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Topic: «[PENDING]Move to monitor button improvements » on forum: Feature Requests   Views: 4362
 
Pim Joosten
 
 Posts: 549
Joined: 11/11/2010
Posted: 10/16/2014 18:15:07
 
 
 Recently I had to work with a monitor order (of the same monitors) that was different than the one I was used to. Because I was so used to the original setup I almost always got different behaviour from left clicking the Move to monitor button than I expected. I realised that a couple of improvements could make using the Move to monitor button easier.

(1) Left clicking the Move to monitor button always moves the monitor to the next number up monitor. This is however not always the physical order of the monitors. After some research on the internet I had to conclude that unfortunately it is not possible to change the numbers assigned to the monitors by Windows. One just has to live with what Windows does. I want to suggest to add an option that determines the next monitor a window is moved to by left clicking the Move to monitor button. I think it could be added to Options > Actions > Move to monitor in AWM's configuration window. What I see as an option is that a sequence is defined which the Move to monitor button follows. This sequence could also be linked to the desktop profiles, so that the sequence is adjusted if one selects a different profile. I would appreciate this option as left clicking is easier than right clicking and then selecting the desired monitor. If I can determine the order that the Move to monitor button sends my window to I can f.i. choose to go from right to left or left to right, even if the monitor numbers are not in that order.

(2) I also noticed that a long left click on the Move to monitor button has the same effect as right clicking that button (yes, I discovered something new in AWM again!  ;) . However, I have to release the left mouse button and then (left) click the desired monitor in order to move a window. It would be easier if I can just long left click the Move to monitor button and then move and drop the cursor onto the desired monitor, similar to the common functionality of drag and drop. That way with just one mouse click action I can move a window to the desired monitor, which makes the whole action more fluid.

I hope the implementation of these ideas is easy. They would however be valuable additions which IMO will make working with more than 2 monitors even easier. BTW: for moving windows between monitors I mostly use the Move to monitor buttons. I find that method the easiest to use.

Best regards.
 
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Zardoz2293
 
 Posts: 302
Joined: 07/27/2010
Posted: 10/16/2014 18:27:12
 
 
Quote
After some research on the internet I had to conclude that unfortunately it is not possible to change the numbers assigned to the monitors by Windows.
Have you considered unplugging the cables going into the monitors you want to switch monitor numbers? Although there should be no problem with the power on, if it were me, I'd power down the computer, and all monitors, then swap the cables at the monitors or you could do it at the video cards as long as you know which cable goes to what monitor.

Sincerely,
Lars
 
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Pim Joosten
 
 Posts: 549
Joined: 11/11/2010
Posted: 10/16/2014 19:34:18
 
 
Quote
Have you considered unplugging the cables going into the monitors you want to switch monitor numbers?
Thanks Lars for your suggestion. However, this is exactly how I got the different monitor order than the one I was used to. I had to change the cables to sort out an issue I have with my DisplayLink monitor automatically changing position after standby or after my screen was blanked by the power options in Windows. I tried to find the cause and solve it in many different ways, and switching cables was one of them. Unfortunately I haven't been able to solve it. I thus went back to my old setup and just changed the power options so that my monitors never switch off. Instead I use AWM's Save Idle Screens option.
 
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Zardoz2293
 
 Posts: 302
Joined: 07/27/2010
Posted: 10/16/2014 20:09:08
 
 
 Pim,

Quote
I have with my DisplayLink monitor automatically changing position after standby or after my screen was blanked by the power options in Windows
What do you mean by changing position after standby?


You may want to check your BIOS to see what video configuration options you have. Usually there are a couple of options there that might effect how the monitor turns off the power to the monitor, refreshes after power off, and a couple of others I don't remember right now.

What is the brand and model numbers of your two monitors, your video card brand and model number, and how are the cables physically connected at the video card and to each monitor?

I've experienced the same problem and others you are expressing and eventually found a viable solution.

Sincerely,
Lars
 
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Pim Joosten
 
 Posts: 549
Joined: 11/11/2010
Posted: 10/17/2014 01:33:17
 
 
 Hi Lars,

Quote
What do you mean by changing position after standby?
I mean that the order was 2, 1, 3 before standby/automatic display turn off, and changed to 2, 3, 1 after I start using the computer again. As a consequence many windows have changed position from monitor 3 to 1.

In the BIOS I only have the options to change the LCD brightness and switch Optimus on and off. It is a Dell Latitude E6430 laptop. Optimus must be switched off because I use Vista Ultimate and that OS does not support the simultaneous of 2 graphics cards. Migration to Windows 7 is in the works but will/can happen in 1 year at the earliest. The current installation actually is the installation that I had on my desktop that broke down over 2 years ago (malfunctioning motherboard) and that I restored on my new laptop. I have purchased an OEM upgrade to Windows 7 a while ago, but because it is an OEM license which I want to use on my to be repaired desktop, I have to move my Vista installation to my desktop first and then migrate to Windows 7, so that the OEM license is connected with the right computer.

The 3 monitors are the inbuilt LCD display, an Eizo FlexScan S2031W and a Samsung S19B420. The graphics card is an NVidia NVS 5200M and a StarTech USB32HDDVII DisplayLink adapter. Both monitors have a VGA and a DVI input. I have connected the EIZO to the Dell HDMI port with a DVI-HDMI conversion cable. The Samsung is connected via DVI to the StarTech adapter.

