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OS X Lion dual screens
- Thread starter dbwrobel
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That helped a lot but it still doesn't address the fact that going full-screen makes the 2nd monitor completely useless.
I still love Apple but simple omissions like this are starting to make me wonder who's in charge over there. First FCP had some major issues and now we're seeing a few too many "huh, what happened" situations on Lion.
Normally Apple is the company I look to for doing things that you wonder why no one thought of before. Like using 2 fingers to navigate within Finder. That's gone now. Why?!
Anyway, thanks for the right-click > Options tip.
That helped a lot but it still doesn't address the fact that going full-screen makes the 2nd monitor completely useless.
I still love Apple but simple omissions like this are starting to make me wonder who's in charge over there. First FCP had some major issues and now we're seeing a few too many "huh, what happened" situations on Lion.
Normally Apple is the company I look to for doing things that you wonder why no one thought of before. Like using 2 fingers to navigate within Finder. That's gone now. Why?!
Anyway, thanks for the right-click > Options tip.
I assume you're referring to the back/forward controls. I use a Magic Mouse and noticed you can still use this feature but by holding down option while swiping. Not sure if you'll see results with the trackpad.
Hope that helps, at least a little.
It seems like the Fullscreen app has to be fullscreen on the primary monitor. Non-fullscreen apps can be run at the same time on the second monitor.
Nope, non-fullscreen apps cannot be run at the same time on the second monitor. The second monitor is forced to the new Linen Background.
Also applications that used to have their own fullscreen mode, which did allow using the second monitor for other apps, take much more time to enter and leave fullscreen mode because of animations that cannot be disabled.
I also agree that this is the perfect multi screen support system.
each screen independent, drag full screen apps between monitors, launch control independent as well.
As it is the multi-screen support is pretty lame, especially for mission control and full screen apps...
When can we expect Apple to improve this system?!
I hadn't heard of divvy
looks pretty nice.
I use a similar tool called Better Snap Tool
it's only $2.50 on the app store.
same idea but different implementation.
by the same guy who does SecondBar - puts extra menubars on your external monitors.. free app and essential!)
I agree that Apple seems to not give a fk about multimonitor support.
I think they really dropped the ball on this one with Lion
especially as they were simultaniously announcing the daisy chaining capabilities of the thunderbolt display
which opens up more options for mac laptop users like myself who prefer matching external screens
(dual monitor setups with mismatched screens is a pain.. you can't drag windows over both.. It's obvious apple is going for the "optimise 1 screen for portable devices" and "one giant screen so big you wont want 2!" for workstations. but i still like having 2 monitors.)
as someone else said earlier.
sure, extra monitors is better supported than ever before
but not better implemented.
to me that seems backwards from apple's normal way of doing things
sure, extra monitors is better supported than ever before
but not better implemented.
to me that seems backwards from apple's normal way of doing things
Can someone confirm that the full screen API doesn't support 2nd monitor? Seems odd, now that the new Cinema display even give the option to have 3 displays (2 cinemas and 1 macbook).
Cannot find anything here: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=322113#ixzz1SBdRPhli
Cannot find anything here: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=322113#ixzz1SBdRPhli
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You can still navigate trough the file system in Finder using 2 fingers, but now you need to press the option key too, at least it works like this with a magic mouse
Dual Screen woes
I find it incredible that Apple have made what looks like such a boo boo on the dual screen implementation in OSX Lion.
I can't calibrate my second VDU, as the control panel to change this only allows one profile to be selected for both monitors. Although there are two option panes shown on each screen, the primary is the only one affected.
The full screen mode makes second screen useless, what's that all about?!!
Today is crunch time, I am seriously looking at reverting back to Snow Leopard.
I find it incredible that Apple have made what looks like such a boo boo on the dual screen implementation in OSX Lion.
I can't calibrate my second VDU, as the control panel to change this only allows one profile to be selected for both monitors. Although there are two option panes shown on each screen, the primary is the only one affected.
The full screen mode makes second screen useless, what's that all about?!!
Today is crunch time, I am seriously looking at reverting back to Snow Leopard.
Grey background issue
Hi there,
I have a strange problem with the second screen connected to MBP (the second screen is main, with menu bar). Now, when system goes asleep and then I wake it, the wallpaper on second screen dissapears. The background is grey and I'm not able to change even in System Preferences. I have to unplug the second screen and connect it again - then wallpaper comes back.
Also, I have magic mouse and bluetooth keyboard which also do not behave properly after Lion upgrade. When I wake up my MBP devices are not connected, I have to restart bluetooth to connect them again.
Thanks for any help
Hi there,
I have a strange problem with the second screen connected to MBP (the second screen is main, with menu bar). Now, when system goes asleep and then I wake it, the wallpaper on second screen dissapears. The background is grey and I'm not able to change even in System Preferences. I have to unplug the second screen and connect it again - then wallpaper comes back.
