

Ask HN: What's so great about having two monitors? - Brewer

I've never used two monitors at the same time before, what's so great about it?<p>Also, what's a good way to try working with dual monitors before I go out an drop $200?
======
rajat
When I work, I like to have several editor windows open, and the documentation
(usually browser) open. On the first screen is where I have the editor window
where I'm actually typing stuff in; on the second screen I have all the
reference stuff that I can just glance at.

------
Skywing
To be honest, it can be tricky. I had a tough time with two monitors,
initially. I would always put my irc client and instant messenger clients on
the second monitor, along with whatever documentations, editors, etc that i
needed. I would distract myself by always glancing over at irc. What I ended
up doing to solve this was rotating my "main" monitor vertically, and use it
exclusively for my main code editing window. I'd reserve the second window for
documentation. I have to maximize both windows otherwise ill just get
distracted by the other monitor, again.

It takes some getting used to, but I definitely get use out of the second one.
Although, I'd be fine with one still. I'm a furious alt-tabber either way. ;)

------
dazzer
When you maximise a window, it takes up the entire screen. In the case of
multiple monitors, it takes up the entire screen of the current monitor it is
currently displayed in. Multiple monitors are therefore a hardware method of
window management without having to manually resize them.

In Windows 7 you can now dock windows to the left or right. This has worked
really well for me on a single 24'' at 1900x1200 resolution. In the past this
was not possible out of the box.

------
veyron
Cheap way to expand screen real estate.

I find myself diffing 3 files a lot. And these files are 80 characters fixed-
width. So to have the three window diff in vim means I would need at least 3 *
80 + 2 = 242 character width, and that doesn't fit on most monitors.

(Nowadays I use a 27" iMac, which runs 2560x1440 natively, so I really dont
need [or use] a second monitor, but the argument still applies)

------
Uhhrrr
If you never have to move a window out of the way in the course of what you're
doing, then for you it's indeed not so great. But I think it's pretty common
to do this.

Also, I've worked on projects where Visual Studio or Eclipse took up the
entirety of one screen, and the application in running form took up the
entirety of another.

~~~
Brewer
That is indeed a problem I run into quite a bit. I develop on my 15.4" laptop
with a max resolution of 1366x768.

------
pbjorklund
Monitor 1: Browser Monitor 2: vim, terminals

What I need is actually a Monitor 3 for reference..

------
bartonfink
I prefer having virtual desktops with customizable keyboard shortcuts to
multiple monitors.

------
adelevie
Don't buy a second monitor until you feel you need one.

