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If you have two monitors (or a monitor and a projector) running Mac OSX Tiger, there are two ways you can use them. The first is to have them mirror each other so that they both display the exact same information, as if you only had one monitor. This is useful for presentations or if you just want to use a bigger monitor for your laptop. The second option is nonmirroring, which lets the monitors act separately. One monitor will be the primary, with the menus; the other is just extra screen space.
 | You need an extra video-out port to use multiple monitors with your Mac. Laptops have an extra port by default; desktops need either a second video card or a video card with two ports. Not all Macs — even if they have an extra video port — can support separate monitors (not without hacking the software, that is). This includes iMacs, eMacs, and iBooks (consumer line products). |
To configure your Macintosh to work with two monitors (or a monitor and a projector), follow these steps:
1. Connect both displays to your Mac.
When connecting any new display, turn off the display (monitor, television, or projector), make the connection, and then turn on the display. You don't have to turn off your Mac when connecting a display.
You don't need to restart your Mac to connect or disconnect another monitor.
2. Open the Displays dialog in System Preferences.
3. Click the Detect Displays button.
This button brings the new monitor to the Mac's attention.
4. Click the Arrangement tab in the main display window.
When using the Displays dialog with multiple monitors, you see two separate windows:
• The main display window (see Figure 1) appears on the display that also has the Dock and the menu bars. The main display panel controls the arrangement of multiple monitors.
• The second display (see Figure 2) appears on the subordinate monitor. The secondary display panel controls only the resolution and color settings for the second monitor.
Figure 1: The main display panel controls the arrangement of multiple monitors.
Figure 2: A secondary display panel controls only the resolution and color settings for the second monitor.
5. In the main display, move the monitor icons around so that they correspond with their physical relation to each other.
The two connected displays are represented by the two blue squares in the box below the Arrangement tab, as shown in Figure 1. The main display has a white bar across the top of an icon, which represents the menu bar. When you understand which icon represents which monitor, you can click and drag the icons to arrange them the same way your displays are physically arranged.
If you're using a monitor and a projector, how they are arranged in the Displays panel doesn't matter (because the screens aren't next to each other), but you still need to visualize how the two screens meet up.
 | If you're using two monitors in a nonmirroring format, you have essentially one large workspace created by virtually combining the two display areas. Consequently, the cursor scrolls off the edge of one monitor and onto the other. For those to work best, the monitors should be arranged in the Displays dialog as they are physically arranged in your work area or you need to comprehend how the cursor gets from a monitor to the projector's screen (by scrolling off of one side or the other). |
6. Move the menu bar icon to dictate which monitor is the primary.
The primary monitor will have the menu bar and a Dock at the bottom; if your Dock is on the side of your screen, it will appear on the leftmost or rightmost screen side, accordingly.
The white bar on the top of the one display icon represents the menu bar. You can click and drag this from one monitor icon to the other to set the primary monitor. Your primary monitor will show the menu bar at the top, the Dock at the bottom (if that's your setting), and any mounted volumes on your Desktop (if it's set to do so).
If you have two monitors, they can mirror each other. Mirroring means that both monitors display the same thing at the same time — which is useful when giving presentations because you can work on your computer while still controlling the overhead projection. The cursor moves in sync on both displays.
To use mirroring
1. If you haven't already, enable the Display menu bar tool.
The Display menu bar tool provides you with quicker access to your monitor settings, including mirroring, resolution, and detecting new displays.
2. Click the Display menu bar icon.
3. Choose Turn On Mirroring from the menu that appears.
4. Set the appropriate screen resolution for both monitors in the Display menu.
In earlier versions of OS X, both monitors had to use the same resolution for mirroring to work; fortunately, this is no longer the case.
5. Use the menu bar Display icon to turn mirroring on and off as necessary.
| When giving a presentation, you can use your Mac's ability to easily turn monitoring on and off to your advantage. If you want both monitors to present the same information, turn on mirroring. If you'd like to do something without everyone in the room seeing it, temporarily turn off mirroring and then use the nonprojected display. |
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