Screenshot:

 

Current Version is:  v.0.2

Download MCEMultiMon here:

http://www.ryansfindings.com/files/MCEMultiMon.zip

What it is:

This is a simple application that should let you run Media Center in a full screen window on a second monitor without trapping your mouse.  This is very useful for Dual Monitor or Multiple Monitor setups.  This is still a beta, so it isn't very pollished yet, but it should still work ok. 

How to use: 

• Extract "MCEMultiMon.exe" from the .zip.
• Run "MCEMultiMon.exe"
• A new monitor icon will show up in your taskbar (thanks Tango Desktop for the icon).  If you double click the icon Media Center will open and show up as maximized on your secondary display. 
• While Media Center is running a double click the taskbar icon to toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode.
• Single click the icon to get a menu with more options (right or left click - doesn't matter)
• If Media Center doesn't go to the right place (or if you have different sized monitors), select "Settings" from the menu and edit the screen sizes/positions as needed.
  • You can use negative numbers for the screen positon if your secondary display is to the left of your primary display.

*Please note - "MCEMultiMon.ini" is created after you first run the program.  It will be located in the root of the directory where "MCEMultiMon.exe" is located (this means you must extract the program from the .zip before running it).

Recent Changes:

• Added Gui for settings
• Option to run at Windows Startup
• Added better handling of restore sizes & remembering last positon
• Added selection to send to monitor from tray
• Added support for up to 4 monitors w/different resolutions
• Added better variable checking to help avoid invalid variables
• Changed name to MCE Multi Mon (from MCE Dual Mon)

More info:

This is similar to Gary's app that he posted here (thanks for the idea Gary): http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/1/188662/ShowThread.aspx - This isn't as pollished as Gary's app, but this version shouldn't have issues with the right side of the screen getting corrupted for some people, also this won't show a window arround Media Center at all.

Try it out and tell me what you think, and do remember that this is a beta, so there could be some bugs. 

I just installed Gary's app Maxifier. I was the one having the issue with the black gap and screen corruption down the right handside, which I did actually resolve in the end if you read that thread. I may also give your app a try to see what its like.

Cheers

where is the MCEDualMon.ini file located? I have dual monitors with different resolutions and need to make the change for it to work. no luck searching computer for that file yet.

dreamhost:

where is the MCEDualMon.ini file located? I have dual monitors with different resolutions and need to make the change for it to work. no luck searching computer for that file yet.

It will automatically make the file after you run MCEDualMon.exe for the first time.  It should be located in the same folder that you run MCEDualMon.exe from (so if you run the .exe from the .zip file without extracting it to a location, it won't create it properly).

I've installed your application and it is working after editing the INI file to match my settings.  I do *not* have matched displays (a TV and an LCD panel).  Very cool and thank you!

BTW, is there an INI setting to specify the "windowed" size when I select "restore"?  now it just makes it the size of the screen rather than my preference which would be about 50%.

Not sure what I need to do to get this working for me? I have a 20" LCD monitor on the right hand side (I switched the monitors around with the Ultamon utility) Resolution is 1024 x 768, this is the primary display for the PC.

I have a secondary display which is a LCD HDTV on the left hand side this is using 1360 x 768 resolution. When using your applcation VMC is launched on the HDTV but I cannot get it to go full screen. I tried changing the settings in the ini file to 1360 x 768 but didn't seem to make any difference.

What do I need to do with the ini file for my setup? Also is the version we have downloaded on the link on this thread still the latest version or have you made any newer versions ?

Many Thanks

cw-kid:

Not sure what I need to do to get this working for me? I have a 20" LCD monitor on the right hand side (I switched the monitors around with the Ultamon utility) Resolution is 1024 x 768, this is the primary display for the PC.

I have a secondary display which is a LCD HDTV on the left hand side this is using 1360 x 768 resolution. When using your applcation VMC is launched on the HDTV but I cannot get it to go full screen. I tried changing the settings in the ini file to 1360 x 768 but didn't seem to make any difference.

What do I need to do with the ini file for my setup? Also is the version we have downloaded on the link on this thread still the latest version or have you made any newer versions ?

My setup is very similar.  His program assumes that the TV will be to the right of the primary monitor, where yours, like mine, is to the left.  What I did was I had to move the window across the width of the secondary monitor, so I set the offset X to "-[width of secondary]-4" while the offset Y was "-4" the negative four in both numbers was to keep the window border from showing up on my screen (I have XP SP2, so YMMV).  So, for you:


[Screen Size]
Screen Width=1360
Screen Height=768
[Full Screen Position]
X offset=-1364
Y offset=-4

sgartner:

I've installed your application and it is working after editing the INI file to match my settings.  I do *not* have matched displays (a TV and an LCD panel).  Very cool and thank you!

BTW, is there an INI setting to specify the "windowed" size when I select "restore"?  now it just makes it the size of the screen rather than my preference which would be about 50%.

You're welcome. 

