Configuring Your System for Multiple Monitors

If you often work with multiple programs or with large-format files (such as spreadsheets) that are difficult to see on your monitor because of their width, you might want to extend your desktop by adding one or more monitors. Or if you deliver presentations through a projector attached to your computer, you might find it convenient to configure your desktop to display on two screens so that you can work privately on your computer screen while displaying information publicly through the projector. Windows Vista makes it easy to configure up to 10 display devices attached to your computer.

To add a second monitor, you must have one of the following:

• A video card that supports multiple monitors. If you do, there will be two video ports on the back of your computer for connecting your monitors.

• More than one video card.

• A dual monitor adaptor.

After connecting your monitors and restarting your computer, you might be prompted to install additional video drivers, as directed in the instructions that came with your monitor.

When you connect your computer to a secondary display, Windows Vista detects the device and prompts you to specify how you want to display information on it:

• Mirrored. The same content appears on both displays. This is useful when you are giving a presentation and are not facing the screen (for example, when standing at a podium facing an audience) or want to have a closer view of the content you are displaying.

• Extended. Your desktop expands to cover both displays. The Windows taskbar appears only on the screen you designate as the primary display.

• External display only. Content appears only on the second display. This is useful if you are working on a mobile PC running on battery power. When connected to a second display, you can conserve battery power by turning off the mobile PC screen.

To configure your computer to display your Windows desktop across two monitors:

When working on a computer connected to two display devices, Windows appoints one the primary display and the other the secondary display. The Welcome screen and taskbar always appear on the primary display, as do most application windows when they first open. You can then drag selected windows to the secondary screen.

To ascertain which monitor or other display device is the primary display, point to either monitor representation in the Display Settings dialog box. A ScreenTip appears, displaying the monitor's role (primary or secondary) and in the case of the secondary monitor, its position in relation to the primary monitor.

To change the primary monitor:

By default, Monitor 2 appears immediately to the right of Monitor 1. When you move the cursor horizontally from screen to screen, it should leave the right edge of the left screen and enter the left edge of the right screen at vertically the same point. If your monitors are not physically the same size, are set to different screen resolutions, or are not placed level with each other, you can change the alignment of the displays so that the cursor moves cleanly between them.

To adjust the relationship of the displays to each other:

In the preview area of the Display Settings dialog box, drag Monitor 2 to the location you want it to be in relationship to Monitor 1.

As you move the monitor representation, a ScreenTip displays the position in pixels of the upper-left corner of Monitor 2 in relation to the upper-left corner of Monitor 1. Monitor 1 is always at 0,0.

Expanding Your Laptop with Peripheral Devices Laptop computers are useful when you want to be able to move around with your computerfrom room to room, from work to home, or from city to city. Although laptops can offer fast computing and large hard-disk storage and many now offer a widescreen display, you usually have to deal with a smaller monitor, a smaller keyboard, and a touchpad or joystick mouse instead of a standard mouse. It is also possible that your laptop computer came without an internal CD or DVD drive. In addition to the frustration caused by these basic differences between laptop and desktop computing, you might find that your wrists become tired because you can't rest them on the keyboard, or you accidentally tap the touchpad when you're typing and move the insertion point without realizing itwhich can result in inadvertent errors in your documents. Although carrying a full-size monitor, keyboard, and mouse when you travel with your laptop is not convenient, expanding your laptop computer with full-size peripherals is a great way to improve your computing experience whether you're in your office or at home. If you use a laptop because you need it both at home and at work, you can set up a monitor, keyboard, and mouse at each location for a relatively small sum of money. You then have the best of both worldsportable computing and a full-size setup. You connect peripheral devices to your laptop in the same manner that you would connect them to a standard desktop computer. You might find that your laptop has a limited number of ports, or that it has only a USB port and not a parallel port; inexpensive adaptors are available to help you increase the available ports as required. Some newer USB keyboards also incorporate a USB port into the keyboard, so you can plug the keyboard into the laptop and the mouse into the keyboard. If you attach a full-size monitor to your laptop, you might at first see the same display on both monitors, or the display might appear only on the laptop. To change the monitor displaying your desktop, look at the function keys at the top of the laptop's keyboardone of them (usually F5, sometimes F4) includes a graphic representation of a monitor. Hold down the Alt key, and then press the appropriate function key to switch among three options: laptop display and external display, external display only, and laptop display only. Tip If the monitor-switching key is not obvious, consult your laptop manual or the manufacturer's Web site for further information.