Your Windows 10 laptop is readily able to handle two monitors: the laptop's ain screen and an external monitor. That's because a monitor connector is a standard feature on all laptops. The reason is and so that you can use the external monitor or projector for making presentations. Fifty-fifty if you're not making a presentation, you can use the monitor connector to add together a larger or second monitor to your laptop computer system.

To add the external monitor, locate the monitor connector on your laptop's back or side. Plug in the monitor. Turn on the monitor.

After a successful connection, yous may be prompted on how to employ the second monitor. Generally, these options are presented:

  • Duplicate These Displays: Also known as the mirroring option, the laptop uses both displays at the same fourth dimension, showing the same epitome on each. This selection is chosen automatically when you adhere an external monitor (or projector) to your laptop.

  • Extend These Displays: Use the second monitor to extend the desktop area, giving you lot one figurer with two monitors.

  • Bear witness Only on 1: Use merely the laptop's display; ignore the external monitor.

  • Prove Merely on two: Utilize only the external monitor.

Your laptop may ask yous how to set up the second monitor when yous plug information technology in. Sometimes, you have to press an Fn key combination to use the second monitor. Or you can use the Screen Resolution screen to configure an external monitor. Obey these steps:

Managing an external monitor.

Managing an external monitor.

  1. Correct-click the desktop background.

  2. Choose the Display Settings control.

    Yous encounter the Settings app window, which shows the Customize Your Display screen.

  3. Choose an option from the Multiple Displays menu.

  4. Click the Utilise button to temporarily ostend the monitor configuration.

  5. Click the Keep Changes button to lock in any changes.

And now … the shortcut!

Considering external monitors can also be projectors, you tin can use the Win+P keyboard shortcut to quickly configure how the 2nd monitor behaves. Use the Project panel, which slides in from the correct side of the screen to quickly choose an external monitor configuration.

The Project panel.

The Project panel.

About This Article

About the book author:

Dan Gookin has been an author, editor, ghostwriter, and a public official. He's written more than a dozen Dummies books on technology, with a special focus on PCs, the Android operating system, and Microsoft products. And in 1991, he was the author of the very first Dummies volume, DOS For Dummies, which started the whole enterprise.

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