Just curious how many of you are running two monitors at your workstation.
For example: Scripts, Word docs on one monitor, Studio '09 on the other? Or is the layout more based on your active applications?
I've found that two monitors really help for webinars where one screen is the live, presentation screen and the other is used to stage examples or talking points.
Anyway, if your'e running two monitors, how do you manage your workspaces?
You all are cracking me up - and making me want to go out and buy another monitor right this second!I spend at least half my time away from my office (which is in my house) and I just work on my 17” laptop screen and run the things I need to see side-by-side.I have a monitor at home but almost never use it because I like to work sitting on the couch instead of at my desk.But maybe if I got a 2nd monitor, I’d love it so much that I’d actually use my desk…
On the other hand, it sounds like many of you are using the second monitor for multitasking (Justin J) and to be honest, I need to do less multitasking, not more, so maybe it’s not such a good idea for me.
Most everything that I need to touch frequently throughout the day: Email, Articulate, Adobe CS5, video editing app, the stuff I'm just knee deep working in.
Second monitor -
Stuff that I only need to come back to every once in a while, or need for a distraction every now and then : Calendar, tunes, news, facebook, Articulate community, twitter, etc.
Will also heavily use the second monitor as folks have already mentioned - comparing docs, copying and pasting and the sorts. It's also nice for website authoring (dreamweaver on one screen and the site on the other).
I read somewhere that having dual monitors makes a person 33% more productive, but I'm not sure if there are any concrete studies done on the subject
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the dual monitors - and it's one of the negatives of working at home! Have a big laptop screen, but still not enough screen real-estate for design work. My typical setup:
Monitor 1 (left): Outlook, chat, Photoshop or Soundbooth, depending on what I'm working on, word docs/PPTs to feed the project, maybe FireFox or IE (I switch those around depending on what I'm working on) & if iTunes is open, it's usu. behind all this stuff
Monitor 2 (right): this is my hard-working design monitor for main content, so Captivate is usu. here (if I had Articulate, it would be here!) and FireFox or IE, windows explorer windows, MindManager (but those move around too)
I don't think I would be anywhere NEAR as productive without the 2 monitors - and they're nice and big. Being a visual person, and a designer, I'm all about the screen real estate. Remember Mary Poppins? "I'd much rather see all of my face at the same time, thank you!" or something to that effect - same principle! I want to SEE as much as possible, right next to each other if I'm working in multiple tools.
I would love to be able to have powerpoint on each monitor,
Phil
Phil - you can, even with 2007 (works for Excel too). If you have two PPTs open:
Click on the View tab
Drag your PPT window to cover both screens
Click on Arrange All
Now that I'm trying to actually do this to make sure these steps are in the right order, I can't get PPT to open up on my computer....argh. Will have to reboot. Anyway, you can view more than one PPTs at once utilizing multiple screens.
thank you, will give it a try
Phil
AMANDA! You are MY HERO!!! I did exactly what you said and it TOTALLY worked!!! I am unable to articulate HOW happy this makes me!! Saving SO much back/forth and frustration to put together what SHOULD BE a simple PPT. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
In a nutshell, I have one monitor for my actuall design work and one for all the items -- images, word docs, editing programs -- going into whatever I'm designing. --Daniel
Typically I have PPTs on one monitor with email, IM, and notes for a project behind them and any engage activities, Xcelsius, and Captivate open and available on the second.
Two screens is the only way to go and have even flirted with 3 (just because I could really). But two screens allows me to have my development screen free and then have all other content next to it.
I use two monitors all the time, I couldn't live without two! It is great when you are working on a presentation where you may be copying information from one to another. Just open both presentations, click view, arrange all andyou get both on thesame screen while you other screen is free for everything else, such as editing an interaction or a phot in photoshop or any other program you may need to pull information from.
The only drawback for me is that I am so used to using two monitors that when I can't, I find it really annoying. To say I'm addicted to two monitors would be an understatement.
I love my "dualees". I was the first in the office to get them and now we only have two holdouts (ironically, one is my boss). I'm in the process of trying to get bigger monitors, the issue is realestate on my desk - especially with widescreen monitors.
1: Email, assets
2: Everything else
I only have one monitor at home, which often leads to me dragging things off of the screen only to realize that I don't have the dual setup.
All that being said; sitting on my couch with my laptop more than makes up for the number of available screens, imo.
I love my dual monitors. On 1 screen I keep my email or web up and running for research or documents for cutting and pasting and on the other I keep the object/document I am working on. My favorite use is when I am using certain elearning programs on one screen and using PowerPoint on another to create and manipulate graphics on the fly! I will only go back to one monitor kicking and screaming!
One thing I've noticed is that when I publish a module with the maximize options in Articulate (Player Template > Other) set to actually maximize browser and presentation size , the published module doesn't display correctly when I'm testing on two monitors.
When I launch the module from our LMS it in my dual-monitor set up, the window is maximized height-wize on one monitor, but the width of the window is just 1/2 of one of the screens.
When I switch my monitors to clone (same image displayed on both screens), the module launches the way I want it too.
