Put a web page full screen on a second screen or projector.

Put a web page full screen on the second screen in six steps

The same six steps on every system; only the keys differ.

1. 1

   Make the computer treat the projector as a second screen

   The computer has to extend its desktop onto the projector, not copy it. Copying (mirroring) puts the same picture on both screens, so the words would also appear on the laptop and you could not keep the slides, or anything else, there.

   • Windows: press Windows key + P and choose Extend. The other choices are PC screen only, Duplicate and Second screen only.
   • Mac: open System Settings › Displays, select the projector, and set Use as to Extended display.
   • Linux (GNOME, including Ubuntu): open Settings › Displays and choose Join Displays. KDE Plasma extends by default; check System Settings › Display & Monitor if both screens show the same picture.

   In the same settings page, the two screens are drawn as boxes. Drag them into the order they sit on the desk, because “left” and “right” in the shortcuts below follow that picture, not the cables.

   Your computer screen 1: controls, slides

   Projection screen screen 2: Extend

2. 2

   Open the page in its own browser window

   Open the page you want on the wall, for example the venue’s projector link, in a new browser window rather than a tab you are also using for other things. A window can be sent to the other screen; a tab inside a window you need cannot. In most browsers, drag the tab out of the tab bar, or press Ctrl + N (Mac: Command + N) and type the address.

3. 3

   Send that window to the projection screen

   Do this before going full screen. A window goes full screen on whichever screen it is on, so put it on the projector first.

   • Windows: click the window, then press Windows key + Shift + Left arrow or Right arrow. It jumps to the screen on that side. Press it again to bring it back.
   • Mac: there is no built-in key for this. Either drag the window by its title bar off the edge of the screen and onto the projector, or open the Window menu and choose the Move to item that names your projector. You can give that menu item a key of your own: System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › App Shortcuts, add a shortcut for All Applications, type the menu title exactly as it reads in the Window menu, and pick a key such as Command + Option + Right arrow. Free window-manager apps such as Rectangle add “next display” keys too.
   • Linux, GNOME (Ubuntu, Fedora and others): Shift + Super + Left arrow or Right arrow (Super is the Windows key). With screens stacked one above the other, use Up and Down.
   • Linux, KDE Plasma: no key is set by default. Open System Settings › Keyboard › Shortcuts, search for Window to Next Screen and give it a key. Dragging the title bar to the other screen always works.

   On any system, dragging the window by its title bar across the edge of the screen works as well, and is the quickest way if you only do this once.

4. 4

   Make it full screen there

   With the window on the projection screen and clicked on, so it has the focus:

   • Windows and Linux: press F11.
   • Mac: press Control + Command + F, or use the browser’s View › Enter Full Screen menu item or the green button in the top-left of the window. Some browsers list Fn + F on newer macOS.

   The toolbars and tabs disappear and the page fills the screen. To leave, press the same key again, or hold Esc for a moment. Many presenters also press F on the SpanVoice projector page itself, which fills the window the same way.

   Mac only: if the other screen goes black or the window goes full screen across both, open System Settings › Desktop & Dock, scroll to Mission Control, and make sure “Displays have separate Spaces” is on. The change asks you to log out and back in. With it on, a full-screen window takes over only the screen it is on.

5. 5

   Stop the room seeing anything else

   Before people arrive, deal with what could appear on a wall by accident:

   • Sleep and screen lock. A computer that goes to sleep blanks the projection screen. Set sleep and screen lock to Never while plugged in, and keep the power lead connected.
   • Notifications. Turn on Focus assist (Windows), Focus or Do Not Disturb (Mac), or Do Not Disturb (GNOME and KDE), so no pop-up reaches the wall.
   • The pointer. Move the mouse to the main screen. A pointer left on the projection screen stays visible on the wall.

   Then check it from the back of the room.

6. 6

   Option: open it straight on the projection screen

   If the same computer is used every week, make a shortcut that opens the page full screen on the projection screen with no dragging. Chrome and other Chromium browsers can do it with a start-up option. On Windows, make a shortcut to Chrome and add these after the program name in its Target box:

   --kiosk --window-position=1920,0 --user-data-dir=C:\kiosk "https://spanvoice.com/p/<venue code>"

   The 1920 is the width in pixels of the main screen, so a projection screen to the right of a full-HD main screen starts there. The --user-data-dir folder gives this window its own profile so it opens where you told it; make the folder first, and finish Chrome’s welcome screen the first time it opens. To close it, press Alt + F4. The same options work on Mac and Linux when you start the browser from a terminal or launcher with them. If the position is wrong, change the number to match your screens.