How to use multiple monitors in Windows 10

After you’ve connected your Windows 10 PC to external displays, you can adjust the settings for each one.

Video: Connecting a monitor

Here’s a video on the basics of connecting to an external monitor.

Before you start

Before changing settings for your external displays, make sure everything is connected properly. Here’s what you can do:

Make sure your cables are properly connected to your PC or dock.

Check for Windows updates. To check for updates, select Start > Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

Tip: If you’re using a wireless display adapter, connect to an HDMI port on newer TVs, then wirelessly connect your PC to it. After connecting your wireless display adapter to your TV, go to your Windows 10 PC and select Start > Settings > System > Display, then select Connect to a wireless display.

Rearrange your displays

You’ll see this option when Windows detects more than one display. Each display will be numbered to help you identify them more easily.

Identify a display

To see which number corresponds to a display, select Start > Settings > System > Display > Rearrange your displays, then select Identify. A number appears on the screen of the display it’s assigned to.

Detect a display

If you connected another display and it isn’t showing in Settings, select Start > Settings > System > Display > Rearrange your displays, then select Detect.

Arrange your displays

If you have multiple displays, you can change how they’re arranged. This is helpful if you want your displays to match how they’re set up in your home or office. In Display settings, select and drag the display to where you want. Do this with all the displays you want to move. When you’re happy with the layout, select Apply. Test your new layout by moving your mouse pointer across the different displays to make sure it works like you expect.

Change display options

After you’re connected to your external displays, you can change settings like your resolution, screen layout, and more. To see available options, select Start > Settings > System > Display.

Change orientation

Windows will recommend an orientation for your screen. To change it in Display settings, go to Scale and Layout, then choose your preferred Display orientation. If you change the orientation of a monitor, you’ll also need to physically rotate the screen. For example, you’d rotate your external display to use it in portrait instead of landscape.

Choose a display option

To change what shows on your displays, press Windows logo key + P. Here’s what you can choose.

See things on one display only.

See the same thing on all your displays.

See your desktop across multiple screens. When you have displays extended, you can move items between the two screens.

See everything on the second display only.

Second screen only

Related topics

Simply Windows on Youtube — These videos are only available in English

How to move a window or app to other monitor

• Windows 10 is the backbone of the modern computing environment and it has brought us many cherished features throughout the years.
• The capacity to toggle between monitors is one of them and here are some easy methods to do just that.
• Already a dual monitors fan? Check out these Best Dual Monitors Software Tools for the perfect match.
• Explore our Windows 10 Guides as well to get more out of your Windows 10 PC.

Windows 10 has brought us many interesting features and there are still many others to look forward to. One of them is the ability to easily move apps from one monitor to another one.

So, if you want to move apps to another screen in Windows 10, here are some really easy ways to do it.

How to move a fullscreen window to another monitor

1. How to move a window with DisplayFusion

DisplayFusion makes dual monitors handling as simple as it gets. This feature-rich Windows desktop utility boasts a unique combination of powerful, yet intuitive options that will allow you to manage multiple monitors effortlessly.

Plus, your DisplayFusion experience is entirely customizable starting with the Hotkeys to the Power User Menu, TitleBar Buttons, and even appearance thanks to stunning wallpapers and screen savers.

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• Multi-Monitor Taskbars (to keep your windows organized on each monitor)
• Impressive library of desktop wallpapers and screen savers from multiple online sources
• Monitor Set up Panel (enable easy configuration with precise settings)
• Monitor Splitting and Fading (to divide your monitor into multiple sections and dim unused ones while focusing on particular tasks)
• Preset Commands and Remote Control from your smartphone or tablet

The best part is that you get to experience all these amazing features risk-free thanks to a free trial period, courtesy of DisplayFusion.

• Window Management
• Monitor Fading
• Remote Control
• Window Position Profiles

2. How to move task manager to other monitor

Windows 10 comes with a lot of new features, mainly meant to appeal to desktop users, but there are also plenty for mobile users, as well.

One of the newest features is the ability to move apps from one monitor to another one, in case you have set up multiple monitors in Windows 1.

And here’s how to do this: Use WIN + CTRL + to move the Task manager or the active app of your choice to another monitor.

Another solution that you can youse, is simply dragging your app to the second monitor. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open an app. After it opens, click the Restore Down button on the upper-right corner of the app
2. Once the app minimized in the taskbar at the bottom of your desktop, left-click and hold the cursor on the app icon
3. Continue holding the left-click and drag the app to the left or the right edge of your first monitor (depending on where your second monitor is positioned)
4. Drag it until it enters the desktop of the second monitor and release the left-click

3. Shortcut keys to move one window to another monitor

Here are some other new keyboard shortcuts for navigating and managing your multiple desktops in Windows 10:

• Snapping window: WIN + LEFT or RIGHT (can be used with UP or DOWN to get into quadrants)
• Switch to recent window: ALT + TAB (unchanged) – Hold shows new Task view window view, let go, and switches to the app.
• Task view: WIN + TAB – New Task view opens up and stays open.
• Create new virtual desktop: WIN + CTRL + D
• Close current virtual desktop: WIN + CTRL + F4
• Switch virtual desktop: WIN + CTRL + LEFT or RIGHT

There you go, these commands should help you move a window to another monitor or open a program on a second monitor in Windows 10 effortlessly.

