Second Screen and Display Settings in Windows

When you connect a projector, Windows treats it as another display. You then choose how the two screens work together, and that choice decides where windows appear.

The four display modes

Windows 11 and Windows 10 offer a menu of display styles. Press the Windows key + P to bring it up.¹ Dell describes the options this way:

• PC screen only. Display 1 is used and display 2 shows nothing.¹
• Duplicate, also called clone mode, shows the entire desktop on both displays.¹
• Extend stretches the desktop across the two displays.¹
• Second screen only uses display 2 and shows nothing on display 1.¹

Defaults differ. When a second monitor is connected to a Dell laptop, the default is Duplicate. On a Dell desktop, it's Extend.¹ Other makes may differ.

Which mode suits a simulator

Each mode has a use, and none is right for everyone.

Second screen only makes the projector the only display. It's simple, because nothing lands on a screen you aren't looking at. The laptop panel goes dark, so you must be able to see the projector's image to use the PC.

Extend keeps the PC's own screen for menus and settings, while the projector shows the game. This is the one that causes "windows on the wrong screen", because Windows has two places to put things.

Duplicate shows the same picture on both. It's simple to set up, though the two screens may run at different shapes or resolutions.

Getting windows onto the right screen

With Extend on, you can drag a window across the edge of one screen to the other. There's also a keyboard route. Dell lists Windows key + Page up and Windows key + Page down as shortcuts for moving apps from one monitor to another.¹

If a game keeps opening on the wrong display, try these:

1. Press Windows key + P and pick Extend or Second screen only.
2. Open display settings in Windows and look at the numbered boxes. They show which screen is which.
3. Look in the golf software's own settings for a display or monitor choice.
4. Check the resolution of the display the game uses.

Some programs open on the main display. Making the projector the only screen by choosing Second screen only avoids the question.

If the projector shows nothing

Start with the cable. Microsoft advises you to make sure the cable between the PC and the external monitor is secure.²

Next, press Windows + P and check the mode. If an external monitor isn't working, make sure the Extend option is selected.²

Other steps from Microsoft's help page:

• Try a different cable or another video port on the PC.²
• Disconnect docks, dongles and adapters that could be causing a conflict.²
• Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B to reset the graphics driver, which may fix the issue.²
• Restart the device.²

For port choices, there's a page on cables and adapters.

Splitters and more than one projector

A display splitter can't extend the desktop to more than one external monitor. Microsoft says the splitter duplicates the same signal instead of creating two independent signals.²

If your machine only has one video output, a docking station or a USB adapter may add another. Ask the PC maker.²

Last step

Once the screens behave, match the resolution and refresh rate to the projector. The page on resolution and refresh covers that. Another, on laptops and desktops, explains why some machines support fewer screens.