Multiple screens on a Mac, one of which is shared with a Windows laptop

In My Humble Opinion
1

This might be a GQ, but I’m open to people’s experiences in general as well as the specific question. :slight_smile:

I’m hoping for some advice from people who have a dual monitor / dual computer setup. I currently have a single monitor that does double duty as:

  • The only monitor for my Mac Mini desktop computer
  • A second monitor for my work-issued Windows 10 laptop.

Having a single monitor for the Mac is proving limiting, and I’d like to add a second screen. Since a picture says a thousand words, here’s a diagram showing how things are set up today, and what I’d like to move to:

The problem I think I’ll face is this: when I select the laptop input on monitor 1, the Mac will still know that it is connected, and will still output its second screen - but I won’t be able to see it because the monitor is showing the other input. I don’t know if there’s an easy way in MacOS to switch from single to dual screens.

The astute reader may point out here that I must already face the same problem with the laptop today — when I’m using the Mac, the laptop is still connected to the monitor and outputting its second screen. That’s true, and I solve that by the inelegant method of pulling the HDMI cable from the laptop when I want to drop to “single screen” working. Windows deals with this gracefully, putting all the open windows onto the main laptop screen. When I want to dual-screen the laptop, I plug the cable back in and Windows automatically extends the desktop to the second screen. I don’t have that option with the Mac though, because the cables won’t be as accessible as they are on the laptop.

So after all that, the question: using macOS Big Sur, is there an easy way to flip from “single screen” to “dual screen” modes and back again?

2

a) In Displays PrefsPane, have the monitors menu bar deelybopper turned on so you can access it from the menu bar

b) When the monitor is switched to the Windows box, go to the menu bar item and opt for mirroried display, which makes both monitors show the same image instead of an extended desktop.

3

Thanks @AHunter3. That makes sense. Looking that the preferences pane, I see an option for “Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available”. Is that the setting you mean? The explanatory text describes that setting as: “show devices available for AirPlay Mirroring in the menu bar.”

That gives me pause, because I’m pretty sure my existing monitor isn’t “AirPlay Compatible”. Does it need to be?

It’s worth pointing out that I haven’t yet purchased the second screen, so if I need something specific to make dual-screen work I’ll be delighted to find that out first!

4

That’s the setting that I mean. None of my monitors is “AirPlay compabile” either; makes no difference, you can still select the Mirror Dispaly setting.

5

Thank you. I appreciate the advice. :slight_smile: