So I work from home, I have my laptop for connecting into and doing my work. I hate the small keyboard and screen. Can I use multiple monitors on my personal computer with my work, without a KVM switch?
Well Microsoft did something great! Remote Desktop, but only on the Windows 7 Ultimate did they do this correct. Thankfully I have Windows 7 Ultimate on my laptop so that wasn’t an issue. Remote Desktop is enabled by default. One additional setting when connecting to my laptop from my desktop and I have my work laptop on three monitors.
See that checkbox “Use all my monitors for the remote session”, once you check it upto sixteen monitors can be used for your Remote Desktop session.
It’s important to note that it is not the system your connecting from, but the system your connecting to that needs to have Windows 7 Ultimate.
I found this to be extremely productive, multiple monitors have definitely made life easier for me.
Monitor #1 – My main work area.
Monitor #2 – Chat
Make use of the Windows Short cut Keys to move things around:
Win+Home: Clear all but the active window
Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop
Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window
Win+Down arrow: Minimize the active window or restore the window if it’s maximized
Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the active window to each side of the monitor
Win+Shift+Left/Right arrows: If you’ve got dual monitors, this will move the active window to the adjacent monitor