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On my new Dell XPS 13 9370, it seems that the display backlight brightness is adjusted based on the brightness of whatever's on the screen.
For example, say I have Sublime Text open with a dark theme, and I click on the file menu. The menu dropdown has a light background, and this is enough to darken the entire screen. Moving the selection over to the "Selection" menu causes the screen to lighten back up again, because this menu is apparently small enough for it not to count.
You can see the effect here, as I switch between a larger and smaller menu:
I find this feature unpleasantly jarring as I navigate through menus and similar. Is it possible to turn it off?
In case it is relevant, my system specs are as follows:
- Dell XPS 13 (9370)
- Debian Linux (sid)
- Cinnamon DE
Mala
Posted 2018-09-03T02:30:21.777
Reputation: 5 998
2Check if there's a new UEFI available and update. Newer versions should have a switch to enable/disable DBC (Dynamic Backlight Control) but not all models benefited from this new firmware. – None – 2018-09-03T02:48:01.893
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Well, there is an update https://www.dell.com/support/home/uk/en/ukbsdt1/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=60JF1 but doesn't mention DBC explicitly. Perhaps your version already has it?
– None – 2018-09-03T02:51:00.3779Why would Dell ever think this is a good idea? – Ian Kemp – 2018-09-03T06:01:53.263
4@IanKemp It looks like a terrible implementation of something that would be useful in some circumstances. For example, there's a TV show I'm watching at the moment where the banner before and after the ad breaks is an almost entirely white screen that's eye-burningly bright if I'm watching in a darkened room. If my laptop fixed that for me, I'd be delighted. – David Richerby – 2018-09-03T13:23:51.253
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@Mala: please edit the title:
– Patrick Hofman – 2018-09-03T13:36:11.180widowshould bewindow, but users reject my edit to fix this.4@PatrickHofman That's bizarre. I submitted the same edit without knowing about yours and people were sensible and accepted it. – David Richerby – 2018-09-03T16:29:23.473
4@PatrickHofman Reviewers are often silly (I wanted to use a stronger word). IMO every one of them in this case should be banned from reviewing but that's not a battle we'll ever win – Lightness Races with Monica – 2018-09-03T18:03:21.980
@LightnessRacesinOrbit just for information: When is editing encouraged or discouraged excerpt: Tiny, trivial edits are discouraged - try to make the post significantly better when you edit, correcting all problems that you observe.
– Nordlys Jeger – 2018-09-04T08:42:22.5771@NordlysJeger That advice is controversial and "widow"/"window" in the title is obviously a candidate for a quick fix. If you do a search on Meta Stack Exchange you'll find long discussions on the topic, including my views. Welcome to SE! – Lightness Races with Monica – 2018-09-04T10:15:32.923