macbook pro and second display

[vexorg]

I use my macbook for presentations sometimes. I've got the external VGA adapter, and that works fine whenever I need to use it.

What I don't understand is why some projectors appear as an extended desktop and others default to mirror. The mirror one is a pain it messes up all the window sizes and positions, and also may have things (email etc) appear on the projector.

Is it a limitation on the resolution of the projector?
Is there a way to alway force it to an extended desktop rather than a mirror type setup?

 

[DeltaMac]

I don't know why some projectors behave differently, but you might be on to something about the limitation in the settings of the projector. Many will automatically adjust depending on the sensed connection. Some do not do that automatically, and you have to make the changes manually either on the projector, or your computer.

Set your Displays pref pane to show "mirroring options in menu bar when available.
That will let you make the change directly from the menubar icon when you need to do that, such as changing the video setting from mirrored to extended desktop. Then you would not need that extra step of opening System Prefs to make that simple adjustment.