Using an external display with a MacBook

Here are some tips for using a MacBook or MacBook Pro with an external monitor. They range from the painfully obvious (for brand new Mac users) to one I actually just learned yesterday.

1. When you connect an external monitor to your MacBook (or PowerBook, for that matter), you can combine your MacBook's LCD and your external monitor to create one big monitor. That means when your mouse pointer goes off the edge of one, it will appear on the other. Open the Displays Preference Pane to configure the resolution and orientation of the two monitors. This type of configuration works well when you want to keep your main work on your larger external display, but still keep things like IM, iTunes, and email constantly visible on the smaller laptop LCD.
2. Some windows act like they don't want to be dragged on to your external monitor. If a windows is being stubborn, try dragging it up to the menu bar, and keep dragging, even if stays stuck below the menu bar. Sometimes once you have dragged it far enough that it has room to render the entire window, it will jump to the other monitor (Terminal used to have this problem, but Apple fixed it some time ago). If that doesn't work, try dragging it from a corner of your monitor. My Adium contact list doesn't seem to want to live on my external monitor, but I can coerce it up there by dragging up from either corner.
3. When your laptop is open, you can't switch to using the full resolution of an external monitor. I have no idea why, but it's a fact of life for MacBook users. You can use both displays in "extended" mode, or you can mirror your MacBook's display (which most likely doesn't use the full resolution of your external monitor), but you can't switch to using only the external monitor. Very strange.
4. If you close your laptop, you can actually get the full resolution of your external display. Put your MacBook to sleep, connect your external display and an external monitor, and wake the computer up by pressing any key. You will have full use of your external display while your laptop is closed.
5. If you really want to have your MacBook open while only using an external display, after following the procedure above, you can open your MacBook, and it's screen will remain off, which means you can still use the MacBook's keyboard and trackpad. Why you can't get into this mode using F7, I have no idea. This is a good technique for allowing some heat to dissipate while still using an external display so the lid of your MacBook doesn't melt or warp.
6. You can boot your computer using just an external display. Just connect your external display, open the lid, hit the power button, and close the lid again immediately.
7. In order to output only to an external monitor, you have to have the power cable connected. I tried for several minutes yesterday to get my MacBook to wake up with an external keyboard and monitor before unpacking my AC adapter from my backpack, and it wouldn't work. It took me a while to make the connection (no pun intended), but I eventually discovered that with the power cable attached, everything works as expected.
   

And now for some other random tips:

1. If you decide to buy the MacBook over the MacBook Pro (I actually like the MacBook slightly better, but that's a topic for another post), don't forget to buy a mini-DVI to standard DVI adapter. The MacBooks don't have standard DVI port -- just the mini.
2. If you have a DVI to VGA adapter, stop reading this right now, go find it, and put it in your computer bag where it should be stored. You'll thank me the next time you're in front of a client or an audience, trying to mash a VGA cable into a DVI port.
3. For the ultimate in multiple-display, multi-computer support, check out Synergy. Synergy actually lets you switch between different computers running different operating systems simply by moving your mouse from one monitor to the next. The first time you see it, you'll swear it's magic. Imagine two separate physical computers next to each other with two monitors, one keyboard, and one mouse. Just move the pointer from one monitor to the other, and you're actually using the other computer. It even let's you copy and paste between computers. If you're a Mac user running Parallels, you might not see the point, but you still have to appreciate the technical wizardry.

Anything that I've missed? Post it in the comments.

Comments

[A.J. Price]

Problem persists, worst thing is it seems as though my television will not allow me to justfy the screen while it is not connected to a VGA source. Am I out of luck?

[Ted Andrusyszyn]

I jsut purchased a X2gen monitor that has both VGA and DVI inputs. I also purchased a DVI-I Integrated Dig/Ana Dual cable dvi-dvi to hook it to my MAcBook Pro. I get no signal with the direct DVI cable but works fine with the DVI-VGA adapter. Shouldn't the DVI - I Cable work, and with better resolution??? CAn anyone help? Do I have the correct DVI cable???

[Jonas Tegenfeldt]

Concerning comment posted by Tegenfeldt March 4 at 0751am.

The solution was simple. I shifted the primary monitor to the external screen. In other words, I made sure that the Finder menu bar and the Dock shows up on the external monitor instead of on the internal monitor of the laptop. Now, everything works great.

/JT

[Prakash]

Thank You. This really helped me out

[alex]

Is there a way to have two menu bars ?
Alex

[Atlas]

I just baught the mini dvi to dvi and a dvi to vga but it does not work on with my external monitor. i have a macbook.