Feel free to share any questions or suggestions with us via the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I toggle between monitors?

Use the CTRL and Win keys to switch between displays or CTRL and Win + Left/Right to toggle between virtual desktops.

Why can’t I drag windows to my second monitor?

Unlock the taskbar first, then select the desired area with the mouse and drag it to the second monitor. If you’re dealing with an unresponsive taskbar, check out this easy guide to fix it.

How do I change what screen my Steam game opens on?

Run the game in Windowed mode and drag it to the screen you want. Feel free to check out the complete procedure in this step-by-step guide.

Move a Window with the Keyboard in Windows 7/8/10

Comes in handy once in a blue moon

So for those of you who do not like to use a mouse, it would be pretty cool if you could move a window using just the keyboard in Windows 7 right? Well, there are a couple of ways to do this and even though you may not need to do it very often, it does come in handy on the rare occasion!

In this article, I’ll tell you how to move a window in small increments to the exact position you want, how to snap a window to the left or right and how to move a window between monitors on a multi-monitor setup, all by just using the keyboard!

Method 1 – Incremental Move

For exact positioning, you first need to click on the window. Now this is obviously going to only work for windows that are not fully maximized. If it’s fully maximized, there is really nowhere to move the window.

Step 1: Either click on the window or if you want to use the keyboard, press ALT+TAB and make the window you want to move active.

Step 2: Now go ahead and press ALT+SPACEBAR and you’ll see a small menu appear in the window.

Step 3: Now press M, which will basically choose the Move option in the menu.

Step 4: Now use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the window to the new position that you desire.

Step 5: Press the Enter key to get out of the move mode. Also, if you want to have the window go back to the original position before you started the move, press the Esc key instead.

Method 2 – Windows Snap

Windows has a nifty feature that lets you snap windows to the left-hand or right-hand side of the screen. If you drag a window to the right or left, it will automatically resize and snap to the side.

To do this using the keyboard, press the Windows Key + the right or left arrow. Make sure to hold down the Windows key while pressing the left and right arrow keys. It’s actually pretty neat and much faster than dragging the window around the screen.

Method 3 – Multi-Monitor Setups

Lastly, for moving between multiple monitors, all you have to do is add SHIFT to the above key combo, so it would simply be Windows Key + Shift + right or left arrow.

For the power users who really want to control their windows, moving may not be enough. So here’s a few other shortcuts that could come in handy if you are left with nothing but a keyboard and Windows:

End – Will display the bottom of the active window (in case you need to scroll using the keyboard)

Home – Will display the top of the active window

F11 – Will either maximize or minimize the active window

Ctrl + Tab – If you have a window with tabs, then this will move you forward through the tabs

Ctrl + Shift + Tab – Will move you back through the tabs

Windows Key + Shift + Up Arrow – This will stretch a window to the top and bottom of the screen.

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications. Read Aseem’s Full Bio

windows move from one monitor to the other

I have two monitors in an extended desktop configuration. Generally I have a 1/2 dozen or so windows open during the day. Some are always on monitor 1, some always on monitor 2, and others I move around depending on needs.

All is well until I switch users on the computer. But if I switch users (without signing out of my own first) and then return to my own account, then some or all of my windows are moved to the opposite monitor.

For example, sometimes I login to my wife’s user account to check her email. Two minutes later I am signed back into my own account. But now I have to move windows around to get it back the way it was before I went to check her email.

Sometimes it’s a complete flipping of every window to the opposite monitor. Sometimes, it’s just a few programs that move. Since my two monitors are not the same size, it also means that I have to adjust the window sizes when I move them back to where they belong.

I thought perhaps it was a Windows 8 issue that would have gotten fixed, but after upgrading to 8.1 the problem remains. I have searched for answers, but haven’t even found anyone else complaining about this issue.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Replies (9) 

A) Enter the password for the selected administrator account, and click/tap on Continue. (see screenshot below)

4. Go to step 8 in OPTION TWO below.

5. After step 14 in OPTION TWO below, click/tap on Restart, then do step 15 in OPTION TWO below. (see screenshot below)

1. Do step 2, 3, or 4 below for how you would like to start doing a System Restore.

2. Open the Power User Tasks Menu , click/tap on System, and go to step 5. (see screenshot below)

OR

3. Open the Control Panel (icons view) , click/tap on the System icon, and go to step 5.

OR

4. Open the Control Panel (icons view) , click/tap on the Recovery icon, click/tap on the Open System Restore link, and go to step 6. (see screenshot below)

5. Click/tap on the System protection link in the left pane. (see screenshot below)

6. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

7. Click/tap on the System Restore button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: You will not see this screen if you did step 4. If you did step 4, then skip this step and go to step 8.

