[SOLVED] Dual Display switch content

[xtongx]

Hi,

I'm using a macbook connected to an external display.
I use parallels to run windows xp fullscreen on my macbook display.
My table is not big enough so I can't put the macbook and external display next to each other.
So when I need to use my windows for a long time I need to bring it over to the external display.
Is there any way I can switch the whole content between the internal and external display?

Thanks

 

[Fitzwilliam]

Is there any way I can switch the whole content between the internal and external display?

I'm not familiar with Parallels, but I do use my Mac with an external display and need to move things between them often enough. If you go to System Preferences-->Expose & Spaces, you can enable Spaces. Spaces creates several virtual desktops, letting you assign programs to each. For example, you could have one Space for media apps (iTunes, VLC, etc.) and another for your browser. Anyway, Spaces integrates with an external monitor, so when you hit the Spaces key (default F8) to bring up your Spaces, you should be able to drag whatever is on your external over to your Macbook, or vice versa. The two displays will simply switch.

Note that I said SHOULD. I have never used Parallels, and some weird quirk with it might make it not play nice with Spaces. It worked fine with VirtualBox, though.

 

[xtongx]

Thanks for the suggestion.
What I'm doing now is, I set one of the spaces for parallels desktop running at full screen so whenever I want to switch to Windows I'll just open up that space. But what I wanted to do was to fully switch the content between the external and internal monitor. So let's say I'm using Mac OS on my external and Windows on my laptop monitor at the moment. And when I switch Windows on my external, it will move everything on the Mac OS (all open windows, applications, etc) to the laptop monitor.

 

[Fitzwilliam]

So let's say I'm using Mac OS on my external and Windows on my laptop monitor at the moment. And when I switch Windows on my external, it will move everything on the Mac OS (all open windows, applications, etc) to the laptop monitor.

You should--SHOULD--be able to open up the Spaces screen (F4) and use your mouse to drag the Windows space over the OS X space. Provided you're not using multiple spaces for your OS X programs, it should all switch. So, if you have Parallels on "laptop space 1" and your OS X programs on "external space 1," you should be able to drag laptop space 1 onto external space 1 and have everything swap. Not absolutely sure, though.

 

[xtongx]

Best answer selected by xtongx.

 

[xtongx]

You should--SHOULD--be able to open up the Spaces screen (F4) and use your mouse to drag the Windows space over the OS X space. Provided you're not using multiple spaces for your OS X programs, it should all switch. So, if you have Parallels on "laptop space 1" and your OS X programs on "external space 1," you should be able to drag laptop space 1 onto external space 1 and have everything swap. Not absolutely sure, though.

Hey, it works. Thanks very much. That's what I've been trying to do all this time. Didn't realize it was so easy.

 

[Fitzwilliam]

Hey, it works. Thanks very much. That's what I've been trying to do all this time. Didn't realize it was so easy.

No problem. Glad you got it working.