Newbie to multiple monitors question(s)?

[EvilHorace]

Hi,
I've got my new monitor today which has a DVI connector allowing to to use the VGA connector to hook both up to my videocard (ATI Radeon 9800GT Pro 256).

Just experimenting here, never done this before.
Both work but it's strange to me. I found this websight which explains a few things
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home ... erview.asp

BUT my old monitor has no icons or systray at all. The mouse moves onto the other screen but if I open anything, (copy/paste and icon to that screen and open), it opens the screen on the new monitor instead.

Can anyone explain why this is happening and how I can fix that?

So far, the jury's out as to whether I want to keep the old monitor on my now very crowded desk.

[BillyGoat]

for ultimate control of multiple monitors try a program called ultramon, it lets you extend your desktop, plus a ton of cool features, if your not using it, you are missing out on the "true" multiple monitor experience

[EvilHorace]

Thanks,
I'll check it out.

[Pugsley]

programs by default dont care where the icons are.. they will allways start on #1. If the software has support for multiple monitoirts then it should remember where you put it.

Welecome to the first annoyance of running duals.

[EvilHorace]

OK, Now have the program Ultramon installed and perhaps I just need to spend more time looking around in there BUT one very annoying issue that I'm having when briefly trying to use both monitors is that my #2 monitor is on the right of the 1rst one. To get the curser from #1 to #2, it so far goes to the left while #2 is on the right. Is that switchable within the program so that it'll then feel right?

[FlyingPenguin]

Display Properties, Settings. Drag the monitors into any orientation with each other you want. 1 on the left, 1 on the right, 1 on top, etc.

[EvilHorace]

Cool, thanks.

I'm still having problems with the "weirdness" of the 2nd monitors desktop trying to get things to open normally on that screen but I'll admit that I havent spent alot of time trying either.

[FlyingPenguin]

One monitor is designated #1 and one is #2. Everything opens by default on #1.

You can find out which is which by going to Display Properties, Settings and click the Identify button.

You usually want #1 to be your main monitor.

[EvilHorace]

I've seen that but my problems with the second monitor screen is that it's lacking seemingly useable icons (exe files). It's pretty much empty and my attempts to add, drag, copy/paste icons from one to the other doesn't seem very useable as clicking on those then placed on #2 opens windows on #1.
I've found some things that seem OK on #2 but it's so far strange to me.

[FlyingPenguin]

Hmm... not totally sure I follow you or what you THINK it's supposed to work like.

You can drag any icon to monitor #2. It's just a continuation of your desktop. Me, personally, I don't leave any icons on monitor #2.

#1 is your main monitor. When you open an app, no matter where the icon (shortcut) is located, it will always open (depending on the app) either in the last location the window was located (some apps, however, won't open in the 2nd monitor even if that's where they were last) or will default to the 1st monitor.

For example. If you drag an IE window to monitor #2 and close it, then open another IE window (doesn't matter what shortcut you use) it will open in monitor #2 because IE always remembers it's last desktop ccordinate. Same thing for Word, Excel, Firefox, Winzip, Palm Desktop (I keep my Palm desktop on monitor #2), Explorer and Outlook. If you have Windows configured to open a new Explorer window each time instead of re-using the same one (my preference) then Windows will (usually) remember the location of each Window. So, for instance, I like to have my Documents folder on my #2 monitor. Once I dragged it there the first time, it usually opens there again (except that WinXP gets alzheimers and forgets sometimes).

3D games ALWAYS run on the #1 monitor (although you should disable the #2 monitor when playing games since it does impose a slight performance hit - Ultramon is handy for this since you can configure it to toggle monitor #2 on and off just by clicking the taskbar icon).

Symantec ACT!, Quickbooks 6, and Helios Software's Textpad (I use this instead of Notepad) are a few apps I can think off off hand that I know from experience that are not multimonitor aware and always open on monitor #1, even if you dragged them to monitor #2 last time you opened them. Many older apps are like that. All Windows apps usually remember where you put them on your desktop, but some apps don't "see" past the first monitor.

Most Windows alert, message and notification pop up dialogs will appear centered in monitor #1. A few will pop up smack dab in the middle of both monitors (the splash screen for Google's Keyhole mapping application does that).

This can be disconcerting sometimes. For instance, even if Word is located in your #2 monitor, if you click on the Open File icon in Word, the Open File dialog window pops up in the #1 monitor NOT in the #2 monitor. You get used to it though.

I strongly recommend you use Ultramon because it makes it much easier to manage your windows in multimonitor mode. It will add additional icons to the upper right corner of all your windows (next to the minimize, maximize, and close icons) that let you move the window to the other monitor with a single click, or maximize the window to fill both monitors (only handy use for this I've ever found is for Excel spread sheets).

Ultramon also allows you to have one continuous wide wallpaper on both monitors, or different wallpapers on each monitor (without Ultramon, Windows forces you to have the same wallpaper repeated on each monitor). Ultramon also gives you more control of screen savers (which I never use, so I don't know how it works) and lets you save your icon positions and automatically restores them when they get moved when you resize the desktop (very handy - I find it terribly annoying when my icons move around).

Trust me, once you start using dual monitors for a while, you'll never go back to one. ESPECIALLY if you're a power user that likes to have a lot of Windows open at one time.

For example, when I do my accounts receivables I have Quickbooks open on the left monitor and Symantec ACT! open on the right. ACT! is a contact manager, and I use it to make notes on what I did on a service call for each client. I have a service history for each client in there that's easy to look up. So I'm in the habit of when I do my invoicing, I type the description of the work I did in the invoice in Quickbooks on the left. Then I copy and past the decription out of Quickbooks and into the client's service history in ACT!. I then usually add a few, more technical notes to myself that I wouldn't put in the invoice. I used to alt-tab between Quickbooks and ACT!, but now it's nice to have them both open and visible at the same time, and I like them to be fullscreen so each one filles each monitor.

I was organizing my taxes yesterday and I had all kinds of windows open all over both monitors - textpad, Word, calculator, Paper Port, Quickbooks. Just nice to have all the real estate so you can see seeveral windows at once when copying or comparing information.

[d_b]

I dont know if FP covered this because I'm to lazy to read. You can right click a program on monitor 2, select properties, ultramon window tab and choose which monitor the program will open on. This wont work for all prgrams though.

[FlyingPenguin]

Not aware of that one. That a new feature? I'm using v2.3 here.

[EvilHorace]

I think that you've answered my Q's and given me enough info here to start playing around a bit more now, thanks again.
I have also noticed the extra windows settings that Ultramon added (upper r corner) so I'll play with those a bit more too.

[d_b]

OOPs double post.

[d_b]

FP, I have 2.5 but i thought it was on the later versions. Like I said, it won't work work with all programs. MY computer is one it won't work with. You can ste it to open minimized, normal, maximized, maximized to desktop and last used posisition. Or open on the primary monitor, secondary or monitor with the mouse. Also alows youi to set the positon on the screen and user defined height and width.