Be More Productive! Cool Tips and Tricks for Dual Monitors!
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 binge watching. As a result, it is impossible for you to watch a movie in a full screen, and switching to multiple windows do make you dizzy. Likewise, for software engineers, programming a software while previewing the results always makes them feel woozy.
Hence, the application of dual monitors came along. ?
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.
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 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.
How to Setup Dual Monitors:
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
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.
Here we use the most common “HDMI Input Laptop” as an example to connect to On-Lap 1305H portable monitor.
*Although the size of the two HDMI connectors are different, both of them transmit standard HDMI video signal and carry audio format.
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 is the detailed instruction for hooking up On-Lap 1305H 13.3 Inch portable monitor with your laptop:
Step 1
Set up the stand attached at the back of the monitor.
Step 2
Insert USB plug and HDMI plug at the end of the cable to the laptop.
Step 3
Insert the other end of the cable to the 1305H monitor.
Done!
*1305H proprietary 2 in 1 cable integrates both USB power and HDMI video signal. Hence, you only need to plug ONE cable to the monitor.
Get a Few Tricks up to Your Sleeves
Some of the easy tips for using under dual-monitor environment are here to share with you step by step!
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.
Mac OS Mojave(version 10.14.1)
① Click and select “System Preference.”
② Click “Displays”
③ After connecting to an external monitor to MacBook, the default settings will extend the displays. Click “Arrangement” to drag the external monitor to the relative position.
④ Check “Mirror Displays” at bottom left to duplicate two displays.
⑤ The default resolution will be the monitor’s native resolution (Ex: 1305H’s res. is 1080P). Select 270ﾟat "Rotation" to turn the 1305H vertically.
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
① Win+P Switch to “Duplicate,” “Extend” mode.
「Extend」mode
「Duplicate」mode
② Alt+Tab Rapidly switch to different windows
Mac OS
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!