Author Topic: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion  (Read 9607 times)

Offline gregdixonphoto

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I have seen reviews that say that you can now use a 2nd monitor in a dual monitor setup to display the preview screen or slideshow.

I am using a Mac running OS X 10.8.3 / Mountain Lion and cannot find a setting to allow this, and simply dragging the window off the screen does not work--it stops when it hits the title bar.

Help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Greg

P.S. When you click "Help" in PM 5, it brings up a web link / help file for PM 4. ;)

Offline gregdixonphoto

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2013, 01:04:53 PM »
I do see that it works if you arrange the screens side-by-side in System Preferences-Displays. Then you can drag a window to the side, to the 2nd monitor.

However, my big display is physically above my small (laptop) display, and so setting the settings this way is wonky.

PhotoShop will allow you to drag a window up to the 2nd screen. (It doesn't hit the title bar and then stop.) But I take it this is impossible in PM. Is that correct? Thanks.

Greg

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2013, 03:06:39 PM »
Greg,

I do see that it works if you arrange the screens side-by-side in System Preferences-Displays. Then you can drag a window to the side, to the 2nd monitor.

However, my big display is physically above my small (laptop) display, and so setting the settings this way is wonky.

PhotoShop will allow you to drag a window up to the 2nd screen. (It doesn't hit the title bar and then stop.) But I take it this is impossible in PM. Is that correct? Thanks.

Photo Mechanic isn't involved in the process that allows you to drag a window around.  Why it doesn't easily allow you to move it to your second screen, I do not know.  I can tell you for certain that there is no programming in Photo Mechanic that is interfering with the system allowing you to drag a window around.

I'd like to see a screen shot of your Displays Preferences, showing the "Arrangement" of your monitors.  Use the 'Attachments and other options' link when you're composing your reply to this message and there you'll be able to upload your JPEG format screenshot.

Thanks,

-Kirk

Offline Boatguy

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2014, 01:22:32 PM »
This is an issue related to the "Preview on 2nd monitor" subject.

I use a MacBook Pro Retina with an Apple Thunderbolt 27" display.  I use PM on the big display and the Preview window on the MacBook Pro with the higher resolution display.  This works fine.

The annoyance is that every time the Preview window is opened, it defaults to the same display, and virtual screen, as PM.  So every time I use it I have to drag it to the MBP display.  Is there a way to get PM to open the Preview window on the monitor where it was last opened?

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2014, 03:21:02 PM »
Russ,

This is an issue related to the "Preview on 2nd monitor" subject.

I use a MacBook Pro Retina with an Apple Thunderbolt 27" display.  I use PM on the big display and the Preview window on the MacBook Pro with the higher resolution display.  This works fine.

The annoyance is that every time the Preview window is opened, it defaults to the same display, and virtual screen, as PM.  So every time I use it I have to drag it to the MBP display.  Is there a way to get PM to open the Preview window on the monitor where it was last opened?

It should do that automatically.  I have three screens on my system and I can put my Preview window on any of them and it will open on the monitor it was last on when it was closed.  Like I asked the original poster, could you please post a screen shot of your Displays control panel showing the Arrangement of your desktop?  Use the 'Attachments and other options' link when you're composing your reply to this message and there you'll be able to upload your JPEG format screenshot.

Thanks,

-Kirk

Offline Boatguy

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2014, 05:42:42 PM »
OK, here it is.



[attachment deleted by admin]

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2014, 05:49:26 PM »
Thanks Russ.  Please next time post a JPEG, not a TIFF.  I have to download the TIFF and display it in another app rather than just seeing it in your post which is much more convenient.

Which of those two monitors are you putting the Preview window onto?  You also mentioned 'virtual screen'.  What virtual screen are you referring to?

Does this behavior of defaulting to the wrong screen happen only when you quit PM and resume it again, or does it happen each time you close the Preview window and open it again while PM is running?

-Kirk

Offline Boatguy

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2014, 11:02:52 AM »
Sorry about the TIFF, it's the default OSX screen shot format.  I found how to change the default to jpg and have made that change.

I put the Preview window on the MBP Retina and the PM contact sheets are on the Thunderbolt Display.

The reference to "virtual screens" is more properly called Desktops on OSX.  I have 5-10 on each monitor, but I don't think that is an issue here.

When I start PM fresh, there is no Preview window at all so it has to be opened and then moved.  Once PM is running, if I close the Preview window, then when it is re-opened it will default to the same desktop as PM and it needs to be moved.  If I never closed it once PM is started, then I'd only have to move it when I first open it.

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2014, 11:26:24 AM »
Russ,

Sorry about the TIFF, it's the default OSX screen shot format.  I found how to change the default to jpg and have made that change.

I put the Preview window on the MBP Retina and the PM contact sheets are on the Thunderbolt Display.

The reference to "virtual screens" is more properly called Desktops on OSX.  I have 5-10 on each monitor, but I don't think that is an issue here.

When I start PM fresh, there is no Preview window at all so it has to be opened and then moved.  Once PM is running, if I close the Preview window, then when it is re-opened it will default to the same desktop as PM and it needs to be moved.  If I never closed it once PM is started, then I'd only have to move it when I first open it.

When I quit PM and launch it again my Preview window always goes back to the screen it was last on.  If I close the Preview window while PM is running, it always reopens on the screen it was last on.  How are you certain that these virtual desktops aren't a problem?

Can you disable them and see if that makes any difference?

-Kirk

Offline Boatguy

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Re: display preview or slideshow on 2nd monitor in OS X Mountain Lion
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2014, 12:13:18 PM »
I found the problem.  First, multiple desktops has been part of OSX since Lion (originally called Spaces).  It's not actually possible to disable them, though they can be limited to one per display if the user does not run any apps in full screen and disables having the Dashboard in a separate space.

The problem was that to help with the management of multiple desktops Apple introduced the ability to assign an app to a specific desktop (or all desktops).  Since I normally have many applications running I used this to assign PM to a specific desktop.  This setting then passed through to the Preview window causing it to re-open in the same desktop as PM each time it was created.  Changing the setting (right click on PM in the dock and select Options) to None allows the Preview window to re-open in it's last location.

So, mea culpa, it was an unintended consequence of assigning PM to a desktop.

Thank you for your patience.