Difference between revisions of "Second Life and multiple monitors"

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#REDIRECT [[Troubleshooting common performance problems]]
 
If your computer has two or more monitors, it's very useful to display Second Life on one, while showing various applications on the other(s). For example, some Resident content creators have dual monitors so they can do image editing in Photoshop while keeping an eye inworld. It's more convenient than flipping back and forth -- extra screen "real estate" really does make a difference!
 
What follows are some general tips relating to Second Life and dual monitors. For specifics, consult the documentation provided by the manufacturer(s) of your monitors and your graphics card, because details may vary.
 
On some systems, Second Life may encounter problems if it's running on the secondary monitor. In Windows XP/2000, monitor numbering is usually done in the '''Control Panel > Display > Settings''' tab, like this:
 
==If your avatar turns black==
 
Try this:
 
# Log out of Second Life.
# Open Second Life on the primary monitor.
# [[How do I open the Advanced menu (Formerly known as the Client menu.)|Open the Advanced menu.]]
# Select '''Advanced > Character > Rebake Textures'''.
 
This should "refresh" your avatar so you appear as expected again.
 
If this issue persists with your dual monitor setup, please tell us more about your graphics card and monitor configuration [https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-690 here]. We'd like to know:
 
* What graphics card are you using? (Do you not know? [[What is a graphics card Will mine work with Second Life How do I tell which one I have|This article]] may help)
* What's your setup look like?
** A laptop with an extra monitor
** A desktop with a dual-port graphics card
** A desktop with a dual-monitor cable splittter
** Something else
==Stretching the Second Life window across more than a single monitor==
 
This is also known as spanning, and can result in greatly lowered performance. To compare before and after, select '''View > Statistics Bar''' and observe "FPS" (Frames Per Second)" at the top. You'll likely notice that it drops, and and you'll feel the experience get jumpier and rougher. For this reason, spanning isn't generally recommended.
 
==Quit Second Life before making major monitor changes==
 
For example, switching resolutions, or enabling/enabling a monitor. Changing those settings when Second Life is open may result in a hard crash that restarts your computer.
 
==What about adding floating toolbars to Second Life so I can put them on another monitor?==
 
We've received a number of [http://secondlife.com/vote/ feature requests] for this (including Proposals [http://secondlife.com/vote/vote.php?get_id=197 #197], [http://secondlife.com/vote/vote.php?get_id=808 #808], and [http://secondlife.com/vote/vote.php?get_id=1070 #1070]). We agree that this would reduce clutter and make better use of a multiple-monitor configuration. It would likely take a couple months of developer time to make it work well across Windows, Mac, and Linux. We don't currently have an ETA for this feature, but it's on the to-do list.
[[Category:Troubleshooting]]
[[Category:Hardware Questions]]
[[Category:General Second Life Software Information]]
 
[[Category:Knowledge Base]]

Latest revision as of 11:36, 12 December 2011

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