Also, I have magic mouse and bluetooth keyboard which also do not behave properly after Lion upgrade. When I wake up my MBP devices are not connected, I have to restart bluetooth to connect them again.
Thanks for any help
A temporary fix is actually to right click on an app icon and set to open it in all desktops. Doing this allows you to have a seperate app on each desktop and if you have a dual setup the external display shows the background of your desktop. though this so far only seems to work for non apple apps like chrome.
So i have my setup such that cbmc which within xmbc I have set to only open in the external display is visible regardless of what i am doing on my primary 27' imac display. As long as i am not using itunes as a full screen app.
So i have my setup such that cbmc which within xmbc I have set to only open in the external display is visible regardless of what i am doing on my primary 27' imac display. As long as i am not using itunes as a full screen app.
It works because these apps don't use the new Lion full screen API. For instance Aperture, prior to the most recent point revision, would run full screen in Lion just like it did in Snow Leopard, but now it uses the full screen API. As third party apps change over (and if they change over) they will have the same "broken" operation in multi-monitor setups.
Something appears broken with your system. I can separately calibrate both my iMac monitor and the external monitor attached to it, and I can select profiles independently for each monitor.
I can confirm the full screen API DOES support the second monitor. Apps using the API can use additional monitors (example -- Aperture does this). However you can't run a full screen app on the main monitor and another app (fullscreen or not) on the second monitor.
I guess I'm just not seeing the need for using full-screen apps with two monitors. It's great for smaller single screens to maximize space, but why bother using full-screen mode with two or more monitors? Just use the app as you did in every previous version of Mac OS X.
MegaZoomer
Download Simbl & megazoomer. Only works with native cocoa applications, but besides that it's quite good. I have it hooked to ⌘+↵, something that also doesn't work well with the native fullscreen. It will open to fullscreen, but since the menubar is hidden, it won't find the action for minimizing back.
Download Simbl & megazoomer. Only works with native cocoa applications, but besides that it's quite good. I have it hooked to ⌘+↵, something that also doesn't work well with the native fullscreen. It will open to fullscreen, but since the menubar is hidden, it won't find the action for minimizing back.
After using Lion extensively for a couple of weeks, I would say that Apple is starting to get "sloppy", or at least they are not as perfectionists as I've been led to believe.Little Lion
I'm guessing you're a single screen kind of guy/gal?
There are already fullscreen options in SL that aren't forcing you to "single display mode" - and why should they? I don't see what argument makes it a good idea to do that? Now they've made an API which makes full-screen easier to implement (for developers) and integrated with Mission Control, coreanimation and so on. Which is all well and good, but it is not for multiple monitors - the whole idea revolves around single monitor usage. Mission Control makes a little more sense with full-screen apps (MC binds a 'desktop' to that application) but it disappears when only allowed to use one of your screens.
... and don't get me started on MC and multiple monitors
The Lion doesn't like us.
I'm guessing you're a single screen kind of guy/gal?
There are already fullscreen options in SL that aren't forcing you to "single display mode" - and why should they? I don't see what argument makes it a good idea to do that? Now they've made an API which makes full-screen easier to implement (for developers) and integrated with Mission Control, coreanimation and so on. Which is all well and good, but it is not for multiple monitors - the whole idea revolves around single monitor usage. Mission Control makes a little more sense with full-screen apps (MC binds a 'desktop' to that application) but it disappears when only allowed to use one of your screens.
... and don't get me started on MC and multiple monitors
The Lion doesn't like us.
Having fullscreen mode working on several displays has several problems, mainly in switching them. How would you switch them in Mission Control? How would you switch them with mouse gestures.
I think what they really need is an implementation that combines full screen and spaces, meaning that you assign apps to a certain space and when you full screen them they are full screen in that space but don't show as separate full screen apps.
The blanking of the second display is pretty idiotic tho.
I think what they really need is an implementation that combines full screen and spaces, meaning that you assign apps to a certain space and when you full screen them they are full screen in that space but don't show as separate full screen apps.
The blanking of the second display is pretty idiotic tho.
I don't like what Apple have done with the multi monitor support in Lion. I used to plug my MBP into the TV, plug in a keyboard and mouse, and speakers, then put it to sleep. Then press the space bar to wake my MBP up and it would then work with just the one monitor, once that was done, I'd open up my MBP for ventilation. Now in Lion, when I do the same thing, the screen turns on on the monitor and it switches to multi monitor mode again.
Its a pain in the ass
pac
Its a pain in the ass
pac
The only reason that is a problem is because both monitors are treated as linked. If they did away with that notion and instead implemented a Monitor 1 - Desktop X - Monitor 2 - Desktop Y approach, where the screens are individual you would get around those issues.
I don't use gestures (proper mouse) but was a slave to spaces+exposé.
This would simply create a different problem, mainly discerning which monitor is selected.