These connectors are a bit more expensive than one-to-one adapters, but they won’t break the bank, and they provide you with connections for your monitor, your standard USB accessories, and power input all in one. However, it’s best to purchase a multi-adapter, which gives you much more flexibility. If you need an HDMI to USB Type-C adaptor, you can get a low-cost converter on Amazon if you don’t mind attaching a small USB Type-C-to-HDMI adapter to the end of your Type-C cable. You usually get what you pay for, and the capabilities of the cable may have limits, such as 4K versus 8K resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate versus 120Hz. But don’t let that statement lead you to believe cheaper is better.
Again, there’s no way of telling beyond trial and error or buying a specifically video-compatible cable.įortunately, cables are generally cheap, even though USB Type-C is a relatively newer standard. If you attempt to use that same cable to connect your laptop to your monitor, you’ll be out of luck. Alas, there’s no way of telling beyond trying it out or checking the specifications for your laptop’s USB controller hardware. Others offer USB 3.0 but won’t let you plug the connection into a monitor. Some devices only support USB 2.0 connectivity and power transfer and don’t carry a video signal.
You’ll have to check your laptop’s manual for details.
USB Type-C is brilliant, but it’s not always obvious what the port on your laptop can and cannot do. You can still connect multiple screens using a dual-purpose cable, such as DVI-to-VGA, HDMI-to-DVI, or some other adapter or converter.Īn increasing number of laptops use a USB Type-C socket to complicate matters further, carrying data, video, and charging capabilities. If you have things the other way around, you’ll need to adjust the placement position slightly since the external monitor resides on the left side.ĭon’t fear if you have DVI and HDMI, HDMI and DisplayPort, or even VGA and any of the above connections.
Adjust Multi-Monitor Positions in Windowsīy default, Windows positions the laptop’s built-in screen to the left and the external monitor to the right, meaning you have to move the cursor off the internal screen’s right-hand side when navigating to the monitor. Note: If your monitor doesn’t display your laptop output automatically, it may be necessary to use the monitor’s controls to switch to the correct input.
Users of Windows 7 need to follow a different procedure than Windows 8, 8.1, or 10 to duplicate or extend their display. For work or gaming, however, the option you need is “Extend.” This setting allows you to spread your entire desktop over two screens and drag windows and other items from one to the other.Įxtending/Duplicating the Desktop in Windows 7 Use the “Duplicate” or “Second screen only” option to display a presentation through a projector or to play a movie.On Windows 8, 8.1, or 10, press “WIN + P” to open the “PROJECT” menu, which appears on the right-hand side.Once you’ve got your cable, plug it into the monitor and laptop, the Windows side of things is straightforward. Choose to Extend or Duplicate the Desktop in Windows Extending/Duplicating the Desktop in Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 Click the Display page on the right side.2.To change the scale settings for a better viewing experience, use these steps: If you have a high-resolution monitor, you can use the scale setting to make things bigger and more readable. The scale settings can come in handy when using monitors of different sizes and screen resolutions for text, icons, frames, and other items the same size across displays.
How to change scale and layout settings on Windows 11Īlthough Windows 11 applies the optimal display settings, sometimes, you may still need to change each monitor's scaling, resolution, and orientation. In contrast, the Second screen only option is great when you want to close a laptop's lid and work only with the external monitor. The Duplicate option is also good, but when using a second monitor or projector to show a presentation. Usually, you want to use the Extend option since it allows you to use the primary monitor normally and the secondary at their native resolution creating a single larger canvas.