Multiple screens: how to open apps on the right monitor?


πŸ‘€Β Prashant Raj Bista Β Β  πŸ•’ 20 Mar 2023 Β Β  πŸ“ TECH

Introduction

If you are a person who uses a computer a lot, then you certainly have worked with multiple applications at a time. While working you also have faced the problem of the availability of the screen. In a sense, you cannot view multiple applications at a time. So you found an additional display to your work setup.

Now while working with multiple screens you might get frustrated when your application doesn't open on the right monitor. Here are a couple of ways you can try to get it done right.

Why use multiple monitors?

If you are wondering why use two monitors or multiple displays, here are some reasons.

Dual monitors help to increase productivity. By separating the screen for different tasks, you can minimize distraction. If distraction is minimized focus will increase which will increase productivity. Multiple screens also help to multitask. You can open multiple tasks at once and monitor both applications at once. Multiple screens can also provide an improved experience for gaming and entertainment.Β 

Want to split your screen using an HDMI splitter? Here is how it's done.

Methods to open apps on the correct monitor

If you have multiple monitors connected to your computer, you may occasionally encounter a scenario in which an application opens on the incorrect monitor; therefore, follow the steps outlined above.

1 Closing application

Yes, you read it correctly. You can open an application on the correct monitor by closing it on the monitor you want to display. This is possible because the operating system remembers the last state of the application. This method is applicable to both Windows and Linux.

  1. Open the application you want to open on a specific monitor.
  2. Drag the application to the specific monitor where you want to open it.
  3. Close the application.
  4. Next time you open the application it shall open on the desired monitor.

Keyboard-Shortcut to move the application

The easiest way to move any application to another screen is by dragging the application through the top and dropping it on the next screen. You can also do the same thing by using the keyboard. The keyboard shortcut isΒ Ctrl +shift and the left or right arrow.Β 

2 Making Primary display

If you want any application by default to run on one screen, then you can make that screen your primary display. The primary display or main display is the display where your taskbar is by default (in windows) or the topbar is by default (in Linux).

To convert your external display to the main display follow these steps

  1. Open Settings
  2. Click on the system. There you are by default navigated to Display settings.
    Display Settings
    fig. Display Settings
  3. Click on the display which you want to make your main display.
  4. Then scroll down there you can see the make main display option. Click on it.
    Checked on "Make this my main display"
    fig. Checked on "Make this my main display"

Note: For other versions of windows the setting might differ a little bit.

3 Application Setting

Some applications by default have a setting regarding the position of the windows. These settings are usually available running an application through the command line. For example, Google Chrome by default has a setting to set the width and height of the windows from where it should start.

In google chrome, you can use the β€˜--window-position’ and β€˜--window-size’  flags, when you launch the browser. These flags help to specify the position and size of the window.

4 Third-Party Applications

There are many third-party applications that can help you achieve the opening of applications on the desired window. Not only open applications on desired windows, but these tools also help in windows management. Some additional features include wallpapers, screensaver, windows splitter, and many more.

Display Fusion

Display Fusion is a multi-screen management tool. This tool helps to manage displays and also helps to make the screen look clean.

Installing Display Fusion

  1. Download the executable file form here.
  2. Click on the installer

The functionality we are interested in here is a trigger in Display Fusion. After properly installing Display Fusion, follow these steps:

  1. Open display fusion and go to Triggers on the left panel.
  2. Click on it and enable it which is in the top part.
    Click on Triggers > Enable Triggers
    fig. Click on Triggers > Enable Triggers
  3. To add functionality click on add.
  4. There you can see the event. Choose the window created.
    Create Windows Created Event
    fig. Create Windows Created Event
  5. Check the process filename option. Then choose the application.
    Check the desire application
    fig. Check the desire application
  6. On the action panel and select Move window to select monitor. Then select the monitor
    Move Window to Selected Monitor
    fig. Move Window to Selected Monitor
  7. After that close the application and verify the result.

Note: Do not forget to click on apply at the end after making changes.Β 

There are more Third-party applications available. Some of them are Ultramon, Divvy, etc. If you are using mac then you can try BetterTouchTool.

Among them for windows, the easiest and most popular one is the Display Fusion.

Conclusion

Setting to Open apps on the correct monitor at first can be time-consuming. You can use your preferred method from above mentioned. The easiest one is closing the application. When once set up using the correct method and it can increase the productivity in long run.