Byte by Bite

Multiple monitors make multitasking easy

by Marv Dealy

If this is hard to imagine, picture being able to slide things from one screen to another at will, enabling you to see (for example) a web browser on one screen, a word processing program on another screen, and a live NASA feed on the third in a media player.

To do that with one screen you’d be constantly clicking down in the tool bar (or, for Mac users, up in the tool bar) to make first one program then the other fill your screen.

Of course, you could make the display window for each of the three programs very small so that you could see them all at the same time on one screen, but trust me, that’s not going to be a very easy way to work.

It’s relatively simple to hook up a second or third monitor to an XP machine; look for the extra monitor plug in on the back of the computer. Some come with ‘em, some don’t. If you don’t have extra jacks for extra screens, you’ll need to add a video card or two, depending on how many monitors you want to run.

Video cards can run as little as $35 (Chaintech GeForce FX 5200 128MB DDR 8x AGP Video Card w/TV -- http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=SH5200-N&cat=851) to nearly $200 (ATi Radeon 9800PRO 128MB DDR 8x AGP VCD w/TV-Out, DVI -- http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=98PRAD128D&cat=851). Or, if you’re really serious about this, nearly $600 (3dlabs Wilscat VP990 Pro 512MB AGP 4x/8x -- http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=01-000080-XXX-DT&cat=855).

Of course, you’ll need the expansion slots to be able to add these video cards. If you only have one expansion slot but want to add two monitors, you’ll need a double-headed video card which should range about $50 (Octek GeForce FX 5200 256MB AGP Video Card w/TV-Out -- http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=OCT-FX5200-256MTV&cpc=SCH&srm=0). With a double-headed video card, you’ll be able to plug two monitors into one card in one expansion slot.

Once you’ve installed your new video cards, Windows XP users will want to get on over to the Display control panel. Access it easily by right clicking your mouse on your desktop anywhere it’s empty, and select Properties. When Display Properties pops up, select the right top tab, Settings.

You should see a representation of your one, two or three monitors. You’ll be able to select a resolution and color quality setting for each after first clicking on the monitor you want to affect. To get the second or third monitor to work, you’ll click on the graphic representation of first one, then the other, and check the box labeled “Extend my Windows desktop to this monitor.”

The screens should go dark for a second, then all should light up and work as you’d expect. Now, depending on how your computer treats the video card(s) you’ve added, the monitors might not work in the order you’d like. For example, you might want your “main” monitor (where the tool bar shows) to be in the center, with your extra two monitors one on each side. Of course, you’d want to be able to easily slide stuff from the center monitor to the left or to the right. You may need to reposition your monitors in the graphical window of Display Properties. Just follow the instructions which read “Drag the monitor icons to match the physical arrangement of your monitors.”

If you can’t figure out which monitor the computer is calling number one, two or three, click on the button that says “Identify” and large numbers will appear briefly on the screens to help you identify which is which. Then, drag the monitor icons to the appropriate position to allow you to drag stuff wherever you want.

Mac users who want to set up multiple monitors: go to System Preferences, then Displays, and a window will open in each monitor you have hooked up. Select the Resolution, Colors (go for Millions if you can) and Refresh Rate (use the default).

In your “main” monitor, you’ll see a button for “Arrangement” which lets you select which monitor will be the monitor where your tools show.

In either Macland or XPland, you’ll also be able to mirror your displays, or have the same stuff displayed on each monitor. I’m not sure why you’d want to do that, but you can.

Believe me, once you work with a computer with the multiple monitor setup, you’ll never go back. All the computers in my office have at least two monitors. When we work on web sites, for example, it is nice to have Photoshop open in one monitor, a WYSIWYG HTML editor such as GoLive (or GoDead, as some call it) in another, and a browser in the third so that you can see in real time what your web page development will really look like.

Or, when we’re doing support work for our Hewlett Packard clients, we might have a Virtual Classroom open in one screen, a private chat (IM) program in another, and a browser in a third while waiting for a tech support call.

Of course, three “regular” monitors can take up quite a bit of desk space, so you’ll perhaps want to consider adding one or two LCD monitors; they’re getting more reasonable with prices approaching $200, but that’s fodder for another day.