Exteranal monitor. More vitual displays vs Extended desktops

Question

Exteranal monitor. More vitual displays vs Extended desktops

Dear All,

since a few days, when I attach an external monitor to may MacBookPro9,2, I face a different behavior of the System.

When the external monitor is attached (Apple Cinema Display 21 inch), it becomes the main monitor while the built in one acts as an secondary monitor.

Up to a few day ago the second monitor acted as an extension of the main on and the mouse pointer and the window were moving from the main to the second as if they are one.

This is the behavior I want.

As said, since a few day, the secondary monitor is just a monitor non an extension of the main monitor.

When I activate Mision control I see for virtual desktops on the main monitor an just one on the secondary monitor, and this latter is "named" number "5" (please see attached pictures).

I can add more virtual desktops on secondary monitor and their name keeps growing "6", "7" and so on.

When I switch from a desktop to the other, the switch effects only the desktop in the active monitor not the desktops in the main and secondary monitor at the same time (as it would happen if the second monitor is a desktop extension of the main monitor.

The question is: How can I turn back to the first state?

I have a TimeMachine backup but don't know exactly what backup use and don't want to go back with all the machine because I have file a work done that would be lost unless doing a back up on a different drive.

I have installed:

MacOS Mojave updated to last release;
TotalSpaces2 v2.7.12 (tried to disable it, restart the laptop, but nothing changed);
MacPorts, regularly updated.

I do maintenance with:

Thinketool
Onyx

Can any of these two compromised a preference/system file?

Any suggestion?

If any further information is need, please ask: I will be happy to add.

Many thanks in advance!

Cheers.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 20, 2019 12:14 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,782 points

Aug 21, 2019 6:28 AM in response to Luca Sardelli

Did you use the Displays System Preferences to set the desired display as the primary one? You do so by dragging the menu bar from the external to the internal.

The setting, Displays have separate spaces, in Mission Control System Prefs determines how displays are isolated or extended.

With the option checked, each display is its own space. With it unchecked, all displays are extended. They all act as one display.

I do maintenance with:

Thinketool

• Onyx

Why. There is no maintenance that needs to be done.

Can any of these two compromised a preference/system file?

Possibly.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,782 points

Aug 30, 2019 7:07 AM in response to Luca Sardelli

Did you use the Displays System Preferences to set the desired display as the primary one? You do so by dragging the menu bar from the external to the internal.

Yes I did so.

It should stick between disconnecting the monitors, but I don't know how to force it to remember.

his could be the solution, can you expand this?

In Mission Control System Preferences, Displays have separate spaces will make each display a single, unconnected display.

If you uncheck Displays have separate spaces, All the displays will be an extension of the primary display, acting as one large display. You have to restart when you change this setting.

I routinely do maintenance: running the scripts, repair permissions (in previous releases of MacOS it was more straightforward. IMHO, trying to simplify stripping choices on user side, apple made the process awkward).

Then you routinely waste your time.

You also do not understand what repairing permissions did in the past, and what is done in the current OS.

In past OS's, repairing permissions only repaired permissions on system areas. It never did anything in user's home folders, though that is where most permission issues existed that people attempted to fix with the repair permissions function in Disk Utility. In the current OS's, every system area is locked down so no changes can alter those permissions. The OS installer will set the system area permissions as they should be, and no user or rogue process can change them, so there is never anything to repair. Resetting home folder permissions should also almost never be necessary, except when the user mucks it up themselves.

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Answer 3

Aug 30, 2019 1:56 AM in response to Barney-15E

Good morning Barney,

firs of all, thank you for your kind reply!

Did you use the Displays System Preferences to set the desired display as the primary one? You do so by dragging the menu bar from the external to the internal.

Yes I did so.

I tried moving the menu bar back and forth a couple of time "just in case".

The setting, Displays have separate spaces, in Mission Control System Prefs determines how displays are isolated or extended.

With the option checked, each display is its own space. With it unchecked, all displays are extended. They all act as one display.

This could be the solution, can you expand this?

I have mirroring checkbox unchecked.

In this moment I am away, but if this can help, I will share a couple of pictures of my System preferences setting.

Why. There is no maintenance that needs to be done.

I routinely do maintenance: running the scripts, repair permissions (in previous releases of MacOS it was more straightforward. IMHO, trying to simplify stripping choices on user side, apple made the process awkward).

Again, many thanks!

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Answer 4

Aug 30, 2019 10:07 PM in response to Barney-15E

Good morning Barney!

And thank for this:

Barney-15E wrote:

In Mission Control System Preferences, Displays have separate spaces will make each display a single, unconnected display.

If you uncheck Displays have separate spaces, All the displays will be an extension of the primary display, acting as one large display. You have to restart when you change this setting.

it solved my issues. I never realized before that small checkbox and I say I should have checked it without intention.

Thank you again!

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,782 points

Aug 31, 2019 4:13 PM in response to Luca Sardelli

it solved my issues. I never realized before that small checkbox and I say I should have checked it without intention.

It defaults to On.

Anything new Apple is trying to push will default to on. You have to be careful in the installer and after installation to go through everything to make sure some new idea isn't implemented automatically on you. It's their passive-aggressive way to get you to try new features, even though they are stupid, like Full Screen.

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Answer 6

Sep 1, 2019 1:56 AM in response to Barney-15E

Barney-15E wrote:

Anything new Apple is trying to push will default to on. You have to be careful in the installer and after installation to go through everything to make sure some new idea isn't implemented automatically on you. It's their passive-aggressive way to get you to try new features, even though they are stupid, like Full Screen.

Next time I'll try to go through the settings in the update description, but IMHO is silly to need to go through settings like Sherlock Holmes and investigate what changed hoping there is a change do get back to the state before.

Again, IMHO, Mission Control is awkward. It was so nice to have virtual desktops arranged in a matrix. No chance to have it back that way without installing third-party utilities.

In the end: thank you again!

Cheers!

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,782 points

Sep 1, 2019 4:49 AM in response to Luca Sardelli

Again, IMHO, Mission Control is awkward. It was so nice to have virtual desktops arranged in a matrix. No chance to have it back that way without installing third-party utilities.

They still are, it is just a one-dimensional matrix.

You can disable the auto-rearrangement of Desktops in Mission control. Then 1 is always 1, 2 is always 2, etc.

Now, if you implement the previously described "stupid" feature, a new desktop will be shoved into the mix, but it won't have a number.

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Exteranal monitor. More vitual displays vs Extended desktops

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