When your laptop is running on battery, the screen will dim when the computer is idle in order to save power. GNOME Documentation Project gnome-doc-list@gnome.org Why does my screen go dim after a while?

When your laptop computer is running on battery, the screen will dim when the computer is idle in order to save power.

You can adjust the dimming brightness, disable it, or change the amount of time before dimming by following these steps:

Click AltF2

Type gconf-editor. The Gnome Configuration Editor window opens.

In the left panel click /appsgnome-power-managerbacklight.

In the right panel, you can now adjust the brightness_dim_batter, idle_brightness, and idle_dim_time by clicking twice (not double-clicking) on the associated Value. This will allow you to change the value in the field.

You can also choose to disable this feature by unchecking the box next to enable.

 GNOME Documentation Project

Explain that screen dimming is a power saving feature, normally when disconnected from AC power. Link to power-dim to explain how to control this behaviour.