Configure Graphics on Ubuntu

In most Ubuntu documentation, if you want to fix your screen resolution or configure your graphics card, you have to either manually edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file with a text editor or use the old-school-looking ncurses wizard after typing the command

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

Both of those methods work just fine, but many newcomers to Ubuntu are intimidated by the command-line (or even ncurses wizards) and would prefer a full GUI (graphical user interface) for configuring graphics and screen resolution capabilities.

That's what this tutorial is about.

Start off by visiting the xorg-edit homepage. Right now that's http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/xorg-edit, but you may want to do a search for xorg-edit to find the most current location.

Once you're at the page, click on Download xorg-edit to go to the download page.

Once you're on the download page, scroll down to the File Releases and click on the appropriate release. For most people, this will be the i386.deb file. In this screenshot, for example, I clicked on xorg-edit_07.05.15-0ubuntu1_i386.deb. If you have 64-bit Ubuntu installed, you'll probably want the amd64.deb instead.

If Firefox (or whatever web browser you're using) prompts you to open the file with gdebi-gtk, click OK. If not, then save it to your desktop and then double-click the file to open up gDebi.

If, for some reason, even that doesn't work, you can install it by pasting these commands in the terminal:

cd ~/Desktop
sudo dpkg -i xorg-edit*.deb

If you had to do the terminal workaround, then skip the next four screenshots.

Once gDebi fires up, click Install Package.

You'll be prompted for your password. Enter it.

Wait for the software package to install.

When the installation finishes, click Close.

Now xorg-edit is ready to use. You can find it in System > Administration > XServer-Xorg

Most of the time when you launch up software for the first time, you get a warning that you can just ignore. Do not ignore this warning, though! Editing the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file incorrectly, even with a "friendly" graphical tool, can leave you with nothing working. If you're nervous at all about proceeding, get help first on what emergency procedures would be if you ended up stuck at the command prompt.

Once you're in the application, you can change all sorts of graphics options. It is not a text file, but you should still know what you're doing. After you edit the settings, you can test them by going to Extras > Test

Click OK

If everything's okay, you should get this message appearing. If not, well... I don't know what happens. I haven't explored this application enough to know how robust it is.

If you have more to contribute about the features of xorg-edit, please leave a comment on the UbuntuCat blog.