I have tried connecting the EIZO to the StarTech adapter and the Samsung directly to my laptop. I have also tried upgrading to the latest DisplayLink driver. Nothing works. I am already using the latest available Vista driver from Nvidia. I have also switched off Vista's Transient Multimon Manager in the Task scheduler, as I read that for many people that caused issues in Vista, but this also did not work. What (intuitively) seems to be happening is that for a brief moment the system only recognizes 2 monitors (the screens go black for a very brief moment) and thus moves all windows from monitor 3 to monitor 1. Then immediately after that monitor 3 is recognized again and started, but the monitor order has changed as I described.

I also have a Gateway C142-XL laptop (6 years old), that experienced the same issue with monitors changing position after standby in the same monitor setup. The EIZO was however directly connected to the Gateway via VGA, because it does not have a DVI or HDMI port. I could live with that situation on the Gateway however, because with that laptop it only happened when coming out of standby. But with the Dell it also happens when I start using the computer again after the display has been automatically turned off by the Windows power plan. That is frustrating. The workaround I use (not using auto turn off for the displays and using AWM's Save Idle Screens) is satisfactory, because I know I will migrate the installation to a new desktop in a year or so.

I am curious what your situation was and what solution you have found.

Best regards,
Pim
 
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Zardoz2293
 
 Posts: 302
Joined: 07/27/2010
Posted: 10/20/2014 06:14:34
 
 
Quote
I mean that the order was 2, 1, 3 before standby/automatic display turn off, and changed to 2, 3, 1 after I start using the computer again. As a consequence many windows have changed position from monitor 3 to 1.
I've never had this occur with a desktop. However, with notebooks it is a common problem (Dell, HP, others?) I'm not aware of a solution/workaround outside of having external software performing the corrective action. You may want to direct your focus on a Dell notebook forum or their technical support (assuming they are providing). Perhaps there is a keyboard sequence (hidden command) to access the Dell's extra BIOS configuration settings and there is a setting which can effect how the video is refreshed out of standby like exists on a Desktop?


Quote
I am curious what your situation was and what solution you have found.
There was no acceptable solution for the Dell notebook I was using as it was a hardware oversight design defect or as they referenced it "by design" -- indicating that as far as they were concerned it worked perfectly.

---

I'm not sure if I understand, but are you indicating you performed a system/backup restore from one computer to another of different hardware? If so, what software did you use? If so, have you considered installing the 'base' hardware software components/drivers specific to that device again?

---
BTW, My referenced to you about a Dell forum is in now way saying AWM can't or shouldn't be able to solve your problem, just that there 'might' be a solution directly from Dell.

Sincerely,
Lars
 
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Pim Joosten
 
 Posts: 549
Joined: 11/11/2010
Posted: 11/02/2014 01:52:05
 
 
 @Alexander
BUMP: because you have not responded I am unsure whether you have read and noted my feature requests in the first post of this thread.

@Lars
Quote
You may want to direct your focus on a Dell notebook forum or their technical support (assuming they are providing). Perhaps there is a keyboard sequence (hidden command) to access the Dell's extra BIOS configuration settings and there is a setting which can effect how the video is refreshed out of standby like exists on a Desktop?
Thanks for the suggestion, but I have decided to take a different route. It turns out that I will upgrade to Windows 7 in half a year or so, even on my current computer. I had not thought about the migration from my current laptop to the to be renewed desktop I need to be on Windows 7 then because of the simple fact that new motherboards do not come with Vista drivers anymore. So I have to move to Windows 7 before migrating. Fortunately there will be no license issue, because my current Dell laptop came with Windows 7 Ultimate and I can use that license when upgrading to Windows 7 ( I do have an upgrade DVD available). Hopefully I can then use my Windows 7 upgrade license when I migrate to the renewed desktop. If not, I still have other licenses that I can use to get Windows 7 activated on the renewed desktop (I won't go into details here, but I have it figured out).
When I tested the monitor position issue on my Windows 7 installation which came with the laptop, there were no issues at all. Also, my Gateway laptop with Vista had the same issue, but not as bad as my Dell. I therefore suspect it might be a Vista issue. So I hope that there will be no issues when I upgrade to Windows 7. I'll just have to wait and see. Until then I am happy with the workaround and won't go after Dell (yet) in order to save time and energy.
BTW: my feature requests are not specifically for my situation. They would be handy in any situation and I can recall at least one of those requests having been made a couple of years ago by somebody else, but I was unable to find that needle in the haystack.

Quote
I'm not sure if I understand, but are you indicating you performed a system/backup restore from one computer to another of different hardware? If so, what software did you use? If so, have you considered installing the 'base' hardware software components/drivers specific to that device again?
That is indeed what I did using Acronis True Image with Universal Restore. And of course I have installed the appropriate drivers, otherwise this migration would not have been possible  ;) But thanks for the suggestion.

Best regards.
 
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Alexander Mihalkin
Administrator

-retired-
 
 Posts: 502
Joined: 04/21/2014
Posted: 11/05/2014 15:50:51
 
 
 Thank you for your posts, Gentlemen!

Both your requests are to be considered, Pim.

Best regards.

support@actualtools.com
 
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Pim Joosten
 
 Posts: 549
Joined: 11/11/2010
Posted: 02/06/2015 17:05:20
 
 
 Cross link to similar requests (second link).
 
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