Multiple displays, different resolutions. Display alignment?

[ndpitch]

I don't really know how to explain this well. I have an external 27 inch monitor that I use with my MacBook Air. The 27 inch display and my MacBook's display obviously do not have the same resolution.

In the display properties, you can drag each display up or down to align the edges of the displays. The problem is, with the resolutions being different, you have a "wall" between some areas of the displays. As in, when you go to move the mouse, the mouse will only cross to the other display where you have the displays aligned in the preferences.

Is there a way to scale the edges of the displays so that no matter where you move the mouse between displays, it freely moves across? It can be annoying to have to move the mouse to the only area of the display where you can drag across to the other display. The optimal solution is obviously to have two monitors with the same resolution, but that's not really an option at the moment.

Am I SOL, or is there maybe a third party software that does what I'm looking for?

 

[satcomer]

Just wait for 10.9 to come out. It has much better multi-display support built in.

 

[benwiggy]

In the display properties, you can drag each display up or down to align the edges of the displays. The problem is, with the resolutions being different, you have a "wall" between some areas of the displays. As in, when you go to move the mouse, the mouse will only cross to the other display where you have the displays aligned in the preferences.

If your laptop has a screen that is not as tall as your external monitor, then obviously, you can't drag the pointer from the big screen over to a place where there is no corresponding space on the smaller screen.
As you also suggest, squeezing the resolution of the bigger screen so that it corresponds to the same "height" as on your Air's screen would be a waste of the bigger monitor.

I'm not sure what behaviour you want -- do you want the pointer to suddenly jump position when it gets to the edge of the big screen, so that it always lands on a part of the small screen? That would be confusing, and I'm pretty sure much more annoying than the current situation.

As it is, you have to move the pointer from the large area into the small area. I've used a small laptop with a big external, and I can't see how this can be annoying.
However, if you wait for Mavx, you'll get menu bar in both displays, which may mean you have to move the mouse to the small screen less.

 

[ndpitch]

I'm not sure what behaviour you want -- do you want the pointer to suddenly jump position when it gets to the edge of the big screen, so that it always lands on a part of the small screen? That would be confusing, and I'm pretty sure much more annoying than the current situation.

I was hoping for a situation where when the cursor moves OFF the screen in a certain area, it moves ONTO the other screen in the same relative area. For example, moving the mouse off of the 27 inch monitor at the very top makes the cursor appear at the very top of the macbook display. Likewise, the middle would align with the middle, the bottom would align with the bottom, etc. So you end up with a continuous border between the screens instead of hitting a wall in certain areas.

Does that make sense? It's probably not possible but I was just checking. Because the edge of each display is not the same size, I was hoping for some kind of tool that "aligned" the edges so that you had one continuous transition.