Be More Productive! 7 Cool Tips & Tricks for Dual Monitor Set Up- Gechic

Be More Productive! Dual Monitor Set Up & Tips for Office Paperwork Application!

2019/02/27 ｜By G Editor

You may have such experiences: write a paper or compile a report, while cross-checking information on the Internet; replying the message from your friends while watching YouTube videos. Windows OS allow you to do multi tasks at the same time. As a result, switching multiple windows frequently do make you dizzy. Therefore, you need to learn Dual Monitor Set Up and tips of dual monitor application to save your productivity.

Here we use simple words to explain what the function of dual monitors is and guide you step by step to know how!

Those Hidden Troubles in Work Can Be Solved by Dual Screens.

Just like lighting a fire, drilling wood for fire certainly can help you achieve the goal, but the efficiency is not comparable to a gas spray gun. For work, it’s the same. Bury yourself in work, stay up late and work overtime, and you can surely finish the work as well, but the efficiency is non-comparable to someone who uses dual monitors.

7 Tips of Office Application on Dual Monitor

1. Opening Multiple Windows at the Same Time Makes "Data Comparison" as Natural as Breathing

When you need to read datasheets and type on another document, you often print out the files for referencing and keep looking up and down between the papers and the screen. However, with an external screen, you can open two windows at the same time, which makes working effortless.

2. Maximize Effect of Ctrl+C and Ctrl V

Easy tips that are known by almost everyone: copy, paste and attach file. When you have only one single screen, you need to constantly switch between windows. Using dual monitors allows you to copy the left screen and paste on the right screen. Drag the files from one screen to the outlook on another makes a simple thing simpler.

3. Comply with the Features of the File, Read the Document Upright!

About 70% to 80% of the web pages and files opened every day are straight-through design. The news websites, accounting statements, PDFs, etc. are all presented in the portray layout.
Type on a horizontal laptop screen and examine data on an external vertical monitor to fully utilize each inch of display.

4. Help Proofreading Work, No Errors Missed!

Doing Proofreading requires one to be very attentive to details. By using two monitors, you can open different drafts and versions of a document, and verbatim check the words. With Microsoft Word’s “Track Change” function, proofreading work can be done electronically.

5. Composing an essay while cross-checking information

Copywriters, editors or students who need to write papers often need to write an essay while searching materials to get inspiration. When you are deeply trapped in typing your own work, using dual monitors can avoid to switching between windows which may interrupt the flow of thought in your writing.

6. Set up a Mobile Meeting Room without a Projector

Frequent business trips and meetings with customers are Sales’ daily routines. Even if all of meeting rooms are occupied, or you forget to print out meeting agenda in hard copy, you can simply start business briefing to your customers by taking out a portable second monitor to duplicate your laptop’s screen.

7. Full Screen Preview on Dual Monitors, Film Editing Becomes Easier!

With the need to deal with a large amount of scattered video fragments, the dual screen is very useful for video editing. You can open the folder and view video thumbnails on one screen to quickly find the wanted file and pull into the editing software. For example, if you use Adobe Premiere, you can drag “Timeline” and “Preview Windows” to the external monitor and keep “Toolbar” on your laptop. In this way, there is enough space for those tools and the icons are no longer crowded together.

Dual Monitor Set Up : A Step by Step Guide for Beginners

What is the connection between external monitor and PC?
PC peripherals can be roughly divided into two categories: Output and Input

Output Device

Input Device

The devices receive data from computer and transform into a form that humans can understand.

The devices receive data from human and transform into a form that computer can read

EX: Monitor, Speakers, Printer

EX: Keyboard, Mouse, Card Reader

After an external screen is connected to a computer, its resolution and numbers of colored horizontal or vertical lines in the display are the results after the calculation by CPU’s, the heart of computer and GPU.
Laptop or desktop graphics card mostly supports one of the video formats below: HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort.
Three most common used video connectors on laptops-HDMI-A, micro-HDMI and USB-C are shown below.

General Laptops

Equipped with HDMI-A, a full-size HDMI port

Ultra-Slim Laptop

Equipped with micro-HDMI, a smaller HDMI port for video output

Ultra-Slim Laptops / MacBooks<

Equipped with USB-C, the leading video interface of DisplayPort Alt.

Three Steps to Connect to an External Monitor

Like using all other electronic products - boot up firstly!To add an external monitor, you just need to connect to a USB cable for power and a HDMI cable for video signals. That’s it!
Here are the connection examples of three video interfaces.

Video of Dual Monitor Set Up

The video shows the installation of 1306H portable monitor with HDMI output Laptop. 1306H supports USB-C d for MacBook connection as well.

More Tips of Dual Monitor Set Up

The Dual Monitor set up in OS is quite simple based on your demand. We will show you some easy tips for dual monitor set up step by step!

Dual Monitor Set Up - Display Setting in Windows 10

① Click right button of mouse at desktop and then select “Display Settings”

② After connecting to an external monitor, there are two squares numbered 1 & 2 for dragging to the relative position.

③ Adjust resolutions for No.1 and No.2 monitors. When you choose Extended Mode, you can select the two monitors’ highest resolution separately (ex: select 1920X1080 res. for 1305H monitor.) If you use Mirror Mode, the lower resolution will be taken.
Since the two monitors’ native resolutions are different, the monitor with higher res. will be forced to show lower res. and cannot be shown in full screen.

④ To change the orientation of the 1305H monitor, switch from default “Landscape” to “Portrait (flipped).”

⑤ “Multiple displays” can decide how to display two monitors. When selecting “extend these displays,” the two monitors will have separate desktops, and you can open windows on each of them. When selecting “duplicate these displays,” the two monitors will show the same images.

Dual Monitor Set Up - Display Setting in Mac OS

①Click on Apple, select "System Preferences" → click on "Displays"

▉ Extended mode

① After the MacBook is connected to the second monitor, the default screen is the extended desktop. After clicking "Arrangement", you can drag the two screen icons to arrange the relative position.

② Drag the white menu bar at the top of the original screen and drag it to another screen to set the external monitor as the "primary display".

▉ Mirror mode (synchronous mode)

① Click and check "Mirror Displays" checkbox and the screen is synchronized.

▉ Vertical mode

① Select "270°" or "90°" for "Rotation" to put the On-Lap monitor upright. (Place the monitor in the direction not pressing the OSD buttons and cables.)

Commonly Used Shortcut Keys for Dual Monitors

Once you use two monitors, you will open a lot of windows and applications at once. The following common shortcuts help us use dual monitors more easily!

Windows 10 Shortcut Keys for Dual Monitor

① Win+P Switch to “Duplicate,” “Extend” mode.

「Extend」mode

「Duplicate」mode

② Alt+Tab Rapidly switch to different windows

Mac OS Shortcut Keys for Dual Monitor

① command ⌘ + tab：Rapidly switch to different opened applications.

② command ⌘ +W：Close a web page

③ command ⌘ +Q：Close an application

After reading this article, even if we don’t have engineering background, we can quickly get the hang of using dual monitors. Paperwork, editing and others can be
done more conveniently and efficiently!

To learn more about high-efficiency work tips of dual monitor, please read the following article.