Some you lose..

One of the most annoying events in a computer users life is losing features when upgrading to the latest and greatest OS.

When I moved up to Vista from XP, my Canon scanner still retained full support because Canon were good enough to provide a Vista compatible toolbox. My HP printer didn't, but it still has most features and all I want to do is basically print anyway.

The one set of features I really did miss were supplied on the MSI video card installation CD, but they were only good for XP. While Vista allowed basic dual screen control, i.e. one could drag windows from one to another, that was about all it allowed. Note that this isn't a Vista failing per se. Microsoft have to be very careful what they include and, by necessity, most features have to be fairly basic.

The full nVidia drivers were a long time coming, and while freebies like DisplayFusion at least allow for a different background on each monitor, control doesn't go much beyond that.

Time for a win..

Having installed Ultramon, you will notice two new items on your desktop.

One of them is an icon in the notification area which gives you  access to all of the Ultramon features.

1. Display Settings - a slightly different version of the Windows Display Settings box
2. Display Profiles - you have to set one up
3. Mirroring
4. Screen Saver - you can have a different one for each screen
5. Shortcuts
6. Wallpaper - you can have a different one for each screen
7. Desktop Icons - saves desktop icon position
8. Disable Secondary
9. Set primary
10. Windows Display Properties - what you see if you right click on the desktop and select properties
11. Options - Ultramon program preferences

Lots to play around with as you can see, but the prize is here..

This is what you will see at the top right corner of all open windows.

The red arrow points to the control which toggles a window between single screen or spanning across all displays. 

If, like me, you have monitors of differing size and resolution, the window adjusts to the smallest and lowest resolution in use. While this may look scrappy on the larger of the two monitors (not the fault of Ultramon), it enables a full view of the window across both monitors (no cropping)

The yellow arrow points to the control which enables a window to be switched from one monitor to the other. Click on it, and the window moves across. Again, the resolution is changed to whatever each monitor is set to use. This is great if you are the type who likes to view all windows at full screen, but works for all in that the relative size of the window is maintained. 'Proportional' is the default Ultramon setting.

Is Ultramon worth the $39.95?

Absolutely! I haven't had control close to this since November 17, 2006 (the date that I installed Vista), and I haven't had to purchase a newer video card at great expense which may or may not have had the kind of control I gotten so used to having.

Ultramon gives me greater and better control than the XP tools originally supplied with my video card. It works with Vista, and I have no doubt that there will be a Windows 7 version when appropriate.

This utility is a must have if you are multiple monitor user, regardless of how good the manufacturer supplied dual monitor utility works for you.

The Vista version is Ultramon 3.0.3 beta, but it works faultlessly for me. There are versions for older Windows operating systems, and you can try before you buy.

Try or buy, you will need to visit this website..

http://realtimesoft.com/ultramon/