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

I am a long time unix (x-windows) and MS Windows user now in the process of converting my digital life to the Mac world (starting with MacBook Pro 13" early 2011 model). I elected to run OS X Lion because

a) I was entitled to a free upgrade

b) I had NO dependancies on any applications that were not compatible with OS X Lion, and

c) I figured, why not use the latest and greatest OS given Apple has this great reputation for rock-solid and sensibly functional operating system releases.

I have to say that my experience with Apple, AppleCare, MacBook Pro and OS Lion are all pretty darned good EXCEPT for this fiasco of dual monitors and fullscreen!

The fact that if I use the "feature" of OS X Lion of putting an application into fullscreen it has the obvious negative effect of rendering the other monitors useless is indeed just plain silly. If I make an app go full screen it should go full screen on the monitor it is on and leave all other monitors unaffected. Simple.

Many have raised their voices about this. TheSmokeMonster has expressed well a model of what should/could be the case.

I have added my voice to the feedback on this rather silly design decision/oversight/mistake in OS X Lion and to ask Apple to remedy it via http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html and I encourage others to do so as well. I hope the observation that has been made that Apple listens will in fact prove true.

Work arounds are just that - helpful (thanks contributors!) - but they don't really provide the missing functionality that should be native to the OS.

To those who say this is not needed or are critical of we who want the behaviour and functionality we are describing (fully functoning monitors when an app on one goes full screen) I ask "If this were to be incorporated into the OS would you lose any of the functionality you enjoy?" If so, then by all means explain it for the benefit of all so that we can understand your point of view.

Thanks

I have the problem too.

Hello experts,

I happened by an Apple Store yesterday. I spent a few minutes with a couple of techs regarding the issue of full screen taking over (but unfortunately without an appointment or my MacBook Pro it was hard to go very far into the matter).

They were non-plussed. First they didn't understand (maybe my lack of clear explanation) but then one fellow said he's never actually tried making an app go full screen with multiple monitors.

The other fellow said he does it all the time without problems AND said he has Lion. He also said that because he has a 15" (which has 2 display adapters whereas my 13" has only one) that this was the reason he was successful and I was not.

Now, I'm not saying they don't know what they're talking about - rather we did not delve into much more than talk so it would be unfair to judge without actually hooking up displays to my macBook and demonstrating, etc.

Nonetheless it made me curious about something I'd like to ask all you folks out there with experience with different Mac hardware, OS X Lion and multiple monitors:

Is this issue restricted to the MacBook Pro 13" (early 2011) running OS X Lion 10.7.x such as mine? Or does the issue span other Mac models with OS X Lion being the common denominator?

Any experienced advice/comments would be most welcome.

It's software ala Lion not the hardware, it does it on all macs. You can only use one full screen app at the time if it is infact a full screen apple app like safari, iphoto, itunes, logic etc, final cut x. Some non apple apps work in full screen with multiple monitors but not via Lions version of full screen using the full screen button in the upper left hand corner of the app.

Lance has definitely clarified what this issue is (not hardware, but software).

given what you are telling us, it sounds like the store employees didn't know what you were talking about.

It's funny that they don't have any computers connected to a second monitor though. One can speculate but that's not why we're here.

As to the 15" with TWO display adapters, I don't believe him. He's outright lying unless he's talking about DisplayLink drivers using a usb to video out (which has horrible support for lion at this time) and or a thunderbolt display that he daisy chained a second monitor to. In no way does his MBP out of box have two display ports.

He may have been referring to the dongles.

If you could, go back to the store with your MBP and tell them you want to plug it into a thunderbolt display. Then hit the Lion Fullscreen mode and show them what you are talking about.

You could have also brought up these forums which describes the issue in detail.

lastly, there is a difference between fullscreen in lion and the fullscreen feature that is in lion. He might assume you meant hitting the green button in the window to make it stretch the size of the screen.

He also might have said, it works fine, but didn't mention the fabric background that takes up his second monitor (which is the issue here)

Me: late 08 MBP with miniDisplayPort connected via HDMI to LCD tv and also a USB to DVI adapter connected to a samsung syncmaster. (I have a similar setup, I assume, to the one person you talked to, but I do not have function in any of the other monitors as they turn into fabric once I fullscreen.

I don't know what you were trying to prove to them, they're workers, not the people who make the products. And on that note, we're users like yourself, not experts 😉

if you want to tell apple you wose about Fulscreen and Lion send feedback.

