How many times have you wished you had more viewable space on your computer screen? It is so frustrating when you have to keep switching between application windows.
A typical example is when you need to switch between two spreadsheets. Or when you are editing a graphic or image and you need to see the image at a good resolution and the editing tools at the same time.
Or perhaps you would like to keep one eye on your e-mail while you are working on something else.
One solution is to buy a much larger monitor but that will probably be very expensive.
A more economical solution if you're using Windows 7, Vista, or XP, and a solution that many freelancers find helps their productivity, is to buy a second, inexpensive monitor and connect it to your computer. By doing this you will effectively double your available screen area.
Of course, if your office is already tight on furniture space then you will probably be better to use two flat LCD screens.
Regardless of the type of screen you decide to use, having two monitors can make everything much easier and increase your productivity.
Here's how to set up dual monitors.
1. Hook Up the Hardware
Most new desktop computers support dual monitors and have two connectors. But even if you have a computer with only a single VGA or DVI connector, you should be able to install an additional video adapter card, or replace your current video adapter with one that
has two connections.
If you're not confident about installing cards yourself, ask your local computer retailer or service center for assistance.
2. Change Your Display Settings
First you may need to restart your computer so that it detects the new monitor.
Next you will need to adjust your display settings. How you do that will depend upon your operating system. Here are links to instructions for each major operating system:
As you can see it is really not that difficult to set up double monitors for your computer. Once you try it you will probably wish you did it years ago!
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