Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

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pj
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Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by pj »

After a forced PC "upgrade" from MS Surface Pro 7 and Windows 10 to Surface Pro 8 and Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, running X2 5.3.0.1 ULT x64, there appears to be some challenges with handling scaling differences on different displays, either when attached or handling the change when the displays are detached and the PC rebooted.

Configuration:
PC - MS Surface Pro 8, Windows 11 Pro for workstations
Monitors:
- Surface Pro 8 @ 2880x1920 and 200% scaling
- Dual external HP monitors @ 1920x1080 at 100% scaling

Start up after initial installation of x2 on the Surface Pro 8, Tahoma font, the font size and screen size have to be adjusted to readable sizes. All font changes below are to the font size only. I did make sure the installation included multimonitor manifest support.

A. Booting up the Surface Pro 8 with two external HP monitors attached. When x2 opens up on the HP monitor, the font is HUGE and the window is greatly oversized for the monitor. Changing font to 10 pt and resizing window manually to be usable on the HP at my desk is required. Then:

B. Sliding the x2 window from either external HP monitor display at 1920x1080 at 100% scaling to the local monitor on the Surface 8, at 2880x1920 and 200% scaling, the window shrinks to approx. half the "apparent" size with respect to the monitor, but the "apparent" font size remains the same.

C. Booted up the Surface 8 without an external monitor attached with the font and screen still adjusted for the HP monitor but making no adjustments to make x2 readable on the Surface 8 display. Now the x2 window is still very small on the Surface 8 display, about the same size as before the reboot, but now font is too small to read. Per the Options window, the font is now 5 pt.

D. Plugging in the adapter to add the monitors back in without rebooting. X2 locks up with Program Options window (where I was checking the current font) open but blank. Ignores "Close Window" from taskbar. Forcing End Task from Task Manager and restarting x2, the window opens on an HP screen, looks normal, with a font size of 10. Drag back to the Surface Pro display, and again the display becomes a Mini-Me, but the font stays at 10pt (readable).



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PJ in FL
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nikos
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by nikos »

did you port your settings from your "old" PC by any chance?
for multimonitor to work ok, you must leave xplorer2 to decide fonts etc based on your new system
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by pj »

Yes of course I imported settings via the REG file option.

Also, I have to have two separate column sets to view just a standard set of columns (name, size, modified, ext) after start-up or switching monitors, as the column widths get scrambled.

What is the procedure that needs to be followed during installation to insure multimonitor works AND the user settings are transferred?
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by nikos »

if you move to a massively different (monitor) setup, then a clean install is recommended
however you cannot afford to lose your settings either ... catch 22 :shrug:
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by pj »

Changing from Surface Pro 7 to Surface Pro 8 is "massively different"? All the other monitors stayed the same.

Is this a monitor configuration issue or a Windows 11 issue?

So you are saying there's no way for X2 to correct this disconnect between the monitor configuration and how x2 manages windows across multiple monitors?

Can a modification be made to the settings REG or INI file that removes the monitor setting that shouldn't be changed following a clean install, then using that modified settings file to port user settings from the previous computer to the new computer?

Will you be looking into making this not a Catch-22 in future updates?
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by nikos »

you tell me, I don't know either of these systems, are they the same monitor resolution/DPI? (I mean the surface pro itself)

I made a REG file that resets the fonts, you must run it when you FULLY quit xplorer2 with ALT+X keys
https://www.zabkat.com/test/clearFonts.zip
(this will only work for the default layout, if you have more you need to edit it)

anyway, once you set the fonts as you like them, are there any leftover problems when you switch monitors?
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by pj »

As I said before, no, setting fonts doesn't fix the problems.

