If you run a CSM or platform like WordPress, you can utilize plugins to create automatic and custom mobile versions of your website. You still need to test those resolutions to make sure that the sites display correctly on the devices.

Most webmasters do not own all of the devices that they need to support. The only available option to test screen resolutions and mobile compatibility is to use emulation.

Screenfly is an online service that can display a given website in predefined resolutions. Webmasters are asked to enter a web address into the form on the homepage.

This website is then displayed in one of the available resolutions. Semi-transparent buttons on the left side are provided to switch the resolution or device group. Available for selection are desktop, tablet, mobile and television devices, each with several subdevice listings.

The desktop group ranges from 10″ netbook resolutions of 1024×600 all the way up to 1920×1200, the native resolution of a 24″ monitor.

Tablet support is available for Apple’s iPad and four Android tablets including the Samsung Galaxy and the Motorola Xoom.

The mobile device category includes two Android smartphones, the Apple iPhone 3 and 4, the Asus Galaxy 7 Windows 7 phone, the Blackberry 8300 and two Motorola RAZR phones.

Television finally displays the website in a 480p, 720p and 1080p screen resolution on screen.

Switching to another device or resolution is a fluent process that happens without a reload of the page.

One interesting feature of Screenfly is the ability to detect mobile versions of a website. The service will automatically use the mobile version of a site if available and supported by the emulated device. This detection can be used to test a site’s mobile version thoroughly.

The one thing that is missing is an option to test a custom screen resolution. Webmasters who want that feature can try Simures, which supports custom screen resolutions.

Screenfly is a handy online service for webmasters to test their website’s display on different screen resolutions and mobile devices. (via)

The application is currently offered as a beta for windows Vista and windows 7. It works by capturing screen resolutions which are then added to a list of selectable configurations.

This means that the program needs to be running to capture all the different screen resolutions that are used on the computer.

The user can then switch to any of the configured resolutions with two mouse clicks from within the application’s interface.

save screen resolutions

ScreenEstate uses a minimalistic interface that consists of three buttons. The capture button will save the current screen resolution in the program. It is possible to rename to make identification easier.

The Apply button will change the current screen resolution of the computer to the selected one. Delete finally removes one of the configurations from the program.

It would have been nice if the developer would have integrated keyboard shortcuts in the program to make the selection and capturing of screen resolutions smoother.

The program can be downloaded directly from the developer’s homepage. No additional compatibility information were provided.

Enter Hotkey Resolution Changer. It is a small portable AutoIt software that can be used to configure keyboard shortcuts for monitor resolutions.

The program places an icon into the system tray upon launch. A click on the icon displays the program interface that is used to configure the different screen resolutions and their assigned hotkeys.

A total of nine different monitor resolutions and hotkeys can be configured in the program. Supported are resolutions of 800×600 and above with maximum frequencies of 100 Hertz. Users who need lower resolutions or more Hertz can edit the source code of the program and compile it to have those values at their disposal. The color depth can also be defined for each configuration individually.

The software will automatically retrieve the supported resolutions from the operating system. Pressing a hotkey on the desktop will automatically switch to that resolution.

It has to be noted that the application does not support multi-monitor settings at this time. Hotkey Resolution Changer is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. It can be downloaded directly from the developer’s website. The program source code is available there as well.

Update: The latest program version supports resolutions of 640×480 and larger, and frequencies up to 120 Hertz. Several new versions of Hotkey Resolution Changer have been released in the meantime, which mostly consisted of bug fixes. No new program functionality has been added.

Winsplit Revolution is a split monitor application that can split the computer monitor exactly like the user wants it. It comes with a few default layouts like splitting the computer monitor in half either horizontally or vertically or dividing it into quarters. A nice feature of the program is that it is flexible enough to accept user defined schemes so that the computer monitor can be split exactly like the user wants it.

Each scheme can contain various layouts. The default left and right theme for instance contains layouts to assign 50%, 33.3% or 66.6% of the computer monitor screen to a window that is moved in the area.

The software program is hotkey driven and supports drag and drop as an alternative way of moving windows in the right spot. Hotkeys usually consist of CTRL ALT and the numpad. Pressing the same hotkey a second time alternates between the defined layout schemes. Additional hotkeys are available for various operations like maximizing or minimizing windows.

Windows Fusion is another interesting feature. It can be used to move two windows into an exact position on the monitor screen.

Winsplit can be installed regularly or as a portable application. It is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista and requires roughly 8 Megabytes of computer memory while running.

Res-o-matic [via Download Squad] comes to the rescue. The application creates program shortcuts that force the desktop to a specific screen resolution, refresh rate and color depth. The minimum screen resolution available is 640×480 while the maximum probably depends on your monitor, mine was set to 1280×1024. Colors Depth can be set to 8,16 or 32 bit and the refresh rate again depends on the monitor and can be completely ignored if you have  a LCD monitor.

A shortcut will be created in the end which – when pressed – will change the display resolution accordingly and launch the application afterwards. Exiting the application changes the display resolution back to the original one.

Res-o-matic is a tiny 9 Kilobyte tool that comes in very handy, it’s probably the easiest way to change the screen resolution automatically at every application start.