Five Tools for Multiple Monitor Computer Systems

Five Tools for Multiple Monitor Computer Systems

With a multiple monitor computer system, you increase productivity by increasing screen size, or “real estate.” Some users have one monitor designated for workspace and another designated for “extras” such as email, Skype, IM’s, Twitter, Facebook, etc. This setup allows the user to easily go back and forth between tasks, reducing wasted time and resources. Here, I want to share five open source tools that are available to assist in your transition or continued use of a multiple monitor system.


1) Synergy
“Synergy” is an application that allows the user to share a mouse and keyboard among several different displays. By moving the mouse like you would on any computer, this application allows the movement to go flawlessly from one monitor to the next. Additionally, monitors share one clipboard so the user can copy and paste information across the multiple displays with ease. With Synergy, you can also sync screensavers to behave as you prefer.



2) Input Director 
“Input Director” grants users the ability to use a single keyboard and mouse to operate several linked monitors. It can also be used to operate several computers within a single network. Like Synergy, a single movement of the mouse, for example, will move the pointer from one linked monitor to the next. This saves valuable time on both mundane tasks and professional presentations alike.


3) UltraMon 

“UltraMon” is an excellent tool for multiple monitor systems. This application can support up to ten monitors. With this application, the user can set custom preferences for each monitor in regards to resolution, wallpaper, and theme settings. With UltraMon, running programs can moved throughout any of the active monitors that are networked. It includes a feature that allows the user to determine when monitors become inactive, to conserve energy and limit distractions as necessary.


4) Multiple Monitor Mouse 

The “M3” speeds up mouse targeting by approximately 30%. This application warps your cursor across the borders of a display on demand and runs in the background, avoiding taxing the system’s resources. The M3 can be accessed from the system tray. This is also where users can change settings and preferences as deemed necessary.

5) MultiMon Taskbar 
The “MultiMon Taskbar” allows the user to have unique taskbars for each monitor. This allows you to easily organize applications and programs over multiple screens. Also, MultiMon has a clipboard extender for synchronizing the clipboards across several monitors. This allows the user to easily copy and paste information from any monitor to any other monitor.

Hopefully, you will find one or more of these neat applications helpful to your multi-monitor experience. If you have or intend to build a multiple monitor setup, you understand the value of maximizing productivity. Therefore, you can appreciate how helpful these tools can be! Whether just setting up your first multi-monitor system or fine-tuning an existing system, I am confident that most multiple monitor users can benefit from some of these cool (free) add-ons.