The current version doesn't let you change the restore size, but the new version that I'm working on will remember the size that you had the window before it is maximized, and it will restore it to that.

cw-kid:

Not sure what I need to do to get this working for me? I have a 20" LCD monitor on the right hand side (I switched the monitors around with the Ultamon utility) Resolution is 1024 x 768, this is the primary display for the PC.

I have a secondary display which is a LCD HDTV on the left hand side this is using 1360 x 768 resolution. When using your applcation VMC is launched on the HDTV but I cannot get it to go full screen. I tried changing the settings in the ini file to 1360 x 768 but didn't seem to make any difference.

What do I need to do with the ini file for my setup? Also is the version we have downloaded on the link on this thread still the latest version or have you made any newer versions ?

Many Thanks

As mentioned above by sgartner, try using negative numbers in the .ini so that Media Center is moved to the left monitor (instead of the right).

The version on the link above is current... I was working on a new version with some minor feature additions, and a GUI to edit the .ini (to make it much more user friendly) , but I got really busy with work and I had to delay progress on it.  I have it almost completed, but I need to do a little more testing before I release it.  As soon as I have it ready, I'll post about it here, and update the link.

Hello thank you both for your replies that worked perfectly

I think I prefer MCE Dual Mon to Maxifier as it is more simple and works with the Nvidia Resize HDTV Desktop option turned on. Using Maxifier I had to turn this option off. I'm looking forward to your next new version.

Many Thanks

Is anyone running MCE Dual Mon after installing Vista SP 1 ? It seems to have stopped working for me now, if I right click the system tray icon and select full screen the windowed VMC disappears off my secondary monitor and its also not show on the primary which is strange to say the least. So basically I can't make MCE Dual Mon go full screen after installing SP1.

Edit: Think its a glitch on my system I exited out of MCE Dual Mon and re-launched it and now its working again in full screen mode.

I've added a key in to my registry HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run so that MCE Dual Mon is run at start up and loaded in to the system tray. However after each reboot I get the warning message about it being a beta and something about the ini file or what ever the message says. Can we get rid of this message from appearing when MCE Dual Mon is loaded at start up?

 

Thanks

Thanks for the feedback Stuart.

It will give that message if it doesn't find the .ini file.  The program assumes that if there is no .ini file, that you haven't run it yet, if it sees the .ini file, then it won't give the message. 

I'm surprised that it pops up on you just after adding an entry for startup, as long as you didn't move the .exe to a different folder than the .ini - or delete the .ini file, it shouldn't show this message... I will test it out and try to figure out why.

In the meantime, you could try to add a shortcut to the "Startup" folder (in the Start menu) rather than to the Run entry in registry.  This might solve the problem for now...

This got me thinking that in the new version maybe I should add an option in the settings menu to run the program at startup?

ryan.tollefson:

Thanks for the feedback Stuart.

It will give that message if it doesn't find the .ini file.  The program assumes that if there is no .ini file, that you haven't run it yet, if it sees the .ini file, then it won't give the message. 

I'm surprised that it pops up on you just after adding an entry for startup, as long as you didn't move the .exe to a different folder than the .ini - or delete the .ini file, it shouldn't show this message... I will test it out and try to figure out why.

In the meantime, you could try to add a shortcut to the "Startup" folder (in the Start menu) rather than to the Run entry in registry.  This might solve the problem for now...

This got me thinking that in the new version maybe I should add an option in the settings menu to run the program at startup?

The exe is in the same folder as ini file. Pretty sure the message comes up after every reboot. I'll reboot later and double check.

I think a start up option would be a good idea.

Version 0.2 is out!

OK, I released the new version... it gives you a lot more functionality than the old version, and it is much easier to work with.  There is now a settings menu, so you shouldn't need to edit the .ini by hand anymore.

Here is a change summary:

Added Gui for settings

Option to run at Windows Startup

Added better handling of restore sizes & remembering last positon

Added selection to send to monitor from tray

Added support for up to 4 monitors w/different resolutions

Added better variable checking to help avoid invalid variables

Changed name to MCE Multi Mon (from MCE Dual Mon)

Then name change is because the app now supports up to 4 monitors, rather than just 2.  I really don't like the name though, so if someone has a better name for it, please let me know.

I was hoping that I could work out a few more of the bugs before releasing this version, but it was taking longer than I had hoped and I really don't have a lot of time to work on this right now, so I decided to just release it how it is now (it is still a nice upgrade from v.0.1). 

The major issues I was having is that for some reason I can't get Media Center to recognize when I have changed the Window size/position... this means that there is some bugginess if you use my app to change the window size/position, and then use the standard min/max/restore buttons from within the Media Center window.  If you use the traditional buttons, when you restore the window, the last position isn't always properly recognized.  This shouldn't be a major issue for most people, but it is slightly annoying. 

If anyone finds any other bugs, please let me know, and I will do what I can to fix them.

Let me know what you guys think...