8. If displayed, click/tap on Next, and go to step 10. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: You will only see this screen if this is the first time that system restore is being done in Windows 8.

9. Select (dot) Choose a different restore point, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

10. Select a restore point that you would like to restore your computer state back to, and click/tap on the Scan for affected programs button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If displayed, check the Show other restore points box to be able to see any older restore points (if available) that are not listed.

12. When ready, click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below step 10)

13. Click/tap on the Finish button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: The listed drives here will be restored back to the state of when the selected restore point was created.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thanks. That’s a lot of good information about doing a system restore. For someone who needs to do a restore, I’m sure this would be helpful.

However, I am trying to figure out how to stop windows from migrating from one screen to another after switching users and then returning to my original logged in user. Since I have already reverted windows back to the original install and then upgraded to Windows 8.1 and the problem remains, a restore is not the solution needed here.

2 people found this reply helpful

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thank you for replying with the status of the issue.

Usually this issue is caused either due to incorrect dual monitor settings or due to driver related issues. I would suggest you to try the following methods and check if it works for you.

Method 1:

Try installing the latest Video card drivers from the computer manufacturer’s website or from Windows Update and check if it helps.

Follow the steps to update the hardware driver:

a. Press Windows Key + X key and click Device Manager.

b. Expand ‘Display Adapters’.

c. Right-click on the Display Adapter listed and click on ‘Update Driver Software’.

d. Restart the computer.

Method 2:

Try the steps in the following Microsoft Help article and check if the issue persists. This is to check if the issue is caused due to any settings related issues or not.

Refer to the following Microsoft Help article to connect a second monitor.

For further reference, you may refer to the following Microsoft Help article.

Please reply with the status of the issue so that we can help you better.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thanks for that answer.

I tried Method 1 with the driver first. Windows reported that the driver software is up to date. So I moved on to Method 2. Everything looks good. The 2nd monitor appears to be connected correctly. They are in an extended desktop mode.

But the problem persists. To get very specific, I just took a look at all of my open application windows and made note of which monitor they show up on. Then I switched user to my wife’s login, checked her email, logged out. Then I logged back into my own account.

Here are the results. The first set is before switching users, the second is after:

Internet Explorer on Monitor 1
File Explorer on Monitor 1
Google Chrome on Monitor 1
Mozilla Thunderbird on Monitor 1
Mozilla Firefox on Monitor 2
Quicken 2014 on Monitor 2
Notepad on Monitor 2

Internet Explorer on Monitor 2
File Explorer on Monitor 1 *
Google Chrome on Monitor 1 *
Mozilla Thunderbird on Monitor 2
Mozilla Firefox on Monitor 1
Quicken 2014 on Monitor 1
Notepad on Monitor 1

* These are the only 2 applications that stayed on the original monitor. All others moved.

Any other ideas?

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thank you for replying with the status of the issue.

If you would have closed any application window on the other/extended monitor then whenever you log in to your user account the application windows get open on the other monitor itself. I would suggest you to close the application windows on the first monitor and then switch the user account and check if the same issue occurs.

Also try restarting the computer and check if the issue persists. As there might be due to an update that needs to be configured.

Please reply with the status of the issue so that we can help you fix the issue.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

If I close all of the applications it’s not a problem. The problem only shows up with the applications that are open. It does not matter if the windows are showing or are minimized. They move either way. But if they are closed first, then they reopen on the most recent window. This is the workaround I use, but sometimes I do not wish to close my applications when I am in the middle of something.

As for restarting the computer, I turn it off most evenings and turn it on the next morning. It has plenty of opportunities to configure updates since it is restarted nearly every day.

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn’t help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

Thank you for replpying.

Here this issue might also occur if the user profile is corrupted. I would suggest you to create a new user account and check if the issue persists. If the issue does not occur in new user account, then proceed with Step 2 and 3 to copy the files in the corrupted user profile and delete the old user profile.

Step 2: If the new user profile works properly, then copy and paste the data files to the new user profile.

Follow the steps below to copy the files from the old Microsoft account to the new Microsoft account:
a) Press/tap Windows and x together and select Windows Explorer.
b) Click/tap on View tab and click/tap on Options at the top right corner.
c) Click/tap the View tab, and then click/tap Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
d) Uncheck the box which states Hide protected operating system files.
e) Click Yes to confirm, and then clickOK.
f) Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.
g) Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:
•Ntuser.dat
•Ntuser.dat.log
•Ntuser.ini

h) Right click/tap and Select Copy.

Step 3: If the new user profile is working fine, then delete the old user.

Follow the steps to delete the corrupted user account profile:
a) Login to your New User Profile.
b) Click/tap on the “Windows logo” and type “User Accounts”.
c) Now, select “Settings” and then select the “User Accounts” icon.
d) Click/tap on “Manage another account” and then select the user account that you want to delete.
e) Click/tap on “delete the account”.
f) Depending on whether you want to “Keep the files” or “delete the files” choose the appropriate option.
g) You can delete the other accounts similarly.

Please reply with the status of the issue, so that we can help you fix the issue.