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[Software] Separate Display for each monitor

Graphical Environments, Managers, Multimedia & Desktop questions.
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JanPieterse
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[Software] Separate Display for each monitor

#1 Post by JanPieterse »

I have a test setup with Debian 10, Xfce and two monitors.
They work but share one display (DISPLAY=:0.0).
What I want is DISPLAY=:0.0 on one monitor and DISPLAY=:0.1 on the other, each with its own set of Workspaces and its own Panel but you can not (easily) transport a window to the other monitor.

I have this setup for years on openSUSE Leap 42.1, Xfce and four monitors with each is own display DISPLAY=:0.0 .. :0.3.
There this was the default configuration and the configuration I now have in Debian was called Xinerama there, but this seems the default in Debian.

Before I switch to Debian and Xfce I want to make sure this can work there to.
Has anyone done this or knows how to do this?
Thanks,
Jan.

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kent_dorfman766
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Re: [Software] Separate Display for each monitor

#2 Post by kent_dorfman766 »

Independent displays is my prefered setup. Forget about "gui panels" to set stuff like this up though. This level of sophistication demands looking under the hood. My setup is specific to the proprietary nvidia drivers but the xorg.conf portions should be relevant

in your xorg.conf file the ServerLayout section should define two "Screen" entries. That's what gives you independent displays. Then you define two "Screen" sections where you tell which monitor, resolution, etc.

the nvidia-setup program allows selecting two monitors but I think it only offers trwinview config, not dual DISPLAY.

probly best to pull your old xorg.conf file from SUSE and use it as a guide.

But yes, it's possible...at least until X goes away and wayland is shoved down our throats.

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Re: [Software] Separate Display for each monitor

#3 Post by JanPieterse »

Thanks for your reply Kent.
Mine are just two monitors, one on a DVI video cart and the other in VGA on the motherboard.

When I do $ locate xorg.conf, I get this:
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-amdgpu.conf
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-quirks.conf
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-radeon.conf
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/40-libinput.conf
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-wacom.conf
/usr/share/doc/xserver-xorg-video-intel/xorg.conf
/usr/share/man/man5/xorg.conf.5.gz
/usr/share/man/man5/xorg.conf.d.5.gz

So no xorg.conf but a bunch of configuration files under /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/, but they contain only Sections "InputClass" and no Sections Monitor, Device or Screen, etc.

I could indeed adapt the xorg.conf from my SUSE PC and put it in /usr/share/X11/ or /etc/X11/ and see what happens, but I was hoping someone had done something similar and could give me some pointers.

I will wait for a while and then, when I have time, start experimenting.
All suggestions are welcome,
Thanks,
Jan.

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Re: [Software] Separate Display for each monitor

#4 Post by kent_dorfman766 »

the conf.d files are just sections from a global xorg.conf file...I personally don't like the directory stub files approach and prefer a single config file. Generally, modern xorg is good about using sane defaults if you don't provide something. I'd start with your SUSE file and stick it in /etc/X11/xorg.conf. I don't like the /usr/share directory approach for system daemons. Stuff needs to be in /etc, the way the UNIX Gods intended.

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Re: [Software] Separate Display for each monitor

#5 Post by JanPieterse »

I have got it working.
It appears to be more a driver issue than a Debian issue.
I have two video cards
- VGA on the motherboard
- DVI on a PCI card

When I treated them as one video card with two heads and used option ZaphodHeads I got it working.

I now have two screens with each its own $DISPLAY value: :0 (strangely) for DVI and :0.1 for VGA
Both monitors now have their own set of Workspaces witch I can independently switch, just as I like it.

Below my added (there was none) /etc/X11/xorg.conf
greetings,
Jan.

$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
Option "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Device0"
Driver "intel"
BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
Screen 0
Option "ZaphodHeads" "DVI1"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Device1"
Driver "intel"
BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
Screen 1
Option "ZaphodHeads" "VGA1"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Device1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "MultiHead"
Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
EndSection

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