Screen projector and external monitor issue

[snowshed1]

This may be an issue that needs to be reported to developers, but I do not know how that is done. Been using Linux Mint sporadically now for almost 2 weeks!

HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebook PC
Linux Mint 17.3, Cinnamon

Neither the screen projector nor the external monitor work correctly.

Everything appears to work as I expect. Displays correctly getting into and completing the login screen.

After entering my password and the system logs me in, the only thing that is displayed on the projector or monitor is the wallpaper. No icons, no mouse. I don't know any Linux keyboard commands to try to open a window.

Sometimes the mouse will disappear from the laptop display and appear on the monitor, sometimes it doesn't.

When I do have a mouse on the monitor, there is no mouse I can see on the laptop. But the system opens to a full sized browser window (Firefox) and there may be something hidden behind the browser.

There may be some connection with initial user input, such as a right mouse click. One time when I performed a rt. click, the dialog box and mouse showed up on the monitor! That was a surprise.

So, if anyone has ideas about how to solve this, without having to modify code somewhere (way above my paygrade! ), I'd appreciate it.

[snowshed1]

I forgot to include the screen projector info, not that I think it matters.

Viewsonic PJD5533

[cholq]

I don't remember the specifics, but I had this same issue that stumped me for a couple of minutes when I hooked a projector up this past summer.

Basically, the projector is being treated as a 2nd monitor. So, your laptop monitor is being treated as the primary monitor, and the projector is the secondary monitor. The primary monitor has the menu button, the secondary monitor doesn't.

What I think I did was just figure out how Linux thought I had my monitors arranged. I believe it was side by side, with primary on the left and secondary on the right, and then anything I wanted to show on the projector I just moved off the right edge of my "primary" and it appeared on the left edge of the projector screen.

If that really isn't the solution, I can maybe try to hook up the projector again this weekend and play with it a bit.

[snowshed1]

Hi, Cholq.

Truly sorry I haven't replied sooner, but I didn't have my profile preferences set correctly to receive emails about replies, and I'd totally forgotten I started this thread.

I don't remember the specifics, but I had this same issue that stumped me for a couple of minutes when I hooked a projector up this past summer.

Basically, the projector is being treated as a 2nd monitor. So, your laptop monitor is being treated as the primary monitor, and the projector is the secondary monitor. The primary monitor has the menu button, the secondary monitor doesn't.

What I think I did was just figure out how Linux thought I had my monitors arranged. I believe it was side by side, with primary on the left and secondary on the right, and then anything I wanted to show on the projector I just moved off the right edge of my "primary" and it appeared on the left edge of the projector screen.

If that really isn't the solution, I can maybe try to hook up the projector again this weekend and play with it a bit.

And I could have tested your solution today. I was at the location of the projector most of the day.

I'll try your solution the next chance I get, and post the results.

[cholq]

No worries. You'll get to it when you can.

[snowshed1]

No worries. You'll get to it when you can.

Had the opportunity to try the laptop with the projector today.

I went to Displays, and Mint saw the projector fine, and after playing with the settings, it was working just fine.

I think I had done an update between the time I started this thread and today, I simply don't remember. So I'm not sure if an update had anything to do with it or not. When the problem raised its head, I didn't think to look at Displays, may not have even known it existed at that time.

This will let me show students in my computer classes what something other than Windows and OS X looks like.

[cholq]

Glad you got it sorted out.