Topic: I want to know if this is possible (dual monitor questions.)

[Galactic Druid]

So I was playing around with my PC stuff today, and I made the discovery that I can use an HDMI cable to plug my TV into the computer, which is right next to my monitor. All I need to do is pivot my chair 30 degrees and I'll be on the TV.

I know nothing about playing around with Dual displays. I've figured out extension just had my TV output a blank version of my desktop (just the wallpaper), and clone just has the same thing going on both screens.

So here's what i'd really like to do; is there a way to run things so that on my TV I'm playing one of my PC games with a gamepad or playing a movie I downloaded, while on my monitor I have a website or something else going? It would be awesome to be able to check a map for a game without alt+tab, or have a movie I downloaded going on the side while I work on posts.

[jouzinka]

What system are you running?

[Galactic Druid]

Windows 7 (I don't know if this matters, but windows 7-64 bit)

Also Hi Jouzi!!

[jouzinka]

Hi.

If you right-click on the desktop and select "Screen Resolution" (or some such, I'm running Win 7 in Czech), you will be offered a window. Then there's an item called "Multiple Displays." If you click it, it will go with a roll-down menu, where one of the items will be "Extend these displays." Click it and hit Apply. This will make your plain desktop appear on the second display. Drag and drop on it the window that you want to run there.

P.S. Maybe this article could help: http://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-7/how-to-setup-dual-monitors-in-windows-7/

[Galactic Druid]

Holy crap!!! You just gave me the foundation I needed to discover steam's new service, Big Picture, allows you to select which monitor to display on!

It works!!! WHOOOOOO!!!!

[Galactic Druid]

okay, that wasn't supposed to embed, but of well.

Small hiccup, steam displays on the correct screen, but once I launch a game, the game does not. I'll check out that link you provided and see what i can learn.

[jouzinka]

Launch the game, get it somehow to not go full screen, but a normal window. Drag the window to the desired display and then go to full screen. The next time the game should launch on the "right" display.

[Galactic Druid]

Ohhh, handy. What should I do for the occasional game that doesn't have a windowed mode?

[jouzinka]

If they are for PC, they should have a window option somewhere. If they don't, I honestly don't know how to handle that.

[Galactic Druid]

It is very very rare. Take RAGE for example. The only option it had at launch was Vsync, and that didn't work right.

Of course, RAGE was a very, very poorly ported game, ironic that Id made it.

[jouzinka]

* jouzinka will return to this thread when its language switches back to English from Swahili. Please leave a message.

I'm sorry, I don't know anything about games. I only ever played Transport Tycoon Deluxe, back then when rocks were soft.

[Galactic Druid]

Oh, sorry, in english, what I basically said what ever once in a while a game comes along that was so poorly built it doesn't have basic options. The one I was whining about was made by a company that basically invented an entire genre of games that is very popular on PC.

[jouzinka]

True. Sometimes there just are things that are so lousily built, yet they gain so much popularity... take Windows themselves, for example.

[Lady Quixote]

So I'm not sure if you've been able to resolve this or not but there are two things you can try.

1) set your TV to be your primary display (should be in the screen resolution properties), since games usually are coded to launch on the primary display it should cause your games to launch now on your TV.

2) you can window many things with ALT + Enter I believe, this should drag it out of full screen mode and into a windowed mode. 

Hope it works.

Matt