Two screens ( Dual ) or more may be attached to your computer at the same time. Some computers have this capability however there is a difference between a computer with "single head" video card and one with a "dual head" video card.
- A single head video card just sends the same image out of both connectors. This is often called "mirroring" in that you see exactly the same image on both screens at the same time.
- With a dual head video card, the computer can send different images out of each connector effectively doubling the size of your working desktop.
Dual Monitors
ProSelect supports dual monitors (on computer's with dual head video cards) in two different ways.
(Since most photographers will have the computer's main screen plugged into one connector and a projector screen on the other, for this explanation we will assume that this is the case.)
Moving The ProSelect Window To The Projector/TV Screen
If ProSelect opens on your main screen, "un-maximize" it (on Windows) and drag it's main window to somewhere onto your projector/TV screen (it is the top left corner of the window that determines which screen it is on) then click the "maximize" button on Windows computers or the "green" button on the top-left of your Mac window to fill that screen.
While you have the projector/TV connected to your computer, ProSelect will remember this position each time it is run.
The Slideshow will also play on this screen.
The first time you open the Place Order window it will open on the same screen as ProSelect's main window. However, you can drag it to the other screen and it will remember this position during subsequent openings.
Caution: If you leave your projector/TV connected to the computer but switched off and then start ProSelect, it will still re-open with its main window on the projector screen but you won't see it if not turned on and you may think that it has not opened.
Using Mirror Display Area
If you have dual head video card installed, ProSelect version 3 includes an option to "Mirror the Display Area". This allows you to just show the central images portion of ProSelect's screen on your projector (or a second monitor). Using this feature, your clients will not see the menu bar, image list or tool bar or any of the other dialog windows (such as the Place Order window) that you may open during the presentation session.
In this case, keep ProSelect's main window located on your "operator" screen and select "Mirror Display Area" from the View Menu. If this menu option is "greyed out" then your computer does not have a dual head video card or the video card has not been setup for dual displays. If the latter, then you will need consult your video card instruction for how to do this.
For more information regarding setting up your computer to use "Mirror the Display Area", please refer to the ProSelect 3 Reference Manual section "Using Two Screens".
Macintosh users:
All new PowerBook laptops, MacBook Pro laptops, the Intel iMac and G5 desktop machines support dual screens. Some lower end models but this is changing all of the time so best check the specification on Apple's web site for the current models.
If your Mac does support dual screens then make sure that you do NOT have "Mirror Displays" checked in your Monitor Preferences (at the bottom of the "Arrangement" tab). Note: These are the computer's "System Preferences" NOT ProSelect's Preferences.
If you have the little monitor icon in the righthand side of your menu bar then alternative way to do this is to make sure "Turn on Mirroring" is un-checked.
When running dual screens on the Mac, you need to have the menu bar located on the your computer screen NOT on the projector screen since the screen with the menu bar is the "operator screen". If you find that the menu bar is on the wrong screen, then do this:
- Close ProSelect
- Open your Monitor Preferences and select the "Arrangement" tab. You should see both screens as boxes along side each other.
- Identify which box is your computer screen. If you are not sure which is which then click on one of the boxes. Under Tiger, a red border will appear in the box AND on the screen it represents.
- On one of the boxes, you will see the menu bar represented as a bar at the top of the box. If this is not on your computer screen, then cick on it and drag it over to the other box.
Note: You can also rearrange the position of the boxes by dragging them. If your projector screen is physically to the left of your computer screen, then drag the box representing the projector screen to the same side. This will make moving the mouse between screens more logical.
- Close the Monitor Preferences.
- Open ProSelect and select "Mirror Display Area" (under the view menu).
High Resolution Projectors
If you are using a high resolution projector, then please read this article on "Big screen images are small using Mirror Display Area".
