Dual monitors – links to open apps in secondary screen?
February 1st, 2014
Is there a way to write links so that the program opened is forced to use the monitor of my choice? My main laptop is linux and using a small script as the link for a program will make it open on the secondary screen.
ie, clicking the link to this script opens smplayer on the TV or secondary monitor:-
#!/bin/bash
DISPLAY=:0.1 && smplayer "$1"
I’ve been searching for a similar thing for win7 but can’t find it yet, even though people seem to have been asking for the same thing for nearly 10yrs in various posts I’ve found. Ideally I’d just like to find something I can add to the end of a windows link to force the screen preference.
What I want is that links on the secondary screen desktop open those specific apps within the secondary screen. But links to the same app in the default start menu / primary screen open them on the primary screen.
I’m sick of dragging things back and forth. Makes two monitors a pain.
PS. laptop has ati radeon 200m graphics chip
Actual Multiple Monitors
http://www.actualtools.com/multiplemonitors/
Display Fusion
http://www.displayfusion.com/
UltraMon
http://www.realtimesoft.com/UltraMon/
Thanks SmAsHeDr. I’ve tried Actual Multiple Monitors and it’s not the sort of thing I’m looking for. Too convoluted.
I don’t really want to install too many unnecessary things that try to do all sorts of stuff. I’d rather keep it light and find a way to use simple links or scripts to define the starting screen for apps. It seems like something win7 should be able to do itself.
Windows usually remembers where an app was last used. So if you put the app in second screen and close it, next time you open it, it should be on the second screen.
fynstee replied: Thanks SmAsHeDr. I've tried Actual Multiple Monitors and it's not the sort of thing I'm looking for. Too convoluted.
Convoluted? It is very simple to use! You can disable all the things you don’t like about it. I know it comes with a lot of features, but that is good. They don’t force you to use them, just open the settings and disable it all!
There are 2 other programs listed that do the same thing if you don’t like AMM.
fynstee replied: I don't really want to install too many unnecessary things that try to do all sorts of stuff.
It only does what you tell it to. If you don’t configure your software, it will always do things you don’t want. You must be a default and go kind of person aye?
You need to configure your software!
fynstee replied: I'd rather keep it light and find a way to use simple links or scripts to define the starting screen for apps. It seems like something win7 should be able to do itself.
It does just that, which is why…
Squirrelman replied: Windows usually remembers where an app was last used. So if you put the app in second screen and close it, next time you open it, it should be on the second screen.
…Every time you unplug the secondary monitor, it reset’s all applications to open in the primary display, so when you go to open a program, and your secondary monitor is not plugged in, it does not try to open it in a display that does not exists.
Ultramon looks like it can create the sort of shortcuts/links I’m after. I’ll try that one out. Thank you smash
SmAsHeDr replied:
It only does what you tell it to. If you don't configure your software, it will always do things you don't want. You must be a default and go kind of person aye?
You need to configure your software!
lol, nope. Not usually default and go. I don’t mind configuring things. I run archlinux with openbox on my main laptop, both involve loadsa customization right from the start. This current dual screening Tiny7 laptop already has the Aston Desktop shell replacing the explorer shell and a third party file manager replacing explorer.
I just don’t want a load of unneeded extra programs running on this windows machine at start-up, and thought there might be a way of dire3cting a program to a specific screen by creating shortcuts or scripts with a some sort of display notation added to the link.
Ultramon looks like the nearest thing to that. Found a freeware that might offer similar too:-
http://dualmonitortool.sourceforge.net/duallauncher.html
It’s weird how Win7 won’t let each monitor have it’s own separate desktop environment (complete with start menu & taskbar) so that when you click to open an app in that desktop it stays there unless you send it to the other one.
Since looking about the web I found it’s something that people seem to have wanted for years.
fynstee replied: Found a freeware that might offer similar too:-
http://dualmonitortool.sourceforge.net/duallauncher.html
o.O open source multiple monitor tool. Thanks for the share, I will check this one out!
fynstee replied: It's weird how Win7 won't let each monitor have it's own separate desktop environment (complete with start menu & taskbar) so that when you click to open an app in that desktop it stays there unless you send it to the other one.
Since looking about the web I found it's something that people seem to have wanted for years.
That is windows for you. The last to get any feature people want. Currently multiple monitors is still not used in the mainstream, so they really don’t care. Lets hope for better support in Windows 8!