How to Change Monitor Number Windows 10
It can be extremely hard to navigate between apps, multiple software, and tons of programs with only one monitor. You can get lost looking for what you want at a specific moment, then you keep searching only to find yourself exhausted with a huge wasted amount of time that you will never get back.In this guide you will know how to change monitor number
Having a dual or a multiple monitors system is very efficient. A monitor is an output device for showing information when it is connected to the computer. If there is no monitor, it would be impossible to interact with your computer.
A system of monitors will help you to increase your productivity greatly as you can multitask between several apps and programs. Multiple monitors are highly beneficial for programmers, designers, animators, data analysts, and gamers. Anyone in these jobs who works from home now or can have some struggles in figuring out how to change monitor number.
Luckily for us, Windows has a great support system. Windows 10 can support multiple monitors without third-party software thanks to the great graphics capability to run multiple displays. So you should have no problem running them smoothly.
When connecting dual or multiple monitors to your computer which is powered by windows, one of these monitors is automatically assigned as the primary monitor, it is usually the one you connected first. The other ones are assigned as secondary, tertiary, and so on.
Windows displays everything on the primary monitor as it is considered the default one. That is why you have to know which monitor is the primary.
switching between monitors is easy through windows settings, but you need to follow the steps carefully.
But first, we are going to start by showing you how to set up multiple monitors and some related settings, so stick with us!
Set up multiple monitors on windows 10
Before you configure additional monitors on your device, you need to check the cables which are connected to the monitors and the computer. Connecting power and video signal is by using VGA, DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort cables.
If you are uncertain, you can check the model of monitors from the attached sticker on the back. That will give you a clear idea of how to connect the display.
When you try to set up a dual or triple monitor, you connect it to any available video port on the graphics card. You can easily do it in the wrong order, that doesn’t mean it won’t work because it will. But you will face many problems while you run programs and applications until you get them in the right order.
So first of all, this is how to rearrange the monitors:
- go to windows 10 settings.
- After that, choose system.
- then, you click on display.
- you will find a Select and rearrange displays section. You start rearranging monitors by dragging and dropping each display.
- Finally, press the apply button.
Now, you can set up dual monitors on windows 10 easily, just do the following:
- open settings.
- select system, then press on the display option on the left.
- click on detect so you are able to connect to older displays.
- in the multiple displays section, choose your preferred option from the drop-down menu, the options are:
- Duplicate desktop: it displays the same desktop on both screens.
- Extend: this option expands the primary desktop to the secondary display.
- Disconnect this display: this turns off the monitor of your selection
- at the end of the process, you press on keep changes.
If you have other monitors, repeat the 4th step to set a display mode for each one of them.
There are some other important display options that you need to know, and we will show you some of them.
Adjust displays scale and layout on Windows 10
You can adjust many features depending on your requirements instead of relying on the windows default settings, such as the following features.
Set a correct scale:
When setting various monitors, sometimes you will need them to be at the same scale and screen resolutions so that all of them look the same. That will also help you to make the data such as texts, images, or videos more clear to make your work easier.
You can select the scale you want by following this:
- click on settings.
- press on system.
- find display, and choose this option.
- in the Select and rearrange displays section, select the monitor you are going to apply changes on.
- you can apply changes through Change the size of text, apps, and other items drop-down menu and choose the scale you want.
- On the same settings page, you can specify a custom scaling value by choosing the Advanced scaling settings option. Then, in the custom scaling section, set the desired scaling value and apply it.
- To set a correct resolution, you need to go to scale and layout section and choose the preferred resolution through a drop-down menu.
You can explore other settings related to the display of your monitors, and choose what is convenient for you.
How to change your primary monitor on windows 10
Changing monitor numbers can happen in two ways, the first is through display settings and the other one by using GPU utilities.
First method: Through Display Settings
- on your desktop, right-click on any free area.
- a list of options will appear, choose display settings.
- scroll down and choose the monitor you want as your primary one.
- after specifying which monitor you want, check the box that exists next to Make this my main display line.
- after that, click on Apply to confirm the chosen monitor as the main one.
Second method: Using GPU Utilities
The other way to change the monitor number from 1 to 2 or vice versa is through GPU Utilities. GPUs and graphics software usually collaborate to give you the best possible performance, and you can make changes to monitor settings easily. We will walk you through the process using NVIDIA Control Panel as our example.
- Download & open NVIDIA Control Panel, (if you already have it installed, then skip to step 2).
- in the left pane, you should find the display column, press on it.
- scroll down and look for Set up multiple displays, then choose it.
- in the right pane, browse through the display number and select the number you want to set as your main monitor.
- click on make primary for confirmation.
- press the apply button so you can continue to the final step.
- you need to confirm one more time by pressing yes so the changes are applied.
You have successfully changed the number of your primary monitor.
Conclusion for how to change monitor number
We have shown you the different methods on how to change your monitor number and how to set the primary one and change it. If you using a PC or laptop for Microsoft office we also discussed how to set up dual or multiple monitors through windows 10 settings and how to control different features. We hope that this article has been useful to you and we assure you that through our detailed explanation, you shouldn’t have any problem. As always, if you have any questions, please write them in the comments section, and we will reach out as soon as possible.