Dual monitors, app placement during full screen mode

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Level 1

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Dual monitors, app placement during full screen mode

Hi,

I have an imac with a second monitor. Often I work with a full screen app on the main monitor, and have the second one for other apps, like safari or music, off to the side. (Let's say I might be deep in writing a paper in Pages, but still want to be able to switch music.)

One behaviour I don't like is that when I open a new app, it often opens up on the main screen on a different 'desktop' pulling me out of the app I'm working on. There's already a spare screen to the side - I want other apps to go there if there's a full screen app open on the main one.

I know you can assign certain apps to always open on a particular monitor, but this isn't quite what I want. What I want is for the Mac to have this rule set:

1) normally, open on the main screen

2) if there's a full screen app already on the main screen, open on the second monitor rather than switching desktops on the main monitor.

Is this possible?

iMac 27″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Oct 17, 2021 12:07 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

64,742 points

Oct 17, 2021 3:06 AM in response to atrac

I don't know of a way to set it exactly as you describe, but I can offer a way to get your applications to open where you want.

For example, say you want to start the Music app in the second screen.

1) Click on an empty area of the menu bar on the second screen. You should see that the highlighting changes, showing that this is the "active" screen.

2) Press command-space to open Spotlight (the Spotlight window will open on the second screen - that is a good sign!).

Start typing "Music" (as you can see in the attached screenshot, it may take only two letters, or more, depending on the name of the application).

Press enter.

3) There is no step 3...

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Answer 2

atrac Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 17, 2021 6:02 AM in response to atrac

Goodness - all the years I've been using MacOS and I never noticed that the monitor that you call spotlight from determines where the app goes if you use it to open one.

Thanks - that does the trick!

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Dual monitors, app placement during full screen mode

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