Independent monitor control

[John]

I'd like to write a programme that runs on a PC with two monitors. The application would be used in
a shop, with one monitor for shop assistant and the other for the customer. The two must show things
independently, so the application can display certains things on one monitor (eg goods in the store)
and certain other things on the other monitor (eg details of a certain product). Is this possible?

 

[Michael C]

I'd like to write a programme that runs on a PC with two monitors. The
application would be used in
a shop, with one monitor for shop assistant and the other for the
customer. The two must show things
independently, so the application can display certains things on one
monitor (eg goods in the store)
and certain other things on the other monitor (eg details of a certain
product). Is this possible?

Yes. Windows supports dual monitors. The only problem is the shop keeper
might lose the mouse pointer as it can go onto the other screen. Dotnet has
functions built in for dual monitors. You can either add a second video card
or use a "dual head" card.

Michael

 

[Michael Nemtsev]

Hello John" -,

It's possible. Most of videocards have 2 output - DVI and VIDEO. Everything
u need is to plug 2 monitors and set in the display property that u extend
your screen on 2 monitors.
This gives you ability to drag any window to one or another monitor. But
focus(active window) could be only one

J> I'd like to write a programme that runs on a PC with two monitors.
J> The application would be used in a shop, with one monitor for shop
J> assistant and the other for the customer. The two must show things
J> independently, so the application can display certains things on one
J> monitor (eg goods in the store) and certain other things on the other
J> monitor (eg details of a certain product). Is this possible?
J>
---
WBR,
Michael Nemtsev :: blog: http://spaces.msn.com/laflour

"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not
cease to be insipid." (c) Friedrich Nietzsche

 

[HarvSather]

Of course it is easy to run a program on two monitors.
If you run the monitors in clone mode, exactly the same information appears
on both.
This is not what you want, although it is useful for presentations, etc.

I do not know how to specify programatically that one screen should appear
on monitor one, and another on monitor two.
There must be a way to do this.

I was wondering if it would be possible to run two programs.
One which the shop keeper runs and displays on his monitor.
And a second program that could monitor activity (database activity), and
display that information on a customer monitor.
I am guessing that the customer is not going to interact with the
application.

Just some thoughts
Harvey Sather
Saskatoon

 

[Lucian Wischik]

I'd like to write a programme that runs on a PC with two monitors. The application would be used in
a shop, with one monitor for shop assistant and the other for the customer. The two must show things
independently, so the application can display certains things on one monitor (eg goods in the store)
and certain other things on the other monitor (eg details of a certain product). Is this possible?

You'll need a two-monitor PC yourself to do testing on!

Anyway, Windows makes it very easy. You plug in your two monitors, go
to DisplayProperties>Settings, click on the secondary monitor and say
"Extend my desktop onto this monitor".

Now the overally Windows desktop extends from -1024 on the x axis to
+1280 on the x axis (assuming you had a 1024x768 monitor to the left
of your primary 1280x1024 monitor).

In other words, coordinates range over the entire area of both
adjacent monitors. So Windows lets you create one window whose
dimensions make it take up one monitor, and another window whose
dimensions take up the other monitor. Just using standard
left/right/width/height properties. Also, Windows provides calls to
enumerate all the monitors on the system, and find each one's bounding
coordinates within this universal coordinate space.

PS. I've done this with straight win32 programming. So I don't know
whether the .net framework will get in the way.