Is there a way to fake a dual (second) monitor

Question

Is there a way to fake a dual monitor for testing. I have only one monitor and i have to make an application that is suitable for two monitors.

The second monitor screen should appear as a window on my primairy monitor.

Answer 1

There is nothing that I know of (in order to "fake" a second monitor in software). Your only option may be to get an application that creates virtual desktops in Windows.

With that said, if this is for work, ask them to buy you one. A second monitor doesn't need to be anything fancy. There are very cheap monitors out there. If this is not for work, you may want to consider getting a second one anyway as a dual monitor setup is very useful for software developers (and in general).

Answer 2

If I say it is 100% impossible, will your boss give you a new monitor? I cruse will dual 22s here at work and am at least 30% more productive than when I had a single 19. Aside from being more productive, if you are developing for dual monitor, you really need dual monitor on your dev machine.

Answer 3

I've actually done a lot of research on this recently, because one of the products I'm working on requires a second monitor to be available for remote control of a computer -- the primary application on the computer takes over one of the monitors, so the user needs a second desktop to work on.

Both of these approaches assume you have a free video card that won't output video unless a monitor is connected:

• If you're using an analog (VGA) monitor, then the solution is extremely easy: just put a couple resistors on the connector (one of many examples at this forum).

• If you have a pure digital monitor (e.g. DVI-D), there's no way around it but a hardware implementation of the digital logic that needs to happen between the monitor and the PC. Sorry I have to be so vague about it.

But as others have said, you ought to just buy a second monitor (and video card if necessary). It will really be the quicker solution, and time is money, right?

By the way, whether you can take a second monitor's output and show it as a window in the first monitor would be a feature of the video card's drivers.

Answer 4

Commercial solution ($39.95) :
If you have another computer, for example, a laptop, you can use it as second monitor by using:

MaxiVista

MaxiVista turns any spare Desktop, Laptop or Netbook PC into a dual monitor for your primary computer. No extra multi monitor hardware is required. Simply extend program windows across multiple screens as if it were one big monitor. Increase your productivity by using multiple monitors.

See this article for a detailed description:
Add multiple monitors without additional video cards using MaxiVista

Answer 5

Ok I found the solution in this forum, in a earlier thread.

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Since you want Windows to think there are two physical montiors, maybe Matrox PowerDesk or Virtual Display Manager would fit your needs.

Answer 6

Here's another solution, in theory. Once, in a support situation, I remotely operated the user's computer (don't remember right now whether it was with a Remote Desktop connection or with NetMeeting), and the user had a triple monitor setup. I saw all three of his monitors all squeezed into one window on my machine.

So, if your PC supports multiple monitors, but you don't actually have a second monitor, in theory you could exend your desktop to the 2nd monitor (even though you can't see anything, and assuming that your card supports this even when there is nothing plugged into the jack). Then you can remote into your machine from another machine to see what would be on your second monitor.

Answer 7

Another free solution that works:

• install TightVNC
• install a virtual display driver like this or the one coming with zonescreen
• extend the Desktop across both displays
• start TightVNC Server
• in TightVNC properties go to Display, Sharing area and select 'Full desktop'
• start vncviewer and connect to localhost
• scroll to the left/right to your virtual display and you're done