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 primary monitor.

Answer 1

I made Windows think I had two connected displays like this:

1. Right click on the desktop, click 'Screen Resolution'
2. Click 'Detect' on the next screen
3. Click 'Another display not detected' and under the multiple displays option select 'Try to connect anyway on: VGA'
4. Click 'Apply'
5. You can now enable your desktop to be extended as if you have a second screen plugged into your computer.

To view the second screen. This can be done via LogMeIn or TeamViewer on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and I believe Linux:

I used TeamViewer as I already use it, so already have it installed

1. Opened TeamViewer on iPad
2. Connect to the computer setup previously
3. Using a 'Monitor' button at the bottom, select and show screen number 2.
4. iPad now shows screen 2 from PC.

Answer 2

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

Answer 3

Okay, I found the solution on this site, in another question.

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

Answer 4

I found cheapest way to trick pc by physicaly making an dummy VGA (XGA,RGB) analog connector by simply putting three resistors from 50 up to 150 ohms on some connections. i have school TV setup that needed an external HDMI audio/video output as secondary monitor on windows xp system. The tricky part is that when you disconnect the main VGA monitor the whole desktop is set to the HDMI and whole secondary monitor trick just f***s up, so i made a quick search on the internet and found way to trick GPU to think that it is actual monitor connected as VGA and set that to default desktop and do not transfer desktop to the HDMI. http://www.geeks3d.com/20091230/vga-hack-how-to-make-a-vga-dummy-plug/ the resistors works as and answering mashines and if GPU sends R/G/B signals it is transfered to receiving pins and fooling the GPU that is actualy monitor on that VGA port connected. To view the desktop you can use any remote control program even the native one, and see whole desktop on dummy VGA AAAAND secondary monitor that is REAL :) Hope that will be helpful for someone. P.S. I did cut off old VGA cable connector and strip it apart, used soldering and hot glue to make sure it will not shorten the connector. The shortening of ANY connector on pc can cause malfunctions so be VERY careful and doublecheck EVERYTHING! You have beying warned ;) Good luck and sorry for any spelling mistakes i made. English isn't my language ;)

Answer 5

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 6

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 7

Try SplitView where you can split your desktop into multiple parts

Answer 8

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 9

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 10

I use a program called usbmmidd, a program for windows that can be used simulate a second monitor. You can use your graphics display settings to change the resolution of the fake monitor. The monitor acts like any other monitor and can be adjusted to anywhere you want it to be outside of your other monitors. You can use a streaming service like obs to screen capture your virtual display. I use this in VR so I can have multiple virtual displays where as in reality I only have a one.

Here is a link to USBMMIDD

The program is free, so is obs studio. No need for a dummy cable at all.

Answer 11

Simple answer: Windows 7: hit (windows button+P) extend monitor // Windows XP: Right-click/Properties/Appearance/ Under display change to desired