Can you do this with an external monitor?

[ozone]

Let's say I have an external monitor hooked up to a PowerBook and I span my desktop over the two screens. If I have Word or some other program running, then all the command bars are on the laptop screen. But if I want to work on a document on the larger external monitor, can it be arranged so that the command bars move automatically to the larger, external monitor?

I was working on a document the other day and I found it really inefficient to edit the document on the monitor, and then to move the cursor back to the laptop screen to choose from the pull down menus.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lacero]

Go to Arrangement in Display preferences and drag the little white bar to the external monitor icon.

 

[ozone]

Thanks! I'm still fairly new to OS X!

(... I assume this will make the command bar for any program stay on the external monitor?)

 

[wwooden]

Thanks! I'm still fairly new to OS X!

(... I assume this will make the command bar for any program stay on the external monitor?)

Yes to the second part. You are basically saying you want the external monitor to be the main screen when both are connected. When you disconnect the external, it will switch back to the PowerBook display.

 

[ozone]

Yes, I think that is what I want. However, I don't suppose there's any automatic way to make the external monitor 'instantly' become the main screen as soon as I hook up the monitor to the laptop, is there? Would I always have to go into the System Preferences and drag the command bar icon over every time I connect the monitor? Thanks.

 

[wwooden]

Once you tell the computer that you want the external to be the main monitor when you have both connected, it will always remember that. You won't have to go to the system preferences each time you connect the screen.

 

[ozone]

Hey! That's great. Let's just say Windows never seems to be able to get my monitor arrangements right.

 

[mkrishnan]

There isn't a hack that allows you to permanently have two copies of the menu bar and/or the dock, is there? I should probably google search.

 

[wwooden]

There isn't a hack that allows you to permanently have two copies of the menu bar and/or the dock, is there? I should probably google search.

I know there are hacks that allow you to have several docks on one screen, say one on the bottom and one on the side. If you do find a hack that does that, please share.