[Derek]

I have a friend who's daughters Mac Book 15" died. We hoped it was just a hard drive, but turns out the Monitor is bad. In a dark room you can see a real faint display (shining a high power flash light at the monitor at an angle makes it a little easier to see). I once saw an article about removing the LCD and just using the Mac Book with an external display. The article was about a hack to the code to force the Mac to alway output video on the external monitor port. Can anyone tell me where to get information on removing the LCD (and have the Mac Book work) and how to force the external display to be always on?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Derek

[Derek]

OK, got my friend to bring in the laptop. Details are the same except that the model is a Powerbook G4 15" 1.33 GHz model.

[Steve]

Hi. I am currently running a 19-inch samsung external monitor from my black macbook with 1 GB RAM. I notice my computer runs considerably slower when I'm using it compared to when I am not (mouse clicks, program response time, loading time is slower). I'm wondering if there is a direct link between memory usage and using an external monitor. I also have an external sound card and USB hub connected to my macbook. However it seems the system resources are more drained by the monitor.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Lee]

Hi, I've got my macbook hooked up to my Toshiba HM95 DLP 46" HD TV via the mini DVI to Video adapter. The screen looks good, but not great. I've switched the display to run at 1024 x 768, but the TV only recognizes the resolution at 480i. Is there anyway to increase the output of the Macbook to something higher than 480i? I do some online gaming (World of Warcraft) and when I use the macbook's display the picture is crystal clear, but when I use the TV as the monitor, I have trouble reading some of the in-game text. Is there anyway to make my mac send out an HD signal? Thanks!

[Kevin]

Thanks for this post! I just hooked up my 23" cinema display but couldn't get the full resolution working or closing my lid and using just the external monitor. Now, I've got both working on my Macbook!

[se]

Guys, check here
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3493567�

[Howard Lovatt]

Great post, very helpful.

When I switch from the larger external screen to the laptop some of the windows are off the edge or too big. Particularly the windows that are off the screen edge are a pain.

Is there a way to get the screen to lay out the windows so that at least they are all on the screen.

[Brandon]

I have a macbook pro and an old sony monitor, but the monitor wont sense an input whereas the macbook senses the monitor. the monitor is just blank. can anyone help me please?

[Andreas]

Why is such a pain to switch simply to external monitor only?
When i'm at home i wsnt only work on my 23" extrenal monitor with the macbook display turned off... In windows (bootcamp) you can choose this simply with the GMA driver, and even save different display arrangements...
(btw when i close and reopen the lid usb mouse&keyboard connected don't work anymore.....)

[roj]

I have same problem like steve. My macbook runs slower when I used my external monitor. any suggestions?

--------
>> "4. If you close your laptop, you can actually get the full resolution of your external display. Put your MacBook to sleep, connect your external display and an external monitor, and wake the computer up by pressing any key. You will have full use of your external display while your laptop is closed."

>>>> Here, I'm sure you're using an external keyboard (as am I) to wake up your MacBook, since it's hard to get at the built-in keyboard with the lid closed. :-) Just in case anyone was confused.
--------

I was thinking the EXACT same thing. :)

[Bhavik]

hi i have 15" macbook pro and a older polycarbonate lcd display how do i get this to work, wot sort of connector do i need to buy?

[Bhavik]

hi i have 15" macbook pro and a older polycarbonate lcd display how do i get this to work, wot sort of connector do i need to buy?

[Kunaal]

Hi, when I connect my macbook to my TV there is a black border only on the right hand side. Is there anyway of shifting adjusting the positioning on the external display?

[Jon]

here's the scenario ( using a macbook pro ):
i like the solution of having a secondary monitor hooked up to my notebook, closing the lcd, and putting the notebook to sleep. this disables the lcd screen as discussed earlier.
my main concern is the "warping" or "burning" of the lcd.

Has anybody experienced this or heard of it happening? Considering the cost of my notebook i'm a little reluctant to keeping the lcd closed for a large amount of time, considering i'm a print designer who max's out the processor on a daily basis.

feedback is much appreciated.

thanks.

[Toastie]

Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing as Kunaal. I work in motion graphics and the idea of doing a full days work in motion with the lid closed scares me. My macbook pro gets hot at the best of times. You only need to look at
http://www.appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=MacBook_Pro
for some horror stories!

[Toastie]

Sorry I meant Jon. Got a little confused there...

[jaffa]

Help, I have connected my Macbook (2Ghz Intel Duo, 1GB RAM) to an external 22" monitor (1680x1050) but I can not get anything higher than 1280x1024 to show up in the selection for display graphics. ?!?? How is everyone else getting such high resolution selections?
Is there something wrong with my display?

[Stephen]

Wow! thanks a lot, that answered all my questions.