With this post we respond to our young reader Aitor who has made the following query.
" I have seen a computer that had two screens and could have different windows in each of them and work as if it were a double desk. How can I do that? "
It is possible to connect more than one screen to the same computer, laptop or desktop, so that we can have different views in each of them. The result will be to have only one computer running, but showing different applications on each screen.
Let's see what we can do to connect an additional screen to a computer running Windows 7, although it would not be very different for any other version of Windows.
The first thing we need, logically, is an available screen, which today can be any of the flat screens or televisions that are on the market. Virtually all have special entries to connect to computers.
There are mainly two ways to connect the screen to the computer.
- For HDMI, using a cable like the one in the following image. This method transfers both the image and the sound to our second screen, which can be interesting for, for example, watching movies on the big screen.
We also found the possibility of connecting the current phones and tablets to other screens via HDMI, normally using a micro HDMI to HDMI cable, but this has to be checked for each model to see if it is viable.
- By VGA cable, like those in the following image. This medium only transmits the image and tends to disappear when the use of the previous one is extended.
After connecting the new screen to our computer using one of these cables, it is possible that in some models the image appears immediately, but in many cases we will have to select the corresponding entry to show it to us. The current TVs have several inputs available and with the help of the remote control it is possible to choose which one to watch.
To configure our new screen on the computer and choose what type of desktop we want in it, we must right click on the Windows desktop and enter ' Screen resolution '.
A dialogue opens up with different options. By default we will see the two duplicatescreens , that is, it will show the same in both. This configuration is also known as "cloned screens".
It is often used, for example, to make presentations. The author uses the small screen of his team to perform his actions, but the public sees them on a larger screen.
But we can change this initial behavior. We can use the second screen to extend our desktop. What we get is to add a much larger space to our desktop, usually to the right, which we do not see from the original screen, but which is available in the second screen. We must choose the option 'Extend these screens'.
It allows us to have different windows open in each place and thus be able to work with different applications at the same time, as long as we have both screens in sight, of course.
If we make a screen capture when we have the extended desktop, the image contains both desktops, which helps us understand how it works. In the following example we see two screens and three windows, the window on the left appears on screen 1, the one on the right on 2, but the one in the middle is shown on purpose, one part on each desk, to show the idea of the continuity of both desks.
To help us organize our workspace, we can click on the ' Identify ' button , which will overlap the screen number designated by each desk. We can change that number by moving the icons that simulate the screens in the previous dialog box.