Dual monitor problem.

[JohnG]

I'm trying to find a way to run a video projector from my laptop in such
a way that I can preview slides on the laptop while projecting the main
slide program to an audience. I've tried all the options that laptop
video cards offer, but come back to the basic problem which is that the
laptop screen is always the master screen. This seems to be the only
option on a laptop, and of course, prevents me from previewing as I want
to do.

My question. Is there a piece of software out there, preferably
freeware, that gets around this basic problem?

 

[Marek]

I'm trying to find a way to run a video projector from my laptop in such
a way that I can preview slides on the laptop while projecting the main
slide program to an audience. I've tried all the options that laptop
video cards offer, but come back to the basic problem which is that the
laptop screen is always the master screen. This seems to be the only
option on a laptop, and of course, prevents me from previewing as I want
to do.

My question. Is there a piece of software out there, preferably
freeware, that gets around this basic problem?

Can this problem be solved with software?
Anyone?

Marek

 

[Paul]

I'm trying to find a way to run a video projector from my laptop in such
a way that I can preview slides on the laptop while projecting the main
slide program to an audience. I've tried all the options that laptop
video cards offer, but come back to the basic problem which is that the
laptop screen is always the master screen. This seems to be the only
option on a laptop, and of course, prevents me from previewing as I want
to do.

My question. Is there a piece of software out there, preferably
freeware, that gets around this basic problem?

The video driver and Windows, have some degree of simple control to start
with. That would be things like "mirror", where one monitor is copied to the
other. Or "span", where two monitors are part of the same desktop, and the
Start menu item would be on one monitor, and the clock would be on the right
of the other monitor.

In the custom control panel, you should be able to swap "monitor 1" and
"monitor 2", which may be enough to do the job right away. And then,
you don't have any more reading to do

At one time, all three video chip makers had "desktop management" solutions.
They would do things, like always have a program pop up in a particular monitor
or the like. The installation of that software, was always an option (it wasn't
turned on by default, to avoid scaring people). It either involved a separate download.
Or I think in one case, if you had the custom control panel open, there was an
"install" option to get the desktop management in place.

I don't know whether those features are still supported.

Example - ATI Hydravision.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/video/mmga4/hydra3.htm

Example - Nvidia Nview

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nview_display_us.html

*******

In any case, if those ideas fail to pan out, and pressing the F5 key over and
over again, doesn't uncover something useful, you can head here and see what the
feature set of this product is. If you use the second link here, you can find
an item at the end of the article, that will take you to a feature set
comparison.

http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramon

HTH,
Paul

 

[JohnG]

The video driver and Windows, have some degree of simple control to start
with. That would be things like "mirror", where one monitor is copied to
the
other. Or "span", where two monitors are part of the same desktop, and the
Start menu item would be on one monitor, and the clock would be on the
right
of the other monitor.

In the custom control panel, you should be able to swap "monitor 1" and
"monitor 2", which may be enough to do the job right away. And then,
you don't have any more reading to do

I tried all the video output options on the laptop (Window 7), span
monitors giving me the best degree of screen control, but all efforts to
shift the main screen to '2' which probably would have worked for me
ended in failure. I then read somewhere that the laptop screen, unlike a
desktop computer, is always screen 1 whatever you do, which confirms
what I found.

At one time, all three video chip makers had "desktop management"
solutions.
They would do things, like always have a program pop up in a particular
monitor
or the like. The installation of that software, was always an option (it
wasn't
turned on by default, to avoid scaring people). It either involved a
separate download.
Or I think in one case, if you had the custom control panel open, there
was an
"install" option to get the desktop management in place.

I don't know whether those features are still supported.

Example - ATI Hydravision.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/video/mmga4/hydra3.htm

Example - Nvidia Nview

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nview_display_us.html

*******

In any case, if those ideas fail to pan out, and pressing the F5 key
over and
over again, doesn't uncover something useful, you can head here and see
what the
feature set of this product is. If you use the second link here, you can
find
an item at the end of the article, that will take you to a feature set
comparison.

http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramon

I will have a have a look at the software options mentioned over the
next few days - they look quite promising. Thank you for your advice, I
will let you know how it goes.

 

[JohnG]

Maybe I'm missing something in the original post. When I use a laptop
to present I use Powerpoint and set up the Presenter view under the set
up show tab. This allows my slide to be displayed through the projector
and allows me to see my notes, current slide, and upcoming slide on my
laptop screen. Is this what you are trying to do?

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to do. Thanks to your description
I can now make Open Office Impress do the same thing. Many thanks.