Macintosh: How To Configure When Using Different Monitors



I carry my Macintosh IIcx back and forth from my home to the office. At
home, I have a monochrome monitor; at the office, a Portrait Display. The
Macintosh IIcx contains interface cards for both monitors, and I want to
be able to easily set the menu bar for each monitor.

When using the Macintosh IIcx with the Portrait Display, I can still
"see" two monitors represented when I open the Monitors CDEV. I can drag
the menu bar to the smaller monitor so it will start up on that screen
when I'm at home.

However, at home with the monochrome monitor, I cannot set the menu bar
to appear on the Portrait Display. The Monitors CDEV 3.3.1 and 4.0 won't
let me select the Portrait Display unless it is plugged into the card. So
when I get to the office and start up, there is no menu bar. I have to
power down, remove the regular video card, and power up again.

As a fix, it has been suggested that I keep a copy of the Monitors CDEV
after setting it up for the Portrait Display. At home, I can drag the
current CDEV out of the System Folder, and put the "office version" in the
System Folder, so it will start up properly without my having to remove
the normal video card. This is inconvenient, and I would prefer that the
CDEV allow me to specify the Portrait Display when the card is present.

Is there some new version of the Monitors CDEV that fixes this problem?
It appears that the possibility of different monitors in multiple
locations was overlooked when the CDEV was written. I imagine there are
many customers in similar situations.

The fix recommended above will not work. The "Monitors" CDEV does not
save any settings within itself. They are stored in the System file in a
resource called the "scrn" resource with an ID = 0. Replacing the
"Monitors" CDEV does not affect the settings in any way. The Portrait
Display Video Card is an intelligent card that senses at startup if a
display is attached. If no display is attached, the video card does not
make itself known to the system and does not show up in the "Monitors"
CDEV.

We have, however, a solution that should work. With the Portrait Display
attached, open the Monitors CDEV and move the menu bar to the icon that
represents the Portrait Display and don't adjust the screen that the menu
bar is on. When you take the computer home and plug in the monochrome
monitor, the menu bar will show up on the monochrome monitor. This happens
because the system thinks that only one video card is installed and
displays all information to the monochrome monitor. When you take the
computer to work and plug in the Portrait Display, the menu bar will
appear up on the Portrait Display because of the values stored in the
"scrn" resource in the System file.

There is nothing that can be done to the "Monitors" CDEV to resolve this
issue.


Published Date: Feb 18, 2012