Microsoft has improved support for two monitors on its Windows 10 system, bringing together numerous configuration options that make virtually any external program useless. We have already seen in another article how to connect two monitors to the PC and which cables to use depending on the video card of the computer and the monitors used.
Once both screens are connected and ready to use, you can decide how to display the desktop on the dual screen using the Windows 10 Settings menu.
You can then customize the background to have it different on the two screens, you can join the application bar and you can use the activity view button to see which windows are present on each display.
1) Change the display mode
There are four display modes available in Windows 10, which can be quickly selected by pressing the Windows + P keys together.
This key combination brings up a sidebar with four options: screen only, duplicate, extend and secondary screen.
The meaning of the 4 options, quite obvious, is the following:
- PC screen only - to use only the main monitor.
- Duplicate, to show the same desktop on both monitors.
- Extend, to have a desktop extended on the two screens as if it were a single monitor.
- Second screen only, to turn off the main screen and see the desktop on the secondary monitor, used especially when connecting a laptop to a large monitor.
Most people who have more than one monitor installed on the desk will be led to select the "Extend" configuration, so as to normally use the main monitor normally, keeping a usable space on the other monitor, in which it is possible to move, using the mouse, windows to always keep them in view.
In this configuration, Windows creates an extended background that has a double resolution horizontally, but cut to the resolution of the lower one.
For example, if the main monitor has 2560x1440 resolution with a secondary 1080p screen, the new extended desktop is higher on the larger monitor side.
Ideally, two displays with the same resolution should be used to be regular and prevent cutting, otherwise the resolution of the larger screen should be lowered making it identical to the other, even if it would be a bit sacrificing.
2) The configuration of the dual screen settings.
To access the Display Settings in Windows 10 just press the right mouse button on the desktop background and then on Display Settings.
In the main screen of each monitor it is possible to press the Identify key to know which number is assigned to each screen, 1 is the primary, 2 the secondary.
From the Windows 10 1803 version, you can click the link of the advanced resizing settings to activate the option that allows Windows to solve the problem for the apps that are blurred and to define a custom resizing, different from the default values from the main menu.
The multiple screen option allows you to switch viewing modes (as described above).
Windows Night Light function adjusts the screen temperature based on the time of day, to decrease blue lights at night and is worth using.
As you can see, it is also possible to connect a wireless screen, which can be a TV with Miracast connection or with an Amazon Fire TV Stick attached.
3) Advanced settings
From the advanced settings you can manage the display order, the display profiles and other configurations that are not available in the main view.
This step is not required, but can lead to resolving any problems with connecting two monitors.
Among the options that can be managed here are:
- Color profiles
- Color calibration to start the Windows calibration wizard.
- Wizard to calibrate brightness, gamma, colors and contrast.
- ClearType text
- Advanced sizing: change the size of the title bars and more.
- Properties of the connected graphics card.
Other important settings are in the menu Settings> Taskbar, where you can make sure to hide the taskbar or see it on both screens
Two additional options can help you define only what is displayed in the taskbars: the first to configure which application icons should appear on the taskbar in the two monitors, whether all of them or not.
The second option asks you to choose whether or not Windows should show window titles next to open apps.
In the Settings> Wallpaper section, you can customize the desktop on both monitors and make sure that you see a different image or the same image on all desktops.
Keep in mind that to move a window to another monitor you can use dragging with the mouse or, more easily, using the hotkeys Windows + Pag up and Windows + Pag down
Finally, as regards the activity view button and virtual desktops, you can select the virtual desktop on each of the connected monitors by pressing the activity viewer button (the one next to the search on the taskbar).
From the activity viewer thumbnails, you can right-click on each window to choose whether it should be visible on all desktops.
READ ALSO: Tablet screen (Android or Windows) as a second PC monitor
