Edge before and after the fix. Done!

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