I can’t stress enough how powerful of a change this can be for your productivity. Once you get two displays running off of one computer, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. The ways in which this can be used are limitless:

• Comparing documents on two different screens
• A dedicated program for each screen (for example: email always on one screen, internet browser on another, and a third “working” screen for productivity apps such as Microsoft Office or Google Apps – maybe a fourth for instant messenger chats or to watch stocks)

To take advantage of this, you’ll need a computer with 2 or more video output ports. Most mid-range to high-range desktop systems sold today already have 2 video ports (usually a VGA and an HDMI port), as do some laptops. If your desktop does not, you can purchase such a video card from your local electronics store (I recommend getting it profesionally installed unless you’re comfortable with the inner workings of a PC). If you’re laptop does not have a second video port, you can buy a USB video adapter as your secondary video output. CAUTION:  USB video adapters do not have video processors or RAM built-in, which means that they will use your laptop’s built-in processor and RAM which can effect system performance – make sure that you have plenty of RAM in your laptop and that you’re running at least a dual core system. Consequently, you may also be limited to a lower effective screen resolution for the monitor that is attached to the USB video adaptor as well. It also goes without saying that run more than 1 USB video adapter is not advised because of the drain on system resources. Another option for laptops with a single port is to use the built-in screen as 1 of the monitors. However, this can be a bit awkward in terms of monitor placement.

Assuming that you have the necessary ports and monitors, you’ll need to configure your Windows display settings for “Extended” like the picture below. Once you have configured this correctly, you should be able to drag and drop windows from one screen to another. You can also fine tune how the monitors are aligned by dragging the monitors into position in display settings. To do this, first click the identify button to make sure you know which monitor is which, then put your mouse of the monitor that you want to adjust, push and hold the left mouse key.

In the picture below, I have connected monitors 2 & 3 to my laptop, which has two built in ports. Note that monitor 1 is the actual laptop screen, which has been disabled as indicated by being greyed out (some dual port laptops will let you use the integrated screen as a third monitor, mine won’t). This means that I can drag and drop windows from display 2 to display 3 (left to right) and vice versa as needed. If I had 4 screens (like the graphic above), I could drag and drop left-right and/or up-down (in display settings, you would see two more monitors stacked on top of the 2 & 3 that you see below).

 

Tags: computer productivity, dual screen, Extended Desktop, HDMI, monitor, multiple displays, multiple monitors, USB video, VGA

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