formerly University of Missouri-Rolla
LAPTOP SUPPORT

Laptop Video Projection:

Many laptops can both "mirror" and "extend" their display to additional screens.  Mirroring a laptop display means showing the same image on both the laptop's native screen and an external screen.  Extending a laptop display means adding an external screen so that the laptop's display and the additional screen together make up a single virtual screen.  

Mirroring is most useful for presentations because the instructor can have a laptop sitting in front of him or her while the same image is displayed on a screen behind the instructor.

Extending is useful if you need to show a different image on the laptop display than on the external screen.

The following commands are intended for use with laptop machines supported by Information Technology.

Computer (OS Type)How to Switch Display Modes for Projection
Dell (Windows XP)Hold down the blue Fn key while pressing the F8 key toggles between internal only, mirror display, and external (projector only) modes
Fujitsu Lifebook (Windows Vista)Hold down the Fn key while pressing the F10 key to toggle between internal only, mirror display, and external modes (you may need to hit F10 multiple times to get the display mode you want).
iBook laptops (Mac OSX)Plugging in the laptop to the external projector cable should switch the laptop to mirroring mode.  Allowing the laptop to go into sleep mode and then waking it up should also accomplish monitor sensing and switching.

Otherwise, select the Apple (top left), pull down to System Preferences, and select Monitors.  Make sure monitors are set to Mirroring, or turn internal off to get different resolution on projector.
PowerBook laptops (Mac OSX)Plugging in the laptop to the external projector cable should cause the laptop to switch to extending the display.  The projector screen is the extended display without the presence of a menu bar at the top.

To switch to mirroring or move the menu bar to the projector screen:  Select the Apple (top left), select System Preferences, and then select Monitors.  Click the Arrange option in the selection bar and check the Mirroring checkbox at the bottom.  You can also drag and arrange the monitor setup and menu bar in that screen as desired.

Here are some additional links for different laptop systems other than those listed above.  Note:  In many cases, laptops will have multiple commands for switching between display modes.