How to Expand the Screen for a Laptop Connected to a Projector

By Ryan Menezes

Split your content between your laptop and projector screens.
i Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Getty Images

When connecting your laptop to a projector for a business presentation, you can display the screen image in a variety of ways, such as sending the image only to the projector or projecting the same image to both screens. However, to maximize your available screen area, extend your screen so the laptop and projector each display a portion of the overall image. Extending your screen lets you keep windows on your laptop screen and only drag them to the projector screen when they become relevant.

Click the Windows orb on the taskbar to open the Start menu.

Type "screen resolution" into the search box in the lower-left corner of the Start menu. A list of search results automatically appear on the left side of the Start menu. Click "Adjust screen resolution" in the list of search results to open the Screen Resolution dialog box.

Click the drop-down box labeled "Multiple displays" to open a drop-down menu.

Click "Extend these displays" to expand your screen across the laptop and projector.

Click "OK" to apply your changes and close the dialog box.

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