Once I set fonts using TOOLS > OPTIONS > WINDOW > Main Font... with the x2 window on the HP monitor:

Sliding the x2 window from either external HP monitor display at 1920x1080 at 100% scaling to the local monitor on the Surface 8, at 2880x1920 and 200% scaling, the window shrinks to approx. half the "apparent" size with respect to the monitor, but the "apparent" font size remains the same. So if I had 12 files showing in the upper pane in details view, and 12 in the lower pane, same view, when I slide the window over to the Surface Pro 8 screen, the window shrinks both horizontally and vertically, but the font size stays the same. I now have only 3 files showing in each pane and only part of the NAME column shown, whereas I have 4 columns (Name, Size, Modified, Ext) visible on the HP monitor.

Dragging the window back restores the window to it's previous settings. Unfortunately, when I work outside the office, I only have the Surface Pro display and the x2 window is back to the miniature size, and, as it's now the monitor X2 starts up on, the font has shrunk to unreadable size.

Other programs, e.g. the Calendar window for MS Outlook, retain the approximate visual size and remain visible and usable on either screen. :?:
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johngalt
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by johngalt »

Close out of Xplorer² completely.

Go to the installation location, which should be

Code: Select all

C:\Program Files\zabkat\xplorer2_ult
then right click on

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xplorer2_64.exe
and select properties.

From there, go to the

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Compatibility
tab, click the button

Code: Select all

Change settings for all users
in the new dialog box click the button that says

Code: Select all

Change high DPI settings
then enable both check boxes, AND change the bottom dropdown to

Code: Select all

System (Enhanced)
I BELIEVE this is how I had to have it set up when I used multiple monitors with different resolutions and DPI scaling values in play. The top checkbox may not be required, the bottom one probably is.
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by pj »

Excellent advice!

Thank you johngalt!

The only part I couldn't do was to change settings for all users. My company doesn't give me admin rights. :(

So far, sliding between displays keeps the x2 window the same apparent size and readable. I'll update this once I run the Surface Pro in stand alone mode without the external monitors.

Kindest regards!
PJ in FL
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johngalt
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by johngalt »

Ahh, sorry, I assumed it was a personal device, not a managed device. Then, yes, you're stuck with doing it only for your own login - which is all that really matters, eh?

FWIW - I fought with this for almost a year as I slowly transitioned from my pair of old 1080p monitors to having a triplet of 4K monitors - but not all acquired at the same time. So, for a good portion of the time I had 1x 1080p (100% DPI) and 1x 4K (125% DPI) and it drove me nuts.

The good thing is that Xplorer² was neither to blame nor the only app that this happened to - it happened across the board with numerous apps, particularly those built with QT 4.x / 5.x - such apps may require a whole different set of fixes sometimes.

I was lucky that Nikos designed Xplorer² so well that this simple setting fixed 90% of the viewing issues I had when using mixed DPI across multiple monitors. Other apps required a ton of troubleshooting and / or acceptance on my part, which lead to at least one app no longer being used lol.
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pj
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by pj »

Nikos,

You might want to plagiarize this for one of your blogs!
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by nikos »

why, are you calling me chatGPT? :P

seriously though, xplorer2 "should" be multimonitor ready without any compatibility tweaks. I don't know why it doesn't work for some people!?
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by johngalt »

I never could figure out why - and sometimes it did just work as expected.

Of course, I'm also running Windows 11 Pro, and it does things weirdly to begin with. And nVidia drivers have had a hard time keeping up with my 4K monitors at times as well, and especially after I upgraded to a 3080 Ti GPU.

The really weird part is that I use multiple profiles, one for work and one for personal use, another for when I clean install my OS, and a couple more for specific purposes. More than once I've seen where some profiles work fine but others do not, unless I have those fixes in place for Xplorer²
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by nikos »

what are these "profiles"? The monitors are always the same, no?
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Re: Windows 11 and Multimonitor Issue

Post by johngalt »

nikos wrote: 2023 Feb 06, 05:05 what are these "profiles"? The monitors are always the same, no?
What you call Layouts in Xplorer² I always revert to calling Profiles, as most software / programs use that term for similar functionality. I use the word so many times in my job and personal life with software support that Profiles has been ingrained for me and I forget some software use different terms.

Sorry for the confusion.
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