Dual monitor question

May 4, 2007 5:22 AM

Dual Monitor and wallpaper question. I have an external monitor plugged into my laptop and my desktop stretched across both the laptop screen and the nice big flat screen monitor. My wallpaper is duplicated on both, but I would like to have one wallpaper on the laptop monitor and a different one on the external. Is there a simple method of achieving this, or an application that will do it?
posted by worker_bee to computers & internet (14 comments total)

Ultramon. Not free though.
posted by chrisbucks at 5:34 AM on May 4, 2007

Turn on Active Desktop.

Go to Display Properties by right-clicking on your desktop and selecting "Properties".
Choose the Desktop tab and click "Customize Desktop"
Choose the Web tab.
Add items to the list in the box by clicking "New" and selecting the jpg files you want displayed.
Select the two pictures in the list, hit OK, and they will show up as windows on your desktop.
Drag one to each monitor and maximize each.
Then you can go back into the Customize Desktop menu and lock them.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:38 AM on May 4, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Seconding Ultramon...

But if you have nVidia video drivers, there is usually and option buried in the control panel that does this for you. On mine I go to display properties and select settings, then click the advanced button. I click on the tab called Quadro NVS 280 PCI-E (yours may be called something different since it is the name of the card in your system). There is a slide out menu to the right that appears and from there expand Desktop Management and then select Desktops. Click the properties button on the right and fronm here you can specify multiple wallpapers.
posted by internal at 6:06 AM on May 4, 2007

Download Irfanview.

On the full screen tab of the Properties | options, disable "show text"

Load up each picture that you would like for each screen in different instances of Irfanview. Move one window to each monitor.

Go full screen with each one (press enter).

Take a screenshot. (Cntrl + printscreen)

Press esc. (Gets irfanview out of fullscreen)

Edit|paste your screenshot into irfan view.

Save image where you can find it again.

Use that image as your background.
posted by bigmusic at 6:10 AM on May 4, 2007

plenty of websites devoted to background images big enough to span... you just use 'tile' mode. works like a champ on my setup...

http://www.dualmonitorbackgrounds.com/
posted by matty at 6:21 AM on May 4, 2007

oooo... sorry, I misread your question. You want DIFFERENT pics. Irfanview is the way to go then...
posted by matty at 6:22 AM on May 4, 2007

As a tangent, once you have your wallpapers the way you like, I recommend adding a toolbar to the second space. I use a little freeware app called MultiMon.
posted by nita at 6:47 AM on May 4, 2007

Everyone seems to just be assuming, but is it a Windows laptop? Macs can do this without special software, in the Desktop & Screen Saver system preference panel.
posted by raf at 6:50 AM on May 4, 2007

I love ultramon-- I'm not sure how anyone can deal without it.

The second screen separate wallpaper is one thing, but having a second task bar is a huge deal for me...
posted by gregvr at 7:22 AM on May 4, 2007

Dexpot is worth looking at - it does this, as well as acts as a virtual desktop system; it's pretty slick and makes me hate windows slightly less. It's also free.
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:30 AM on May 4, 2007

On my computer, these settings are in my video card (nvidia) preferences. If you don't have the driver and supplemental programs for your specific video card, finding and downloading them might give you these options as well.
posted by cowbellemoo at 7:35 AM on May 4, 2007

Get a mac, built-in support for multiple wallpapers on multiple monitors. You just right-click (with your aftermarket mouse) and select Change Desktop Wallpaper.
posted by fenriq at 8:17 AM on May 4, 2007

You don't need any special software. See backseatpilot's post above.

The active desktop method is what I use, and it's great. I repeat: There is no reason to download any special software.
posted by The World Famous at 9:05 AM on May 4, 2007

nthing UltraMon. If you undock/redock a lot, it adjust very easily to this.
posted by tdischino at 9:49 AM on May 4, 2007