Toggle the Multi Monitor Setting in Windows XP

 Project Name:   Toggle the Multi Monitor Setting in Windows XP
 Programmer:   Imran Ebrahim
 Type:   Application
 Technology:  JAVA
 IDE:   NONE
 Description:   If you use Windows XP and a dual monitor, this article will prove to be useful. The code will launch the display control 'applet' and send it keystrokes (the same way you would if you use keyboard navigation) to extend the monitor to the secondary attached monitor.
sample code
java code

import java.awt.Robot;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;


/**
 * @author imran
 * Description : Used to toggle the multimonitor display in Win XP.
 */
public class MultiMon {

	/**
	 * @param args
	 */
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		try {
			//Invoke the desktop setting applet, the 3rd tab should be selected
			Runtime.getRuntime().exec("control.exe desk.cpl,@0,3");

			//Pause for a second.... 
			try {
				Thread.sleep(1000);
			}catch (InterruptedException ex){
			}
			//Create a new robot that can do the system interaction for us...
			Robot robot = new Robot();
			//Activate the "Display" field...
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_D + KeyEvent.ALT_MASK);
			//Choose the second monitor
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_2);
			//goto the "Extend my windows desktop" checkbox...
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.ALT_MASK);
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_E );
			//toggle the check box...
			robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);
			//clear references...
			robot = null;
			//exit the application
            System.exit(0);

		} catch (Exception e) {
			// Things did'nt work out....
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
	}

}

Attachments

MultiMon_src.zip

(737 Bytes) Downloaded 1383 times

Multimon_src_bin.zip

(1.54 KiB) Downloaded 1095 times

Great Post! For anyone who doesn't understand how to setup , here are a few tips:

The Three main ways to Setup Multiple Monitors

1) You can buy a pre-manufactured multiple monitor computer. The best place to purchase a multiple monitor computer is at:
. They carry a multi-monitor computer line called SUPER-PC that can support from 2 to 12 monitors.

Multi-Screen Computer Systems

Multiple Monitor LCD Displays

2) You can get a USB to VGA Adapter, or USB to DVI Adapter that will allow you to add an extra monitor to your computer
via any USB2.0 Port. You can also add multiple extra monitors by using multiple adapters. This is a great option for viewing
documents, surfing the web, using Microsoft Office and many other business tasks. This is not a good option for intense
graphical situations such as HDTV, Blu-ray, Gaming and 3D / CAD Workstation applications. For those types of scenarios,
it is highly recommended that you purchase a high-powered multi-monitor workstation.



3) You can replace or add an extra video card to your existing computer, depending on how many monitors you wish to support.
Although this sounds easy enough, this is a rather complex solution for a beginner, especially when trying to find a compatible
graphics card. For this reason, I am going to write an entirely seperate post on that topic and will link to it here, very soon.



Once you have your multiple monitor system set up and ready to use, you will need to enable all of your monitors in
your “Display Properties” Control Panel. Here is a great link to a complete and animated walkthrough of how to enable
your multiple monitors in Windows.



This is what it will look like when you are done:

updated.