Dual Monitor support in WinXP

[David Hairston]

We have a similar setup in our lab - here is how it works for us...

I don't know what kind of vid card you have, but we use an nVidia
GeForce4 card w/ 2 outputs on the card.  However, you should be able to
use 2 single out cards also in XP.
We have a "reverse KVM switch" box from Belkin.  This is designed to let
1 PC be controlled from 2 different sets of input - 2 monitors, 2
keyboards, 2 mice.  The 2 monitors are basically mirrors of one another.
Anyhow, 1 vid line from the card is used w/ the testing machine, the
other goes into the switch - then 2 outputs go to identical monitors, 1
of which is right next to the other monitor, and the other is inside the
"testing room".  Meanwhile, same w/ the kbd/mouse.  So I can "see" what
the subject sees, and have my own monitor too.
This is great, b/c you can have the e-prime editor etc in one monitor,
and the program/expt running on the other.

This is how you do this. 
In the XP Display properties box, set 2nd monitor as an extension of the
desktop - then set the monitor that is for your subject as the
"primary".  For most reasons, this makes no difference in XP - except
that by default, this is the monitor (of the 2) that programs/menus will
pop up on.

Now when you run E-prime, your program will be seen on the subject's
monitor, not yours.  However, dialog boxes will default to popping up on
whichever of the 2 monitors last had the focus - so I believe you just
have to click the mouse inside the E-prime editor somewhere before
hitting F7.  So your subject can't see what you put in.
This "default popup" location *may* be something set w/in the nVidia
drivers, can't remember right now.

The really cool thing is that you can use the debugger to track your
subject's progress...

Anyhow, hope this is helpful.  Feel free to contact me if you need more
details.


W. David Hairston
Neurobiology and Anatomy
Wake Forest University
(336) 716-4481 (lab)


-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Staab [mailto:staab at Waisman.Wisc.Edu] 
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2003 11:42 AM
To: eprime at mail.talkbank.org
Subject: Dual Monitor support in WinXP


Hi All,

I am developing an eprime experiment that will be run on a Dual Monitor 
Windows XP machine.  However, I haven't been able to find a solution to
a 
rather annoying problem.  Because of the physical setup of the testing 
environment, I need to be able to do the initial data collection
(subject 
ID, name, etc) on one monitor, and show the experiment's screens on the 
other monitor.

Right now, the keyboard has to be carried around a corner to do the data

entry before the experiment begins.  I have looked at doing all the data

collection myself using an InputBox and hardcoding the x,y 
position.  However, I haven't quite gotten that to work.  The inputBox 
always shows up on the "wrong" monitor no matter what x value I give it.

A related issue is it would be really great if I could do the subject ID

and all at the end instead of the beginning of the experiment.  Any
Ideas 
on how to do that?

If anyone has any suggestions for either of these problems, please let
me know.

Ben Staab
staab at waisman.wisc.edu