I have PPT on monitor 1 and detach the Selection Pane and Animation Pane so that I can move them to monitor 2. (Actually they open up on monitor 2 now.) Gives me a bigger stage area to work with PPT.
I do a similar thing when working with Photoshop.
I also do the 2 PPT files open on separate monitors as mentioned by others.
I don't even think about it as two monitors. I just treat it as one big monitor.
I will be getting a new set up next week. I love using my Mac but can't run programs like Storyline or Lectora. So.... I am getting a Macbook Air with an external monitor and will be installing VirtualBox so I can run Storyline. I did a trial run with VirtualBox on another Mac and it seemed to work well. I'll let you know how it goes!
I'm in the minority of people who could use two screens but opt to use one. I agree the extra real estate is nice, especially if I need to compare two windows of information. But in my current set up, the difference in resolutions between monitor and the laptop displays make it too jarring to look at. So instead I rock the Alt+Tab keys like crazy.
I don't have a specific items that I run on each, I just move between them depending on what I am doing. PPT on one, quizmaker on the other, or email on one, updates to courses on the other. I use them interchangeably, but would never want to go back to 1 monitor!
The NYT had a pretty cool interactive a year ago on multitasking and using dual monitors. The interactive features a panoramic image with labeled graphics over some areas.
While working on a project, I usually have PPT open on each screen. One is my project and the other PPT file is for working on images (that way, my project stays clean. I just copy and paste completed images I am working on when I am ready.
My setup is not as clean as I'd like it. I've used multiple monitors for many years now, and I don't think I could live without them!
My current setup:
Usually, I have all screens full of gadgets, notes, browsers and other software. I like to keep everything as organized as possible and the extra space makes a huge difference!
I remember visiting a family member for a weekend and I only had my laptop. Trying to switch back to a single screen is pretty difficult, but oh how wonderful it was to return to the land of many screens!
I could use as many monitors as possible! Two minimum at work, same at home but planning to stack two 27'' side by side for video production projects.
With Storyline I like to keep the output window on monitor1 and the rest on monitor2. Sometimes I extend the timeline window on both monitors in the bottom.
I have send a feature request that would allow us to save our dual monitors Windows settings in SL. Each time I open the program I need to replace and resize various Windows back to the way they were before I had to quit.
52 Replies
You all are cracking me up - and making me want to go out and buy another monitor right this second! I spend at least half my time away from my office (which is in my house) and I just work on my 17” laptop screen and run the things I need to see side-by-side. I have a monitor at home but almost never use it because I like to work sitting on the couch instead of at my desk. But maybe if I got a 2nd monitor, I’d love it so much that I’d actually use my desk…
On the other hand, it sounds like many of you are using the second monitor for multitasking (Justin J) and to be honest, I need to do less multitasking, not more, so maybe it’s not such a good idea for me.
Primary monitor -
Most everything that I need to touch frequently throughout the day: Email, Articulate, Adobe CS5, video editing app, the stuff I'm just knee deep working in.
Second monitor -
Stuff that I only need to come back to every once in a while, or need for a distraction every now and then
: Calendar, tunes, news, facebook, Articulate community, twitter, etc.
Will also heavily use the second monitor as folks have already mentioned - comparing docs, copying and pasting and the sorts. It's also nice for website authoring (dreamweaver on one screen and the site on the other).
I read somewhere that having dual monitors makes a person 33% more productive, but I'm not sure if there are any concrete studies done on the subject
Believe it or not, I am the only one in my office rockin' dual monitors.
I have offered to hook up others on my team with a similar set-up...no takers!
Once you go to dual or trip monitors like C.Wigg...you never go back!
I keep my articulate studio open on one and my adobe CS on the other...
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the dual monitors - and it's one of the negatives of working at home! Have a big laptop screen, but still not enough screen real-estate for design work. My typical setup:
Monitor 1 (left): Outlook, chat, Photoshop or Soundbooth, depending on what I'm working on, word docs/PPTs to feed the project, maybe FireFox or IE (I switch those around depending on what I'm working on)
& if iTunes is open, it's usu. behind all this stuff
Monitor 2 (right): this is my hard-working design monitor for main content, so Captivate is usu. here (if I had Articulate, it would be here!) and FireFox or IE, windows explorer windows, MindManager (but those move around too)
I don't think I would be anywhere NEAR as productive without the 2 monitors - and they're nice and big. Being a visual person, and a designer, I'm all about the screen real estate. Remember Mary Poppins? "I'd much rather see all of my face at the same time, thank you!" or something to that effect - same principle! I want to SEE as much as possible, right next to each other if I'm working in multiple tools.
AMANDA! You are MY HERO!!! I did exactly what you said and it TOTALLY worked!!! I am unable to articulate HOW happy this makes me!! Saving SO much back/forth and frustration to put together what SHOULD BE a simple PPT. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
David:
In a nutshell, I have one monitor for my actuall design work and one for all the items -- images, word docs, editing programs -- going into whatever I'm designing. --Daniel
I could not live without two monitors.
Typically I have PPTs on one monitor with email, IM, and notes for a project behind them and any engage activities, Xcelsius, and Captivate open and available on the second.
