Dual Monitors

[miamibear]

Hello,

I recently bought a Gateway computer that supports two monitors. Currently I'm only using one, but from what I've read you can set up Photoshop to show your palettes on one monitor and artwork on the other monitor?

Is this pretty much a plug-n-play thing or does it require a lot of tinkering in Windows (XP) to get it to work?

Also, if I'm using other programs that only use one monitor do I even have to turn on the second monitor?

Last question... some monitors flip from portrait to landscape view. Would one of these work as the second monitor?

Thanks
Bob

[PamSav]

Hi Bob - it's really easy to set up two monitors for Windows, just go to Control Panel, Display, on the Settings tab you will see a graphic displaying two monitors just click the second monitor and then check the box that says "Extend my desktop onto this display" (or something like that anyway ).

I always work with both monitors switched on but if you are only working on your primary monitor you don't have to have both switched on.

Can't help with the landscape/portrait thing, sorry.

[chris h]

Agreed on all the above. If you have a graphics card with an Nvidea chipset you can download Nview which has a few more facilities. I have 2 Mitsu monitors set up as one desktop which having used for 4 years I'd never go back to struggling with one. You'll find that two monitors have many benefits not just for floating PS palettes onto a seperate screen.

[LonK]

Bob, to address your last question. I've been using a dual setup for years. It's absolutely great. I recently replaced one monitor with a new Dell 19" LCD. As you can see, I use this in a portrait configuration at 1024 X 1280. My secondary is a 17" CRT, landscape at 1024 X 768. Sweet! The hardest part about the setup is calibration and getting a good match. Like the proverb, "A man with two watches never really knows what time it is." Even with a very slight difference, it's hard to say which, if either, is correct.

[Craig Walters]

i've never used a dual setup, so i'm not speaking from experience here at all. so, take this with a grain of salt. i have seen software disclaimers that mention that it will NOT work on a dual monitor and that a dual setup can even cause bugs/crashes in this other software. but that's mostly in high end games.

on the other hand, some software encourages dual setups, including high end games (and like you've seen, photoshop). so, it would seem to just depend on the software.

craig

[Swampy]

I've had an idea for years for those of us who don't have desk space for an additional monitor. I'd love to have someplace to put the palettes... I wish someone would come up with a 6 x 17 (screen area) clip on monitor that would attach either vertically or horizontally to my 20 inch studio display. I keep hoping someone will do it...sigh

I've even got a name for it... iPallete :-)

[miamibear]

Thank you,

Thanks to everyone for answering.

Bob

[Bob2006]

Go for it!!! A second monitor is cheap especially if you buy a CRT rather than an LCD. It will work with most programs, although I've not tried it with games. It is especailly useful in graphics editing where you can put your tools and pallettes on one monitor and your images on the other. I set the two monitors to diffrent resolutions so as to have more space on one yet larger letters on the other. I use it to run two applications atthe same time, one on one monitor and the other on the second. I use it with Word to view two different documents to compare or copy frrom one to the other.

Once you try it you'll never go back.

Bob

[Robt]

Bob2k6 is really right! The only problems I've ran into are:

Maximize, on some program screens, will try to split across both monitors. So adjust the view size to suit you, don't maximise.

I run my main monitor at 1600x1200, its optimum resolution, and the secondary monitor at 1200x900 [this is the one I use for the palettes]. I find that the 1600x1200 is a real pain when I read because the print is too small for my aging eyes.

As for calibration, only my main is calibrated; the other is simply adjusted to not be glaringly different.

I also took an old slow computer and monitor and added it to my desk making a third monitor. I did this so I could load a tutorial on the 3rd screen and work it [the tut] in PS on the dual screen main system. Really helps and I don't care that its an older than dirt computer system.

[ifixpix]

I, also, encourage you to go with 2 monitors.
You can place all your palettes on one monitor and use the other solely for the image.
This is especially useful in programs like InDesign, which usually have even more palettes in use at once than photoshop.
Using 2 - 17" or a 17" and a 19" monitor gives you more screen size at a lower price than going with a 21" monitor. Costs seem to skyrocket on monitors above 19" or so.