Dual Monitor Conundrum

So I thought I would share with you a little snag I ran into with Lightroom in the hopes that it can save you some embarrassment in the future.

Here is the scenario…

I am in Lightroom going through my grid of images and I need to update a couple of images so I right click on the little Exclamation Icon in the upper right. I happen to notice in the drop down menu one of the options is “Lock to Second Monitor.” Well, since I had my Macbook hooked up to my Wacom Cintiq, I thought “sure, let’s see what happens.”

Curiosity can be dangerous. 😀

It did just about what I thought it would… throw the image over on the other monitor… and it didn’t even stump me that the image was locked. I had paid enough attention to the menu item… so I noticed the options in the upper right hand of the window. This did however, lead me to chase the white rabbit and start playing with the Normal, Live and Locked options for a bit of time before I remembered why I was here.

Try out the three options to see what you like. I like Live just so I can say that I am not Normal. 😀

The ability to use a second monitor is great, the problem arose when I realized that I was not sure how to get rid of that window.

It was quite simple to play around and switch the views so that the grid is on the small screen and the full-sized preview on the larger monitor. The problem was how do I stop having that set up when I need to do something else?

So here is the deal, I am a Photoshop guy and write for a Lightroom blog, and yet I could not figure out how in the heck to turn that option off. I clicked everything, I tried the Views drop down menu and just about everything you could think of. I am trusting that you have all been there before, you know that there is a simple answer, but it is eluding you like a white whale and your name is Ahab. Pride is telling you to just restart you computer and tell no one… but that would be admitting defeat, and just ahead of my own pride is the stubbornness that a piece of software is not going to get the better of me. I go down to RC’s office and say in a laid back voice as possible… “Hey, when you get a minute, will you come down and take a look at something… no rush… just whenever.” (You know you have to play it cool and mellow… sort of like when you trip on the sidewalk, the most important thing is to try to act cool, even if you have dislocated your shoulder. )

So RC comes down a few minutes later and I am explain my situation. In just a few moments, we are both scratching our heads and saying… I know there is a way, I have seen it before. RC becomes convinced that it was changed in the last version and that we will have to figure out a work around. I suggest that Scott has come in and hacked my software and removed it… 😀 Finally, RC tells me to pull up the Filmstrip window and there in the  left hand corner is the icons for two monitors. Now not only can I turn the monitors on and off, but I can easily access the drop down menu for different views. We proceed to do the happy dance in a very masculine, non-weird way!

There is the sneaky set of icons over on the left of the Filmstrip panel.

Right click on the icons for different view options for the screens

That is sometimes the hardest part about learning… we think we know it, but then something doesn’t line up exactly how you remember it. When that happens… take a step back, regroup and maybe ask for help. So often we feel the need to pretend that we have all the answers and that we can only let the world see that we have it all together. The funny thing is, that not only will I remember where that icon is, but I also got to share an experience with my buddy… which may or may not have included a happy dance. Life and Learning go better when we ask for help because it reminds us to stop being so isolated.

So this tip is for two things… One: remember to use two monitors if you can and where the icons are. Two: if you run into trouble give RC a holler his phone number is 555-867-5309.