kaiuweheinz
Level 1 (8 points)
Mac OS X

Q: How to display on a projector only a defined part of the screen?

Hi,

 

I am a high school language teacher in Germany and work with a MBA and an EPSON projector and each time I want to look up something or take notes or open the next page while the students are copying from the "blackboard" (i.e. the projector's screen) I have to freeze the projector and unfreeze it. This I do a hundred times a day. It would be way less stressful if I could show them only a defined part of my screen and be able to work in the background. Using the second display mode doesn't help because then I cannot switch easily between the two.

 

Is there professional projector software to do that. Who could code such a function?

A compromise would be I could freeze the signal going out to the projector - that would mean a hundred clicks instead of a hundred times grabbing the remote control and pressing the 'freeze' button. Compromise because while I show them a 3 minutes clip I cannot freeze the screen (neither the outgoing signal nor the projector signal) because then the film wouldn't work.

 

Thank you for any suggestions, thoughtful ideas and advice!

 

Kind regards,

Kai-Uwe

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 18, 2016 5:07 PM

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kaiuweheinz

Q: How to display on a projector only a defined part of the screen?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Keith Barkley,

    Keith Barkley Keith Barkley Sep 19, 2016 8:40 AM in response to kaiuweheinz
    Level 5 (6,407 points)
    Sep 19, 2016 8:40 AM in response to kaiuweheinz

    Generally the way this is done is to have the projector configured as a separate monitor, not a mirror of the screen. But not all Macs can do this. Specifically what Mac do you have?

  • by kaiuweheinz,

    kaiuweheinz kaiuweheinz Sep 19, 2016 9:08 AM in response to Keith Barkley
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 19, 2016 9:08 AM in response to Keith Barkley

    Hi,

     

    MBA Corei7 and yes it can do this but this doesn't solve my problem. It always takes some time to combine the two displays into one after and it always changes my resolution and until I have fixed everything and can go on with my lesson while 26 students are waiting, two minutes or more are gone.

     

    What I would love is either a

    software solution to freeze and unfreeze the projector - which by now I have to do with the remote control.

    or

    to have let's say 700x1000pixels of the right side of the display be projected by the projector while the rest of the screen is mine for preparing the next steps without the students seeing it. It's like putting a mask on the display, all within the rectangular mask is displayed, all that is outside the rectangle doesn't get projected.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Sep 19, 2016 9:30 AM in response to kaiuweheinz
    Level 7 (29,298 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 19, 2016 9:30 AM in response to kaiuweheinz

    Hello Kai-Uwe,

    Projectors are very finicky. Trying fancy things with your monitor is possible, but very difficult to get working reliability. I think the best solution would be to use an iPad or iPhone for the projector. Then you can control exactly what you want on it and use your Mac for other tasks.