Quick Try This: It's a Multi-Screen World
There are an increasing number of people out there with multiple monitors attached to their computers. And many of them are PowerPoint users who think this new configuration should be more useful to them than it is. They're right, and today I'll show you a simple technique to gain that advantage.
Going from desktop computer to laptop seems to be a common upgrade path for computer users today. Laptops are now just as powerful as most desktops, and they have the benefit of being where you are, if you decide to tote them around. Perhaps you've recently joined this mobile rank, and also discovered that the left-over monitor from your previous system can be connected to your laptop affording you an extended desktop area while you're at your desk.
OK, right away I know there are people out there saying "I've seen that, but I've not been able to get it to work for me!" OK, that's another article entirely, involving the Windows Display Settings control panel, and perhaps even an updated driver from your computer's manufacturer. My apologies for not attempting to solve the connection situation in this post, but here is advice on getting started with multiple monitors:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307873/en-us
Meanwhile, back at your desk you probably discovered that the left-over monitor from your old desktop gave you a pretty useful bump in document display when you connected it to your laptop. You can leave more icons on your desktop, have multiple applications open in different screens. It really is like getting a larger desk. But for most PowerPoint users, you eventually come to the question: "How do I get this configuration to work so I can edit two presentations at once, one on each screen?
Seems natural, but you'll no doubt notice that the Maximize window command only uses the current display for any given document, and that PowerPoint tends to cycle open documents in that display when you click on them in the task bar. It sure looks like we're stuck in one monitor here.
But you're not. It just takes a little manual work.
Start by opening any two presentations. For the purpose of this demo, it really doesn't matter which ones you use. Mine were called "Civil War Weapons" and "In Your Face." You'll note that, as usual, only one is visible.
(Note: Depending on your screen dimensions your monitor may display the presentation overlapping screens, this is something you can fix later.)
If your PowerPoint window is maximized, click the "Restore Down" button (next to the red Close button in the upper right-hand corner of the window.
Now drag the window dimensions out so that you cross over into the second monitor. You may need to adjust both the upper-left and lower-right corners to give yourself a reasonable size. It should end up looking something like this:
Now comes the real trick. It's in the PowerPoint View ribbon, Windows group. The Arrange All command.
In earlier versions of PowerPoint, this command can be found in the Window menu.
OK, you're there! Check out your display. It should look something like this:
As you see above, the notes panes, thumbnail panes, and slide content can all be adjusted per document as needed. Copying to and from presentations in this configuration is much easier, you can even drag and drop whole slides between presentations!
And now that you know how to do two presentations, you can probably figure out how to do it with three or more.
Have fun with multiple monitors and windows!
Ric Bretschneider
April 6, 2008
