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

Us laptop uses want to use dual monitors in fullscreen, too. Maybe I'll sent Apple some feedback on this...

+1 for an update. I like using fullscreen for the extra screen real estate when using my smaller 13" mbp screen, but obviously don't want to render my larger external monitor useless in the process

730,000+ and over 700 replies and not a word from Apple - so much for customer support.

Perhaps I was a tad hasty moving to OS X ... Ubuntu is looking better every day.

From the weird "Duplicate"/"Save As" changes, the totally useless Fullscreen (at least on dual monitors), all the while neglecting the now elderly Finder and hopelessly outdated HPFS, I don't know who is setting priorities in Cupertino but it's time to refocus: less fluff and more solid engineering. Fundamentally, I don't want my laptop to behave the same way as my iPad: they aren't the same thing, and shouldn't try to behave like they are. Each has strengths that shouldn't be sacrificed to achieve some homogonized look and feel: in reality these changes have left Mountain Lion with a host of awkward (putting it kindly) tablet-like features that feel totally out of place on the desktop.

Trying to be all things to all people will only harm both laptops and tablets - Apple should strive to build the best product in each category, not trash OS X to achieve "compatibilty" with iOS.

My work around is to mirror the original display on the external monitor.

Apple Menu > System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement > Mirror Displays (check box)

Hope that helps!

DP

It is mind boggling that it's almost two year later and Apple has not fixed this BASIC issue.  What a great way to show contempt for all your power users.

dp9 wrote:

Apple Menu > System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement > Mirror Displays (check box)

 

Did you know that ⌘+[Reduce Display Brightness] will toggle screen mirroring on an Apple keyboard? (i.e. ⌘+F1 unless you have changed the use F keys as standard function keys preference).

I don't consider this an acceptable workaround as I want to use the space on both screens, but if it works for you then I hope this helps!

Agree if it works for him great, but I don't understand how that is a workaround, that just gives you the same thing on both screens, why have two monitors at all then?

dp9 wrote:

Apple Menu > System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement > Mirror Displays (check box)

 

Not quite what I expected after paying a grand for a Thunderbolt display.

Fullscreen worked fine back in Snow Leopard and was only "improved" after some idiot at Apple decided "Fullscreen" apps on desktops had to look more like they do on tablets, completely ignoring dual monitor configs.

Now every time we use fullscreen, the other monitor goes blank to remind us of Apple's stupidity and intransigence.

Way to go, Apple!

A while ago I used MegaZoomer (http://noscope.com/2007/fullscreen-on-macosx-finally-no-just-megazoomer/)

it worked perfectly on Cocoa apps and Multi monitor and it was open source and free... You just had to click CMD+Return and the window went fullscreen on the display it was on. Then apple's fancy highly paid engineers came and took it upon themselves and screwed it all up in Lion... plus Megazoomer stopped working in Lion... they should have just hired the people who made Megazoomer, cause that's how fullscreen is supposed to work, simple, instead they complicated stuff and made crippled fullscreen. Apple is becoming the new Microsoft from the 90s... stiff and all about control and dominance.

You will probably find that when these guys http://www.culater.net/software/SIMBL/SIMBL.php get all up to date, it'll work fine?

Various other haxies made with that SIMBL tool, such as. http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/ < probably somethign of an acquired taste!!

yea, I agree, it's all up to SIMBL not being compatible with Lion, but they're GNU public license so it's not like there's a lot of money for those guys developing this, I don't blame them for finding smarter things to do in their lives...  I loved all the other SIMBL plugins people made

I was quite dissapointed to find that this thread existed. I cannot stand the full screen backout all other screens behaviour.  makes no sense.  I would call it a bug, because that is how badly I think this works, regardless of apple's intent.  on a laptop or desktop I prefer to use multiple monitors, and would prefer full screen mode to take all of the space (remove the window edges etc) and work on a second at the same time... my work around, honestly, it is easier to grab a PC or boot in bootcamp windows instead, becasue it works the right way when it comes to mutiple monitors.  allowing full screen on the application's monitor while continuing to use the others for work or taking notes should at least be an option.

Yep. It is really sad. And its still not fixed.

Not everyone considers that it is broken.