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

I have not seen this problem mentioned, but it seems to occur on all my macs:

When I go fullscreen with anything video-related, and using dual monitors, and using an app that behaves "correctly" in FS mode, the mouse cursor will become invisable on the "other" monitor (not displaying video), and then the only way to get cursor control back is to escape from FS mode.

I have noticed this on mbp3,1 and imac8,1 - drives me nuts!

Cheers,

coocoo

hmm not having this issue here coocoo!

when this happens have you tried initiating app switcher? whenver my mouse disappers, usually when fullscreening a streaming video, making app switcher appear, brings it back. If you restart your computer does this still happen?

Tbh, I really used to dislike the whole fullscreen app malarky but since logic pro got updated ive found it to be really good. I have all the plugins and instruments on the second screen and it helps to concentrate on what im doing. Saying that i really wish every app had an option to turn it off or for there to be a list in sys prefs to select which apps you dont want to blank out your second screen.

Spaces tho.. I like the idea of being able "unlink displays" on spaces so that i can have multiple spaces on screen one but no matter what space im on the second screen stays on the same space. Itd be nice to watch something on the second screen while doing multiple tasks in multiple spaces on the first

I realize it would have been better to have made an appointment to go to the Apple Store with my MacBook Pro in hand and sit with a "genius" and demo the issue. I live about 150km from the store, so it's not that easy to return. I had nothing to prove to these folks, rather my objective was to see if I could learn something from them - but alas...

Nonetheless, I can explain things reasonably well so I'd agree with your summation that they were, uhm, less than familiar with the issue. I don't think buddy was out right lying, but rather not fully understanding, and maybe not being up front about not understanding.

I did show them this forum (easy to find - just search for "fiasco") and did explain that I was referring to the full screen feature of Apple apps using the double arrows at the top right-hand corner (which we could see on the many Macs at the store, of course) and not the wee green button. I also explained that I could run 3 monitors, the third running off a usb-dvi adapter, but they had never heard of that so that's got to be out of their equation - and demonstrative of the level of skill they had - but one guy was supposedly a hardware tech.

More importantly, you've confirmed what I thought from my readings - that the problem is not restricted to the 13" MBP and the problem is Lion.

Thanks...

oops sorry I meant the upper right hand corner for the full screen button, my dyslexia kicking in.... The new full screen app option is really for one screen setups and works nicely if you are only working with a laptop using it as your only screen but thats where it ends, the way around it is to not use it when you have multiplemonitors and just fill the screens with the apps like you used to do before Lion and the full screen option was released. Otherwise you will see the grey grid on all your monitors except the one dedicated to the fullscreen app. You can have multiple full screen apps running but to see the second one you swipe to the next space. Not the way multi monitor users want it an dhopefully they will add the option so we can put any app full screen on any or all of out monitors. I have four running and that would be a nice option, but until they add it I will just continue to work the way I have in the past.

ProBlue, can you please send feedback stating that you would like to see the unlinked spaces approach?

Just a quick note to say I called support and lodged a complaint. Apple gave me 90 days of software support since I just bought OSX Lion. So I used it to direct their attention to this issue. It was easy to do and the support person I talked with was friendly and helpful. I had no trouble getting him to understand the issue. I encourage others to do the same thing. If Apple get enough calls about this it will get fixed sooner rather than later.

I know being optimistic is considered to be a good thing, but I don't see them changing this -- ever.

Apple knows about this; almost everyone who reviewed the thunderbolt display on Apple's store lists this specific problem as a con, and there's tens of thousands of people who clicked "yes this review was helpful" for every time someone listed that (was reading them the other day actually). Every major tech blog who also reviewed the display also gripes about this problem.

I was optimistic in July back when I got my mac air running Lion that this would be fixed.

However there have been two updates already and a third one is on the way, and neither of them have any hint of code changes regarding this problem, including the latest one (10.7.3).

My guess is they consider this to be a "feature" and not a bug and you not liking it, to Apple, means that you don't understand how to use it properly 🙂

Ye of little faith. tsk tsk.

Guys,

While we wait for a fix for this, I sprung for this app: BetterSnapTool. It makes if really easy to get a full-screen-like-experience in lion. The only lame part is the menu stays on one screen so you need move your mouse a lot to use an app of the second monitor.

But it works really well for me.

CC