As a long-time user of Archlinux with i3wm, I’ve encountered a worrisome pitfall when expanding my workspace to include a second monitor, especially differing resolutions.The hurdle was the excessive size and blurriness of content on the smaller screen — issues that could wreck any multitasker’s flow.
A xrandr command had been my initial workaround:
xrandr --output DP1 --mode 3840x2160 --output DP3 --rotate left --scale 1.5 --mode 1920x1200 --right-of DP1
This command appeared to normalize the i3wm bar across both displays, but browsers content in Firefox and Chromium remained uncomfortably legible. Adjusting each browsers’ zoom settings only led me back to the drawing board, particularly in compating Chromium’s persistent blurriness.
The quest for a seamless experience led me to scour the resources of Google and ChatGPT, culminating in an optimized solution that I wish to document.
.xinitrc file:xrandr --fb 7680x2400 --output DP-1 --mode 3840x2160 --output DP-2 --mode 1920x1200 --scale 2x2 --pos 3840x0
It’s similar to the one I used before.
.Xresources file:You must identify and set an ideal DPI that mitigates blurriness for your screens. Insert this line into your Xresources:
Xft.dpi: 192
As this parameter can be quite personal, it’s advisable to start with a higher DPI from your available monitors and adjust as necessary.
layout.css.devPixelsPerPx within about:config to a suitable one(i set mine to 1.3, down from the default 1.6)A heartfelt thanks to the combined knowledge from ChatGPT and Google which led to this resolution! Now my multi-monitor setup on Archlinux is perfectly tailored for productivity.