Extended display on to another monitor

101strummer · 03-29-2016, 10:56 AM

I'd like to extend my laptop screen display on to a second larger monitor. So far I've only been able to mirror the displays.
I did a Google search and found that you need to run the following command:

xrandr --ouput VGA2 --right-of VGA1

I've tried doing this from the terminal emulator but it has no effect. Does the line have to be included in a script and if so where?

I am using Black lab Linux which is based on Ubuntu.

SBFree · 03-29-2016, 12:30 PM

If there are system setting in the GIU, check the display settings to extend rather than mirror the display.
sb

101strummer · 03-29-2016, 01:53 PM

Sorry, this option does not exist.

Weasel75 · 03-29-2016, 02:22 PM

Please be sure to use the correct identifier(s), as "VGA1" might not be the Laptops screen (many options: LVDS, VGA-0, etc.).
To find out what displays "RandR" is aware off, just run xrandr without any command-line parameters:

Code:

xrandr

Once you have the correct identifiers, start playing around:

Code:

xrandr --output VGA-1 --off                                     # will turn the screen with identifier VGA-1 off
xrandr --output VGA-0 --primary --output VGA-1 --right-of VGA-0 # will set VGA-1 to appear right of VGA-0 (and make VGA-0 the primary display)

Xrandr can be called from within a script or just via the console/terminal/etc.
Also note, that xrandr-settings are not permanent, so after the next reboot you will have to set your desired setup again.

PS: For fine-tuning the second monitors position in relation to the first screen, one can use "--pos" to position the screens relative to each other with pixel-accuracy.
(This might come handy when the screens have different heights.)

Sanity Challenged · 03-29-2016, 02:26 PM

I'm running a similar setup on a Samsung laptop using openSuSE leap and KDE. There is a place to change the setting in the KDE control panel. Unfortunately, it only works in KDE.

I've also got the ICEWM desktop manager installed and the ARandR package which is a graphical user interface for xrandr. It let me generate the below script to have my laptop screen on the left and external 22" monitor on the right:

Code:

#!/bin/sh
xrandr --output HDMI1 --off --output LVDS1 --mode 1600x900 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal --output VIRTUAL1 --off --output DP1 --off --output VGA1 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --pos 1600x0 --rotate normal

You may have to modify this as needed to suit your hardware and save it. Check the manual for xrandr to see what the options are and how to identify your screens.
On my system with just the xrandr command I get:

Code:

sparky@sinnikkyys ~ $: xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3520 x 1080, maximum 32767 x 32767                                                                                                                                                                                 
LVDS1 connected 1600x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 382mm x 214mm                                                                                                                                                               
   1600x900       60.1*+
   1024x768       60.0  
   800x600        60.3     56.2  
   640x480        59.9  
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VGA1 connected primary 1920x1080+1600+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 477mm x 268mm
   1920x1080      60.0*+
   1680x1050      60.0  
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.1     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     60.3  
   640x480        75.0     60.0  
   720x400        70.1  
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

LVDS1 is my laptop screen, VGA1 is my external. The above script turns off unused/uninstalled displays. It sets the laptop (LVDS1) monitor to the left and VGA1 to the right as the primary display. They are not mirrors of each other

Good luck!

dannybpng · 03-30-2016, 05:36 AM

I recently ran into an issue after a fedora KDE upgrade, that the two monitors that used to show as one long display began rendering the same. It was a case of them being positioned directly on top of each other. Once I moved one off to the side they began working as one long display again. This was accomplish via the System Settings/Display and Monitor configuration screen on KDE.

orhank · 04-01-2016, 05:43 AM

Here is my 2 cents' worth:

Type arandr in a terminal window, it will start the GUI for xrandr. You will see your two monitors (they may be overlapping). With your mouse arrange them as you want them to be positioned. When you are satisfied with the result, Choose Layout from the menu and click on Apply. Then, choose Layout again and Save As. Save the resulting layout with any name you like in ~/.screenlayout directory. Logout and login.