Rob Newman

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How To :: Geowall - configuring the horizontal span display on Windows XP - where is nView?

OS: Windows XP
Graphics card: nVidia Quadro4 750 XGL

With the new XP operating system the nView display options are pretty hard to find. I tried for weeks to get the 'horizontal span' option to show up in the nView menu, but without luck. For Immersaview, Wiggleview and Wallview to work properly, you MUST have the horizontal span option selected. After speaking to an nVidia consultant, I finally worked out how to get it working. Read on!

1. First, you need to go to CONTROL PANEL. Hit the START button, and then from the list of options, go to CONTROL PANEL. Once you open up the Control Panel, click the DISPLAY option.

2. In the Display window, you have several tab options (Themes, Desktop, Screen Saver, Appearance, Settings). Choose SETTINGS.

3. If you have two DLP projectors connected to the CPU, the default setting looks like the screen dump below:

The computer knows that you have two projectors connected, and will normally extend the windows desktop across both projector outputs (as shown in the little ticked box below the 'Screen resolution' draggable bar). Now, this may seem like the correct configuration, because applications like Immersaview work by having a window projected from each display. However, this nVidia setting is incorrect (its a feature, right?). To get the desktop to extend across both projectors, you need to DISABLE the second monitor/projector.

4. To disable the second projector, move the cursor over the second projector icon (the big number 2) and right-click. A little sub-menu will pop-up, as illustrated in the screen dump below:

As you can see, monitor/projector 2 is ATTACHED (as shown by the little tick-mark). You need to disable this projector. To do this, simply click the ATTACHED option again. You should see the tick mark dissappear. To save this change, click the APPLY button at the foot of the window (to the right of the Cancel button).

5. You should now see both monitor icons, with one change; the number 2 monitor will be shaded out, as illustrated below:

This is what you want to see. You only want VGA output going to the primary (number 1) monitor. Now its time to extend that desktop! If you don't see monitor 2 shaded out, make sure that you hit the APPLY button...

6. To get to the option that extends the desktop across both projectors, click on the ADVANCED button. This button is to the right of the 'Troubleshoot' button. When you click that button, a new window will pop up that looks like:

From the list of tabs at the top of the window, select the Quadro4 750 XGL or Quadro4 900 XGL (or whatever your graphics card is) tab. If you don't select this tab, you will not get the menu bar on the left-hand-side appearing.

Note: If you have selected the Quadro4 750 XGL tab, but still do not see the side menu, click the little green button with the arrow in that is located on the left-hand-side of the main window (by the System Information text). This should produce the side menu shown above.

6. From this menu, you want to select the first option - nView Display Mode. This was the trick I had to find out - if you do not DISABLE the second monitor (as outlined above), then you will get the same list on the left, WITHOUT the nView Display Mode option.

So, go ahead and click the nView Display Mode option. You should get a window that looks like this:

This is the magic window that allows you to extend the desktop across both monitors, and what was much easier to find on other Windows operating systems. You need to select the HORIZONTAL SPAN radio button:

Once you have selected the HORIZONTAL SPAN button, remember to click the APPLY button.

7. Once you hit APPLY, you will be prompted with a window that asks "Your desktop has been reconfigured. Do you want to keep these settings" (see screen dump below). Click YES.

8. Once you click Yes, all the windows should close, bringing you back to the main Display Properties window (where you started). You should now see a configuration of the two monitor icons as shown in the screen dump below:

This is what you want! Your primary (#1) monitor is stretched across both monitors/projectors, and Immersaview/Wiggleview/Wallview should work just fine!

Disclaimer

This information is freely provided as–is. Messing around with the command line and creating files is a serious business, and I accept no liability for errors created, systems corrupted, or hard–disk damage by you following these instructions. They worked for me but may not work for you. Remember to back–up EVERYTHING before you try any of this stuff — it is not simple OR easy!!!

If you have any questions about this please email me at rlnewman@ucsd.edu and I will try my best to help you out.