Metro apps on two monitors...

By hougtimo
in Microsoft (Windows)

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+LogicalApex MVC

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Tablets don't have more than one screen. As a result, "Metro" only supports one screen. Once you remember that Metro = Tablet (but can run on PC) you'll start to see it all clearly.

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+LightEco Subscriber²

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This is part of the hard limitation of Windows 8 Store Apps that only 1 can be running full screen at a time. 2 if one is snapped. This was done to limit the performance hit that running multiple apps would have on tablets and ultrabooks.

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Harrison H.

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This is part of the hard limitation of Windows 8 Store Apps that only 1 can be running full screen at a time. 2 if one is snapped. This was done to limit the performance hit that running multiple apps would have on tablets and ultrabooks.

This is definitely true. I also have a feeling that they did some research into how many people really have multiple monitors. It probably wasn't worth the development time to get it to work in this manor. It will probably come in a service pack.

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Harrison H.

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To be honest, I thought the same way at first. I'm actually very happy with the way it works currently. That isn't to say I'd love to be able to run more than 2. I normally always browse with a full screen browser, so it works perfectly for me. I have my email/music/other metro enabled apps on my left monitor, and my browser (IE) on the main display.

Grand Master

theyarecomingforyou

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There's a lot to like about Metro but the overall implementation is pretty poor, especially when talking about multi-monitor support and the use of large, high resolution displays. Most apps dom't take advantage of the vertical resolution on high resolution displays; you can't have apps running on multiple monitors; dragging an app from one screen to another automatically snaps it; you can't use the same gestures as desktop apps (drag to top to maximise, for instance); there is no proper shared task manager for both environments (there is alt-tab, though that's not designed for tablets and is a feature most users don't know about); apps don't auto-update or don't do so promptly (to get updates I have to go into Store and manually trigger them, despite auto-updates being enabled); you can't move multiple apps on the Start Screen (aside from moving groups); the Charm bar is horrible, especially with multiple monitors.

I do use Metro apps but only those with worthwhile functionality, like XE.com, Solitaire and Cocktail Flow. That said, there's no reason most of my main criticisms couldn't be addressed with Windows 9.

Grand Master

nekrosoft13

Posted
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What am I missing here? I seem to be unable to use two monitors simultaneously for metro apps. What am I doing wrong?

On one monitor I have tweetro / chrome but the other monitor will only let me use old fashioned desktop apps... this is no good!

Help?!

thats normal, windows 8 is tablet OS, tablets have one monitor

Even on single monitor, I can multitask - 3 web browsing, 1 metrotwit, and xbox music streaming in the background

yMLCL.jpg

that looks horrible

Grand Master

jakem1

Posted
Posted

This is definitely true. I also have a feeling that they did some research into how many people really have multiple monitors. It probably wasn't worth the development time to get it to work in this manor. It will probably come in a service pack.

This is what it's all about IMO. It has nothing to do with whether the Metro UI is a tablet UI, it's just that multi-monitor users are a niche that are more likely to run desktop apps than simple Metro apps.

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giantpotato

Posted
Posted

Tablets don't have more than one screen. As a result, "Metro" only supports one screen. Once you remember that Metro = Tablet (but can run on PC) you'll start to see it all clearly.

There are an handful of dual-screen tablets, and you can connect Suface to a second screen via HDMI, so that argument doesn't hold water.

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+LogicalApex MVC

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There are an handful of dual-screen tablets, and you can connect Suface to a second screen via HDMI, so that argument doesn't hold water.

If it doesn't hold water, explain to me why Metro has zero support for multiple screens?

Grand Master

giantpotato

Posted
Posted

If it doesn't hold water, explain to me why Metro has zero support for multiple screens?

I don't have an explanation, I don't make the decisions at Microsoft. I'm just pointing out that "Tablets don't have more than one screen" is a false statement.

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