Modified:
Sep 26, 2020
Created:
Oct 7, 2006
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40765
Author:
JH

Dual monitors and projector screens

Two screens ( Dual ) or more may be attached to your computer at the same time.  Some computers have this capability however there is a difference between a computer with "single head" video card and one with a "dual head" video card.

  1. A single head video card just sends the same image out of both connectors. This is often called "mirroring" in that you see exactly the same image on both screens at the same time.

  2. With a dual head video card, the computer can send different images out of each connector effectively doubling the size of your working desktop. When setup this way, you will only see the Windows Task bar (on Windows PCs) or the Main Menu Bar (on Macs) on the main screen but not the second one. Note: On Windows computers this is often referred to as Extended Desktop and this mode may need to be selected in your Display Properties (right-click on the Desktop) before you can use it.

Dual Monitors

ProSelect supports dual monitors (on computer's with dual head video cards) in two different ways.

(Since most photographers will have the computer's main screen plugged into one connector and a projector screen on the other, for this explanation we will assume that this is the case.)

1. Moving the ProSelect Window to the Projector/TV Screen

If ProSelect opens on your main screen, "un-maximize" it (on Windows) and drag it's main window to somewhere onto your projector/TV screen (it is the top left corner of the window that determines which screen it is on) then click the "maximize" button on Windows computers or the "green" button on the top-left of your Mac window to fill that screen.

While you have the projector/TV connected to your computer, ProSelect will remember this position each time it is run.

The Slideshow will also play on this screen.

The first time you open the Place Order window it will open on the same screen as ProSelect's main window. However, you can drag it to the other screen and it will remember this position during subsequent openings.

Caution: If you leave your projector/TV connected to the computer but switched off and then start ProSelect, it will still re-open with its main window on the projector screen but you won't see it if not turned on and you may think that it has not opened.

2. Using Mirror Display Area 

If you have a dual head video card installed, ProSelect includes an option to "Mirror the Display Area". This allows you to just show the central images portion of ProSelect's screen on your projector (or a second monitor). Using this feature, your clients will not see the menu bar, image list or toolbar or any of the other dialog windows (such as the Place Order window) that you may open during the presentation session.

In this case, keep ProSelect's main window located on your "operator" screen and select Mirror Display Area from the View Menu or the icon in the Working with Bar If this menu option is "greyed out" then your computer does not have a dual head video card or the video card has not been set up for dual displays. If the latter, then you will need to consult your video card instruction for how to do this.

3. Thumbnail View in Mirror Display Area Mode

In order to keep the same clarity and thumbnail image positions on both screens, ProSelect always copies the contents of the Display Area from the main screen to the mirror screen pixel-by-pixel when in Thumbnail View. If one screen is larger than the other (in pixels), to allow the same area to be displayed the same on both machines, ProSelect will reduce the area used in Thumbnail View on the main screen to be the smaller of your two screens. 

Therefore, for optimum use of screen space in Thumbnail view screen, it is recommended that you adjust the scaling of your screens to be close to the same size in pixels both screens with the main screen a little larger than the second screen. You can do this as follows:

On Macs: System Preferences -> Display -> Display Tab -> Check the Scaled option and select a size.

On Windows: Display Settings (Right-click on the Desktop) -> Display -> Display Resolution. (You can also adjust the Scaling on some machines/screens)

More Information

For more information regarding setting up your computer to use ProSelect's Mirror the Display Area, please refer to the ProSelect Reference Manual section "Using Two Screens". 

Mac Users

All MacBook Pro laptops, the Intel iMac and G5 desktop machines support dual screens. Some lower-end models but this is changing all of the time so best check the specification on Apple's website for the current models.

If your Mac does support dual screens then make sure that you do NOT have "Mirror Displays" checked in your Display Preferences (at the bottom of the "Arrangement" tab).  Note: These are the computer's "System Preferences" (under Display) and NOT ProSelect's Preferences.

If you have the little monitor icon in the righthand side of your menu bar then an alternative way to do this is to make sure "Turn on Mirroring" is un-checked.

NOTE:  As of Mac Mountain Lion,  you need to have the second monitor plugged in before it shows the "Arrangement" Tab which contains the "Mirror Displays" checkbox (under System Preferences --> Displays). You need to have box this unchecked, so separate desktop windows are shown.

When running dual screens on the Mac, you need to have the menu bar located on your computer screen NOT on the projector screen since the screen with the menu bar is the "operator screen". If you find that the menu bar is on the wrong screen, then do this:

  1. Close ProSelect
  2. Open your Display Preferences (in your System Preferences) and select the "Arrangement" tab. You should see both screens as boxes alongside each other.
  3. Identify which box is your computer screen. If you are not sure which is which then click on one of the boxes. Under Tiger, a red border will appear in the box AND on the screen it represents.
  4. On one of the boxes, you will see the menu bar represented as a bar at the top of the box. If this is not on your computer screen, then click on it and drag it over to the other box.  


Note:You can also rearrange the position of the boxes by dragging them. If your projector screen is physically to the left of your computer screen, then drag the box representing the projector screen to the same side. This will make moving the mouse between screens more logical.

  1. Close the Display Preferences.
  2. Open ProSelect and select "Mirror Display Area" (under the view menu).

Windows 8 and 10 Issues

On Windows 8 or 10, Microsoft introduced support for HiDPI screen and added some "intelligence" for position windows on attached second screens. Unfortunately, this broke the standard screen positioning system used by ProSelect when you use a text scaling of other than 100%.

Fixed in ProSelect 2019r1 and newer

These versions of ProSelect have been updated to use a new screen positioning system that is compatible with these changes so best to make sure that you are using these updated releases. If you are using earlier versions of ProSelect you will find solutions in these articles: ProSelect on Windows 8 and ProSelect on Windows 10.

High Resolution Projectors

If you are using a high resolution projector, then please read this article on "Big screen images are small using Mirror Display Area".

More than two screens on your computer?

If you have more than two screens connected to your computer, then you need to tell ProSelect which of the other two to use as the second display screen.  This is controlled in the Preferences -> Display -> Calibration & Options -> Display Mirroring -> Use Third screen. Checking this option will swap the Mirror Display Area screen to one of the other screens other than the one on which you have located ProSelect's main window.


KnowledgeBase Article: Dual monitors and projector screens