Most laptops allow you to plug in a second monitor, which can be a TV screen or Projector I will refer to a monitor in this document.

Transcription

1 Introduction This is a guide to setting up / using a laptop with a TV screen or projector. IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU TRY THIS OUT SOME TIME AHEAD OF YOUR PRESENTATION. PowerPoint If using PowerPoint with video clips or sounds, version 2007 or higher is recommended. Make sure you have the media files as well as the PowerPoint itself or you may have problems. If you want to run dual screen mode, you will need PowerPoint and full PowerPoint file not the show.pps viewer versions. Laptop Information There are differences in laptop hardware and software which means that this guide may not exactly match your set up and therefore is not a step by step guide. Most laptops allow you to plug in a second monitor, which can be a TV screen or Projector I will refer to a monitor in this document. Some laptops will need the monitor to be already plugged in and powered up before you power up the laptop. Different Laptops have different software that controls the use of screens. You will need to be familiar with that used on your laptop. Some laptops have a function key defined which allows you to switch between the laptop Screen, and external screen or both. This is usually a combination of pressing the FN Key and F4 or F5. This works with the installed screen software. More about this later. Screen Modes The screen shape and resolution (the number of colour pixels or dots per inch) of your Laptop will probably be different to that of the projector or TV. You will find you have a choice of having the same desktop duplicated on both screens OR an extended desktop. Extended desktop is the recommended option. There are two problems with the duplicated desktop. A mismatch in screen size or resolution will distort or cut off part of the image on either the laptop or the projected screen. Everyone will see your desk top and any other programs you have open, file names etc. The extended desktop allows you to set up the second monitor to the right size, to have your work area on the laptop and a clean screen seen by those watching the presentation. An extended desktop may seem more complicated to use at first but is significantly better. 1

2 How to steps 1. Plug in the monitor cable between the laptop and the projector or the wall plate associated with the TV. 2. Turn on the projector / TV. 3. Set the input of the TV / Projector to the VGA option (Some will auto switch, some may not connect until the laptop is also on). 4. Turn on the laptop and log in as normal. 5. Now you need to configure the laptop into dual screen mode with extended desktop. THE METHOD USED WILL DEPEND ON YOUR SPECIFIC LAPTOP. Method 1 Press FN and the Screen select function key to cycle between laptop, external monitor and both. This may only work if you have previously set up the screens before. Method 2 Right click an empty area on the desktop. A menu will appear click on properties, you will get a screen like this: Click the settings tab. 2

3 Here you can click on the screen symbols or use the Display: pull down list to show and change settings for each monitor. One will be the Laptop Screen, the other the projector or TV. You can check which is which by pressing Identify. You need to have Use this device as the primary monitor box ticked for the Laptop and Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor on both Laptop and the other monitor. You can also adjust the Screen Resolution slide to get the best fit for the external screen, however this is usually set automatically, so only adjust if it needs it. Method 3 Some laptops have software installed designed to make this easier, by providing a screen control menu. Right Click the desktop. You may see a menu, with a graphics properties option. This is an alternative way of making the setting changes described in Method 2. 3

4 However it also lets you save the settings as a scheme, for easy access in future, using right Click, then Select Scheme. Method 3 A Right Click the desktop, move the mouse onto Graphics Options, then Output To, then Extend Desktop, then Notebook + Digital Display Showing Videos and photos Option 1 Put them inside a PowerPoint presentation Option 2 Ensure the window containing the Video or Photos is not full screen. Drag it onto the second screen (this will be seen by the audience). Maximise the window and click play. Don t forget to plug in the audio cable and set the volume beforehand. Make sure you actually have the media file rather than a link to a file on the original computer. 4

5 Using PowerPoint with Extended desktop Open your presentation in PowerPoint. At the top, select Slide show Then Set up Show. 5

6 In the Multiple Monitors section, select the second monitor - the projector / TV. If you do not Tick the Show Presenter View, then you have the normal PowerPoint edit slide screen displayed. The key benefit of this mode is that you can update slides live, e.g. to write down Ideas in an excogitating session (aka Idea Storm /Brainstorm). If Show Presenter View is ticked, then you get a control panel view like this: As the presenter you get to preview the slides, Jump to a slide, see the notes etc. Pressing F5 will start the presentation, Pressing Esc will end it. Pressing W or B will blank the screen for you. Children s room screen This can be used as a projector as described above. It is designed to be used with the laptop and Board showing the same image. (Clone desktop to second screen). The board also acts like a tablet PC the pens act like a mouse or graphics tablet, and connects to the laptop via a USB connection. You will probably need additional software installed to use these features. 6