nelsonmay
Level 1 (4 points)
Apple Music

Q: how to set display options on an external monitor?

I have been searching for my answers and am having trouble finding them. I have a 2014 MBP with and HDMI out. I am running a 32 inch screen TV to give me more real estate. I can't find the settings, but the aspect ratio is off on the TV. I keep my dock on the left of the screen. I loose it on the TV. I also don't want to mirror the TV, I would like to use it as a separate monitor for more real estate while I am watching training videos and doing exercises.

 

Is that possible?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), Mid 2014, 2.5- i7, 16 GB RAM,

Posted on Sep 9, 2015 7:01 AM

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nelsonmay

Q: how to set display options on an external monitor?

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  • by Brett L,

    Brett L Brett L Sep 10, 2015 7:38 AM in response to nelsonmay
    Community Specialists
    Sep 10, 2015 7:38 AM in response to nelsonmay

    Hey nelsonmay,

     

    As a Mac user who really loves my screen space I can certainly understand your desire to use your TV display effectively with your MacBook Pro. Let's see if we can get you up and running.

     

    Controls for various functions related to your external display can be found in System Preferences (under the Apple menu) > Displays. Under the Arrangement tab you will see a checkbox in the lower left corner for Mirror Displays. Deselecting this box will allow you to use the space on each display independently. See this article for more information on this area of the Displays System Preferences - OS X Yosemite: Arrangement pane of Displays preferences.

     

    For your issue with not seeing the Dock on the left side of your screen, you may need to adjust the resolution of your external display, again using the same pane of System Preferences. It is also possible that there is an issue with your display overscanning or underscanning. You can adjust for this in System Preferences > Displays > Display tab. See this article for information about adjusting for overscan and underscan - Learn about overscan and underscan - Apple Support

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    Happy computing.