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#1 2015-07-27 17:38:15

alcarinque
Member
Registered: 2015-07-27
Posts: 1

Separate Multimonitor Setup

Hi everyone, I'm a long time linux user, but I'm new to Archlinux. I've decided to post my question here because of the quality of the answers I always find in the forums and wiki.

My setup:
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 06) --> connected to HD display
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation NV44 [GeForce 6200 LE] (rev a1) --> connected to  1440x900 display

Both cards have DVI and VGA outputs. I use the nouveau driver to avoid more issues than necessary.

Main window manager is compiz. Secondary could be fluxbox.

My goal: To have separed management of windows in each screen. For instance, chat and terminals in right screen, current application in main screen. Switching viewport/desktop in main screen must not change secondary screen and vice versa.

Attempt 1:

I tried to use only the intel card. One monitor in dvi output and the other in the vga output. Xorg configuration in default.
The outputs start cloned. I use xrandr to make one display be the right-of the other. I can't make compiz recognize the screens as separate viewports. I can't use two window managers because xorg detects only one display

I tried making a xorg.conf file with 2 devices (the same device) and two monitors. But I have the same result.

Attempt 2:

I tried to use both cards. Each one with a different xorg server, with different configs, running from different virtual terminals. I could connect them with synergy.
It seems to work, but it doesn't. The xorg server in the inactive virtual terminal is frozen. I can type using synergy, but it wont show the results until I change from tty (ctrl+alt+f2).

Running startx from a terminal in the tty1 xorg server, gives "cant find /dev/tty" even if I launch the xorg server with  -keeptty -novtswitch -sharevts-


Attempt 3:

Same xorg with two different cards. It only runs the first window manager. Can't launch fluxbox after compiz. Maybe its a fluxbox limitation. Should I try another window manager? Compiz is not negotiable, but I can change fluxbox.

Any help with this scenarios would be great. And any ideas for a better solution is also welcome. Thanks!

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#2 2015-07-27 19:31:40

Malkymder
Member
Registered: 2015-05-13
Posts: 258

Re: Separate Multimonitor Setup

Did you look at Windows tiling managers...

alcarinque wrote:

My goal: To have separed management of windows in each screen. For instance, chat and terminals in right screen, current application in main screen. Switching viewport/desktop in main screen must not change secondary screen and vice versa.

May not be what you are looking for, but it does what you ask for very well...

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/I3 is one example amongst many good ones and i find it simple to customize for multi monitors...

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