Late '11 MBP w/ an external display for extra real estate- questions:

[OverSpun]

I use a 24" Dell ST2410 w/ my 15" matte MBP in clamshell, however-

When I open the MBP w/ the display and the MBP shows the docks, icons, etc-

It seems more helpful to use the MBP as the external display while using my 24" display like whilst I'm using clamshell setup. Obviously, I'm just trying to figure out the best options to have the most real estate.

I have been considering to pick up an mStand but I definitely don't want to use the 15" screen predominantly. Why waste extra space w/ clamshell+ heat too?

There are a lot external display threads but I wasn't able to find one that matches my question.

While I'm on the topic- Anyone try out the mStand 360 since its new? (http://www.raindesigninc.com/mstand360.html)

I'm just looking at display options before I pick up an mStand if it might not be the best one.

Thanks.

 

[silentsim]

You can switch the dock/menubar to your 24" monitor and use the 15" as the extra screen. I use a mStand for this and it works well. The laptop is the secondary monitor with a 27" thunderbolt display as primary.

 

[OverSpun]

You can switch the dock/menubar to your 24" monitor and use the 15" as the extra screen. I use a mStand for this and it works well. The laptop is the secondary monitor with a 27" thunderbolt display as primary.

Great! Thats exactly what I want to do. I was unsure if that same setup works w/o a thunderbolt display since I just use apple's mini thunderbolt/DVI -> HDMI cable for my Dell screen. Btw, where are the options in the prefs that you use since I've played with it a lot and it didn't work right for me.

I also recall that my late '08 MBP lost a bit resolution when having the lid open, but I suppose I could be wrong since its been a while or if my i7 is better.

 

[silentsim]

System prefs, Display, then hit Arrangement

Drag the menu bar from the one monitor to the other, and it should shift the primary display

Make sure it is NOT set to mirror display

 

[OverSpun]

I never thought to drag the bar after I had already dragged the displays properly..

It works great now. Thank you!

I also ran into this search meanwhile and it sounds like this will work for me with a mStand.

In display prefrences, in the arrange tab, you'll see a little white bar that represents your menubar.

Image

drag it to place your menubar onto other monitors.

Image

this will also effect the placement of the dock.