Two screens is the only way to go and have even flirted with 3 (just because I could really). But two screens allows me to have my development screen free and then have all other content next to it.
I just could not live within one screen especially as my primary computer is a laptop. Here are two utilities I can't live without:
Dexpot (http://www.dexpot.de/ ) - free utility that provides multiple virtual screens like Spaces on Mac
DisplayFusion (http://www.displayfusion.com/ ) - free and low price pro version, multiple monitor management made really easy
I use two monitors all the time, I couldn't live without two! It is great when you are working on a presentation where you may be copying information from one to another. Just open both presentations, click view, arrange all andyou get both on thesame screen while you other screen is free for everything else, such as editing an interaction or a phot in photoshop or any other program you may need to pull information from.
The only drawback for me is that I am so used to using two monitors that when I can't, I find it really annoying. To say I'm addicted to two monitors would be an understatement.
I love my "dualees". I was the first in the office to get them and now we only have two holdouts (ironically, one is my boss). I'm in the process of trying to get bigger monitors, the issue is realestate on my desk - especially with widescreen monitors.
1: Email, assets
2: Everything else
I only have one monitor at home, which often leads to me dragging things off of the screen only to realize that I don't have the dual setup.
All that being said; sitting on my couch with my laptop more than makes up for the number of available screens, imo.
I love my dual monitors. On 1 screen I keep my email or web up and running for research or documents for cutting and pasting and on the other I keep the object/document I am working on. My favorite use is when I am using certain elearning programs on one screen and using PowerPoint on another to create and manipulate graphics on the fly! I will only go back to one monitor kicking and screaming!
I am definitly spoiled by using two!
I prefer to keep data on the left hand side and anything that requires typing on the left though that varies.
I like to use two monitors too.
One thing I've noticed is that when I publish a module with the maximize options in Articulate (Player Template > Other) set to actually maximize browser and presentation size , the published module doesn't display correctly when I'm testing on two monitors.
When I launch the module from our LMS it in my dual-monitor set up, the window is maximized height-wize on one monitor, but the width of the window is just 1/2 of one of the screens.
When I switch my monitors to clone (same image displayed on both screens), the module launches the way I want it too.
Has anyone else had this issue?
Our LMS is SumTotal.
Could never go back to one monitor.
I have PPT on monitor 1 and detach the Selection Pane and Animation Pane so that I can move them to monitor 2. (Actually they open up on monitor 2 now.) Gives me a bigger stage area to work with PPT.
I do a similar thing when working with Photoshop.
I also do the 2 PPT files open on separate monitors as mentioned by others.
I don't even think about it as two monitors. I just treat it as one big monitor.
I will be getting a new set up next week. I love using my Mac but can't run programs like Storyline or Lectora. So.... I am getting a Macbook Air with an external monitor and will be installing VirtualBox so I can run Storyline. I did a trial run with VirtualBox on another Mac and it seemed to work well. I'll let you know how it goes!
I'm in the minority of people who could use two screens but opt to use one. I agree the extra real estate is nice, especially if I need to compare two windows of information. But in my current set up, the difference in resolutions between monitor and the laptop displays make it too jarring to look at. So instead I rock the Alt+Tab keys like crazy.
I don't have a specific items that I run on each, I just move between them depending on what I am doing. PPT on one, quizmaker on the other, or email on one, updates to courses on the other. I use them interchangeably, but would never want to go back to 1 monitor!
The NYT had a pretty cool interactive a year ago on multitasking and using dual monitors. The interactive features a panoramic image with labeled graphics over some areas.
My 2 mon set-up is laptop on left and larger high res LCD on rht.
Rht- storyline full frame
Lft-Audio, DB and Dev notes
While working on a project, I usually have PPT open on each screen. One is my project and the other PPT file is for working on images (that way, my project stays clean. I just copy and paste completed images I am working on when I am ready.
I also usually keep my email up on the other one.
My setup is not as clean as I'd like it. I've used multiple monitors for many years now, and I don't think I could live without them!
My current setup:
Usually, I have all screens full of gadgets, notes, browsers and other software. I like to keep everything as organized as possible and the extra space makes a huge difference!
I remember visiting a family member for a weekend and I only had my laptop. Trying to switch back to a single screen is pretty difficult, but oh how wonderful it was to return to the land of many screens!
For building a course: Monitor 1 (left) for script and media assets, Monitor 2 (right) for stage
for building the assets Monitor 1 photoshop and premiere pro, monitor 2 assets and After Effects.
Dual monitors all the way! I'm working on persuading my IT dept. to get me a third!
Typical configuration:
Left monitor: hands-on actual production work (Storyline shown here)
Right monitor: secondary files, storyboards, istockphoto, google, etc.
I could use as many monitors as possible! Two minimum at work, same at home but planning to stack two 27'' side by side for video production projects.
With Storyline I like to keep the output window on monitor1 and the rest on monitor2. Sometimes I extend the timeline window on both monitors in the bottom.
I have send a feature request that would allow us to save our dual monitors Windows settings in SL. Each time I open the program I need to replace and resize various Windows back to the way they were before I had to quit.