Setting up Dual Monitors to Boost Productivity

Are you tired of your puny desktop? Do you feel cluttered and cramped, constantly clicking back and forth between document windows? If you answered yes to any of these then maybe you should think about super-sizing your workspace. You might be thinking to yourself “I need bigger monitor”, but before you go out and buy that expensive over sized flat screen you might want to conceder an alternative, because when it comes to computer monitors and increased productivity “Two might just be better than one”.

Yes that’s right, a high dollar large screen might not be the most effective or economical way for you to double your work space and boost your productivity. With minimal computer know how, and little or no monetary investment you can get yourself started working on a dual monitor system that is sure to boost your computer productivity.

So what exactly is a dual screen set up – with a dual setup you have two monitors that essentially share the same desktop, you can drag open application windows from one monitor to another, or if you have a big application you can stretch it across both screens. One of the main advantages is that you can have multiple applications running once all within easy access and view (think Email and IM on one screen, and a Word or Excel document on the other). I’m still absolutely amazed at how many people don’t already know or better yet, don’t understand this simple yet highly effective way to boost your work place productivity. I’ve been running dual screens at the office for well over a year now and I can’t imagine going back to my prehistoric single monitor setup. If you’re ready to get started, or aren’t convince of the ease and utility of a dual monitor set up, read on to see how easy it will be to get yourself started on the fast track to dual monitor productivity.

PC Hardware Setup:

First thing that you’re going to what to do is check and see if your video card has multiple video outputs (VGA or DVI), if it does your in business. Check out the back of your desktop/laptop/or docking station.

If you have an available VGA or DVI port chances are that you can enable a dual monitor setup. If for some reason your video card doesn’t have dual outputs fear not, you can always go out and by a new video card, or you can use and alternative USB solution such as this one from Triton Technologies.

Equipment that You’ll Need:

Second Monitor - Now that you’re sure that your computer is capable of dual monitor set up you need to decide what kind of second monitor you’ll want to use. If you’re setting up something at your home chances are that you have old monitor (CRT) lying around from an old system. Using an old monitor is a great we to test out a dual monitor setup with little or no investment. If you’re setting up dual monitors at work you have a couple of options. First, you can get your IT folks or boss to spring for another monitor ($150) under the pretenses that the productivity increases from the second monitor will over time more than compensate for the initial cost of the monitor or if that doesn’t work you can snoop around the office scoping out the next person who’s about to retire (this is also a great way to upgrade your work chair, but I digress). Then on their last day on the job simply unhook their monitor and relocate it to your workstation. If you have a laptop and docking station there is no need for any additional equipment, you can use the monitor on your laptop and the monitor that you already have to run a dual monitor setup.

Once you’ve determined that your PC has dual video ports, and you have secured yourself second monitor you need to check the connection type of your second monitor. If you are using an old CRT monitor or even some of the new flat screens there’s a good chance that you monitor will need to be plugged into a VGA port. Newer flat screens will often have both DVI and VGA outputs which makes things easy. It seems like a lot of dual video cards nowadays come with one VGA port and one DVI port. If you find yourself with two VGA monitors or two DVI monitors you can easily find a DVI to VGA, or VGA to DVI adapter from just about any technology store.

Laptop Setup:

If you have a laptop it’s pretty much guaranteed that you will be able to use you’re on board display in conjunction with an external monitor simultaneously. All you have to do is plug your external monitor into the back of your lap top, enable dual view in your settings and presto you’re ready to go.

*If connection ports not match up you can always use a DVI to VGA or VGA to DVI adapter.

Setting Dual View:

Once your second monitor is connected follow the following steps to enable Dualview on your PC.

To Enable Dualview:

1) Right click on your Desktop and select Properties at the very bottom of the menu

2) Under Properties select the Settings Tab

3) Under Display select your External Monitor from the drop down list

4) Next make sure that “Extend my Windows Desktop to This Monitor” is checked. Once this step is completed you should see the “monitor 2″ icon highlight and move into the forefront with “monitor 1″

5) Click Identify on the bottom left of the menu, and large numbers will appear on your screens to identify the monitors as they are represented in the system.

6) Next drag and drop the monitor icons so that they match your current monitor set up, at this point you should also adjust the resolution and color settings for each of your monitors.

7) When completed click ok. So that’s it - you’re done. Not so bad was it? If you were able to successfully follow the steps above you should be well on your way to enjoying the wonderful world of dual monitors.

Trouble Shooting:

Ok so I realize that even though this is a pretty straight forward process anyone can run into technical hiccups along the way. If after following the steps above you still can’t get dual screens to work try some of the trouble shooting techniques below, if none of the suggestions seem to work send me an email or post a comment to that effect and I will work to set you straight.

1. Second Monitor is Mirror Image of the First Monitor: If after setting up your monitors you see same image, and a mouse cursors on each screens you need to go back to settings (right click on desktop, select properties) and make sure that the “Extend the Desktop to this Monitor” check box is checked.

2. No image on second monitor: In the properties menu make sure that you select the grayed out monitor number 2, once selected check the “Extend the desktop to this monitor” box and then select the Apply button in the bottom right of the menu.

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