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Dual monitors and fullscreen fiasco, is there a work around?

If you have a dual monitor set-up and Lion and you have tried the fullscreen setting, then you know what is wrong.


Might as well not even have the second monitor...Lion completely takes over both monitors and only allows you to have one app up. Pointless, and no way to stop it. (A preference setting in System Preferences under Displays would have been the right thing to do).


I know I don't have to use fullscreen, but it was nice to be able to view a Quicktime movie fullscreen on one monitor while continuing to work on the other. Lion makes that impossible.


Anyone know of a work-around or fix for the fullscreen/dual monitor fiasco?


Thanks for all help.

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 2:07 PM

Reply
816 replies

Jul 24, 2012 1:59 PM in response to donebylee

I think the best option would be to print out the canvas pattern on a standard sheet of printer paper and just tape it over one of the monitors. If you're seriously that *distracted* of having to look at 2 displays at once (wall street traders sometimes have 8 display setups at their desk, btw) -- might as well just use good old fashioned scotch tape.

Jul 24, 2012 7:18 PM in response to NiqueXyZ

Re: a solution. It occured to me one day that Cinch, ($7 App store) was a good alternate solution to Lion's FS for dual monitor work.


I have been using Cinch for years but there was one feature I didn't use much. Cinch lets you easily, with the stab of a mouse, make a Window full screen on either monitor, leaving the other screen untouched. You can also put different full Windows on both monitor if you like. While a full Window is not as good as a full Application, it's a much better trade than than having the 2nd monitor made useless.

Jul 25, 2012 12:49 AM in response to Jerry Dalton1

Trouble with Cinch is that it shows the window's chrome, i.e. wastes all that space, which is the point of full screen (by any 'normal' person's definition).


Bottom line: Full Screen has been available forever on Windows as the maximise button. Apple now (incorrectly) redefine this as meaning one application only.


Good luck to all the tax paying Mountain Lion beta testers.

Jul 25, 2012 1:00 AM in response to Glennny2Lappies

Hallo - the idea for post-it is one thing, technically possible. But I am using the Full Screen Mode almost every day.

Today, I had Parallels just running on my primary MBP screen, the other application, because more important on the bigger one

But sometimes I switch, so Parallels on secondary larger screen, others on primary.

As said before, I use also Desktops.

Just to avoid misunderstanding, there are for sure room for improvements, but so far my work flow works.


In regards the last message : there is still a maximize button there, it is green, upper left corner. Use it and you have the previous effect - on the screen which you want.


If you use Cinch - as I understand the program description, it helps like other Apps to organizes in a Split-Screen mode different windows. I guess, some will find that good and they need it. They do not mention Full Screen or others


Again, the Apple full screen mode seems to have the logic : focus on one application on one screen. otherwise it is not a focus :-)


I guess, what some of you want is: the Apple Full Screen Mode and the other screen is showing other application which might be needed ? The Full Screen Mode should be either primary or secondary display. Is that what you missed ?


Then might be the automatic arrangement of different application in , lets say, split screen.


Ronald

Jul 25, 2012 8:43 AM in response to Jerry Dalton1

Even cheaper ($1.99), and in my opinion, better (because it is more flexible), is BetterSnapTool, also on the app store. You can full screen, as well as half/third/quarter screen and app, and many other things. Check it out. Also, search the web for BetterTouchTool, which is free, and includes most of the features of BetterSnapTool, however it is still in beta last I checked.


-Jake

Jul 25, 2012 9:43 AM in response to donebylee

To all the new people coming in who don't want to read all 4000 pages of this thread, and not liking this behavior on Mountain Lion, please go to this link to see the proposed solution:


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3196329?answerId=16218117022#16218117022


And please go to:


http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html


To submit the solution as a feedback suggestion to Apple; please be considerate in your response.

Jul 25, 2012 2:50 PM in response to RevChris

RevChris wrote:


Well, FF 14 now makes the problem worse. They incorporated native OSX full-screen, instead of their home-grown fullscreen. So, don't plan on using full-screen Firefox with multiple monitors. You can't even put a second FF window in the other monitor's screen area.

Firefox users need to report this as a bug. At the very least, Firefox needs to make the blanking behaviour user-definable as does Parallels Desktop.

Dual monitors and fullscreen fiasco, is there a work around?

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